GOVERNING PRINCIPLES FOR OUR VALUES

1) Jesus Christ is Supreme (Col. 1:15-20)

2) Scripture is Foundational (II Thess. 2:15)

VALUES EXPLAINED

Love

We are so compelled by the love of God for us in Christ Jesus that we seek to minister and live by His love in and through us. (II Corinthians 5:14a).

  • 1) By, “Love”, we mean God’s love for His Church and the whole world, most perfectly demonstrated in the person and work of Jesus Christ (I John 4:7-12).
  • 2) By, “Love”, we mean our love for Him, His Church, and the whole world.
  • 3) By, “Love”, we mean the kind of action-producing valuing of, commitment to, and Godly affection for another person, all for their highest good.
    • a. (By, “Godly affection”, we mean a settled good will toward another, which involves desiring the best for them and hoping for and rejoicing in their being blessed).
  • 4) This is our motivational charge for everything we do, why we do it, and how we do it (II Corinthians 5:14a; Matthew 22:37-40; I John 4:19-21; Romans 5:5; Philippians 1:9-11).

Truth

We submit to and are grounded in the authoritative and infallible Word of God as perfectly displayed in Jesus Christ and sufficiently written to us in the sacred Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. (I Timothy 3:15b).

  • 1) By, “Truth”, we mean Jesus as truth (John 14:6).  Meaning that Jesus is the:
    • a. Supplying Source of all Truth
    • b. Superlative Standard of all Truth
    • c. Supreme Substance of all Truth
  • 2) By, “Truth”, we mean what Jesus meant in John 17:17b, that God’s “Word is truth” (Psalm 119:142, 151, 160).  The sacred Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, being breathed out by God, are the Word of God, the only perfect, unchangeable authority of beliefs, attitudes, and actions.  This is the only power, made effective by the Holy Spirit of God, to cause sinners to repent, believe, and to grow into the fullness of Christ (Romans 1:16; I Corinthians 1:17-2:5).
  • 3) This is both our foundation and our means for all of life and ministry.  This we read, study, preach, teach, pray, sing, and live (II Timothy 3:15-17).

Worship

We seek to joyfully respond to our worthy Triune God in Biblically appropriate ways by the power of the Spirit, in the name of Jesus Christ, through the ministry of the Word in all of our corporate gatherings. (Philippians 3:3).

  • 1) By, “Worship”, we mean the narrow use of the term as referring to the local body of believers who seek to worship the Lord in the midst of their gathering.
  • 2) By, “Worship”, we mean both coming together as a church to offer to the Lord sacrifices of time, energy, attention, emotions, money, and praise (Hebrews 13:15-16; Psalm 50:14), and to receive from the Lord the graces of faith and repentance, conviction and comfort, knowledge and wisdom, peace and joy by His Spirit, through His Word (Philippians 4:19; Psalm 50:15).
  • 3) In our corporate gatherings the ministry of the Word is carried out with our reverent reading and passionate preaching of the Word, purposeful praying and satisfied singing in accordance with the Word, privileged participation in tasting of the visible Word (sacrament of the Lord’s Supper/Communion), and glad giving to the ministry of the Word.
      In our corporate gatherings we seek to…
    • i. Read the Word (Public Reading of Scripture)—I Timothy 4:13.
    • ii. Preach the Word (Expositional Sermons)—II Timothy 4:2.
    • iii. Pray the Word (Prayers in Accordance with Scripture)—I John 5:14.
    • iv. Sing the Word (Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs)—Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16.
    • v. See the Word (The Sacraments of the Lord’s Supper and Baptism)—I Corinthians 11:23-26; Matthew 28:19.
    • vi. Respond to the Word (By Believing, Rejoicing, Giving, and Obeying)— I Thessalonians 2:13; Acts 11:18a; 13:12, 48; 15:31; Philippians 4:18; II Corinthians 9:11-15; James 1:22-25.

Unity

We pursue solid togetherness in our body of believers through the love of Christ and the truth of God’s Word within authentic, humble, and accountable relationships between all of our members, both families and individuals. (Philippians 1:27).

  • 1) By, “Unity”, we mean both the actual and automatic connection that exists between every person in every place that is truly in Christ by faith and the purposeful and committed relationships in our church, flowing from that connection.  (Philippians 2:1-2; Galatians 3:28).
  • 2) By, “Unity”, we mean the bond between those who have come to believe in and love the same essentials of the Christian faith, and who strive for greater and greater unity of faith in all the doctrines of the Word of God (Ephesians 4:1-16).
  • 3) By, “Unity”, we mean the willing and glad binding of hearts, minds, strengths, and spiritual gifts to fulfill the purpose and accomplish the mission of this church all for the glory of God (Philippians 1:5-7, 27).
  • 4) With a sincere desire and earnest effort to maintain the unity of this church without compromising personal or corporate holiness, doctrinal purity, or missional advancement we promote and foster open and authentic fellowship and humble and loving accountability among all of our covenanted members and we stand against all gossiping, lying, and unforgiving attitudes, which are completely out of place for the blood-bought people of Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:1-11; James 5:16; Colossians 3:12-17; Ephesians 4:17-32).
  • 5) With humble hearts, attitudes of grace, and a Christ-like zeal for His Body, we seek to preserve the unity, purity, and effectiveness of our church by being committed to the Biblical and loving process of church discipline for those members who live in unrepentant sin, refusing to submit to and be corrected by the preaching and teaching of the Word, the personal accountability of fellow members, or the God-given authority of the elders, all with the sincere desire of keeping the rest of the body of believers pure from evil influence, deterring other members from evil out of a Godly fear, and saving those who are unrepentant from destroying themselves (Matthew 18:10-35; I Corinthians 5:1-13; II Corinthians 2:5-11; Hebrews 13:17).
  • 6) Because of our commitment to whole church unity, we seek to build true harmony within families and a living continuity between the church and home by encouraging and equipping families to worship and grow together while at home, during corporate worship, and in small groups (Ephesians 5:15-6:4; Deuteronomy 6:4-9).

Simplicity

We fight to protect ourselves against being distracted with needless endeavors, endless programs, and constant busyness so that we can stay focused on the real purpose and mission that the Lord has solemnly entrusted to us. (Ephesians 5:15-16).

  • 1) By, “Simplicity”, we mean a serious determination to always marshal all of our time, energy, and resources toward our God-given purpose of exalting Christ by equipping Christians and engaging our community.
  • 2) By, “Simplicity”, we mean a focused approach to both life and ministry, not busy with endless programs or committees or activities, but seeking to have a single-mindedness about our purpose and mission in life and in the church.  (II Timothy 2:4-6).
  • 3) By, “Simplicity”, we mean valuing a life of Godly-focus more than giving in to the world’s false measurements of success, acceptance, and holiness.  Simplicity is not synonymous with easy or boring or simple to understand, but rather goal-oriented hard work, progressing through perils with worthwhile sacrifice, and beautiful, humbling complexity.  Knowing that family, friends, work, school, exercise, and just living life demand so much from each one of us, we need to remember that filling our lives and church with activity after activity is often only a means of depleting us and wasting time.  We must redeem, focus, and protect our time for the glory of God, making the most of what our sovereign Lord has given us (II Corinthians 1:12). 

Mission

We delight to carry the Life-giving love and truth of Jesus Christ to a world in desperate need of being set free from the sin and death that universally enslaves. (I Thessalonians 2:8).

  • 1) By, “Mission”, we mean being determined to actively go out with the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ pouring forth from our mouths because we wholeheartedly believe that it alone is the Holy Spirit-empowered means of causing people to repent of their sins and trust in Jesus alone for their complete salvation (Romans 1:16-17; 10:14-17; I Corinthians 1:18-2:5).
  • 2) By, “Mission”, we mean taking this message of Life, with joyful obedience, to a decaying world in need of restoration and to dying individuals and families in need of rescuing because we have His love flowing from our hearts and we long for the whole world to joyfully worship the only true God and Savior who alone awakens us to the sinfulness of our hearts and deeds and the gracious sufficiency of Christ to cleanse us and save us from our sin and all of sin's eternally deadly effects (Romans 5:5; II Corinthians 4:7-6:2; Matthew 28:16-20).
  • 3) By, “Mission”, we mean being committed as individuals and as a body to always be proactively, reactively, or passively bearing witness (in action, word, and attitude) to Jesus as the only perfect image of God, the only Mediator between God and man, the only spotless Sacrifice that God accepts on behalf of all who trust in Him, and the only God and King who is coming again to judge the wicked and restore this world and bring it back under His kingdom rule forever (Luke 24:46-48; II Peter 3:15-17; Colossians 1:15-20; I Timothy 2:5; Ephesians 1:3-14).
  • 4) By, “Mission”, we mean supporting the Gospel message that we proclaim by locally demonstrating the transforming grace of the Gospel in humble, caring, and loving service to the community as a whole and to actual families and individual people living in Wentzville who are hurting and in need, spending ourselves on behalf of those we witness to about Christ (I Thessalonians 2:8; James 1:27; 2:8, 14-17; Deuteronomy 10:12-22).
  • 5) By, “Mission”, we mean advancing the work of the Gospel for the growth of the Kingdom with people groups all over the globe by financially and prayerfully supporting, encouraging, and sending Christians to plant Biblically solid and actively missional churches and to be about Christ-exalting missionary work among all the peoples of the world (Acts 1:8; John 20:21; Philippians 1:3-11; 4:10-20; II Corinthians 8-9; Psalm 96).

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