Our Core Values

• Glory
• Strategy
• Love
• Mission

Glory

We believe that we were created for God’s glory! We find our heart’s rest that God is Supreme. We are not in charge; He is. After you deal with the authority issues in your life and relinquish your helpless human heart to Him, you discover ultimate joy and security in God. Therefore, we earnestly desire that all we do as a church and as people point to and bring our God more praise, honor, attention, and worship. The way we live our lives in our community should bring more people to praise God. “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5.16)Strategy

Strategy is a core value because we believe that how you do things is just as important to God as why you do them. Too many organizations, including churches, forget to ask why they’re doing what they’re doing, whether it’s effective, and most importantly, whether God desires something different. We have prayerfully assessed the way church is organized, led, and structured, and we have tried to create an expression of Christian community that we believe will bring God the most glory in our cultural context, bring the most people to commit their lives to following Jesus, and bring the most people to spiritual maturity in Him.Currently our strategy consists of:

• Home groups/small groups: We will place at the core of the new ministry a small group ministry that meets in the heart of the community – whether homes, businesses or schools. Each group will be led by some of the ministry’s core team who has been trained in small group leadership. These groups will focus on ministering to their immediate context, whether a neighborhood or a target group.

• Central teaching/worship: We will gather weekly for instruction and worship. Biblical instruction by gifted teachers and preachers is at the heart of the New Testament church’s growth as revealed in scripture. We see in the life of the NT church that they gathered together corporately [initially on the Sabbath (Friday sundown to Saturday sundown) and later on Sunday (in commemoration of Jesus' resurrection on the third day)]. We believe the pattern of the NT church was marked by small gatherings in homes (where believers taught themselves) and large gatherings in the temple at first (where central leaders taught them).

“One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer – at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. Then Peter said, ‘In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.’ Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. While the beggar held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade.” (Acts 3.1-2,5,7-10)

“The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade.” (Acts 5.12)

“Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.” (Acts 5.42)

Later, the public gatherings were halted in Jerusalem as the church scattered due to the intense persecution of believers begun by the Jewish religious leaders. (See Acts 8.1-4)

Our corporate gatherings will also seek to be opportunities for worship. We will diligently seek to avoid using music as our sole form of worship in these gatherings. We will incorporate public reading of scripture, individual and group prayer, testimonies and times of meditation. Everything possible will be done to involve those gathered in the adoration of God. Celebration will occur as we hear stories from the community of God’s activity since the last gathering. The core team leaders will facilitate the central teaching and worship times.

• Division of leadership: Nowhere in the New Testament does it indicate a church should be led by one man. Rather, the pattern seems to be shared leadership among gifted pastors, apostles, evangelists, prophets, and teachers. We will seek to share leadership by initiating an elder system of church government. As we grow, we will be led by co-pastors.

Love

Let’s face it. We have so many churches around us, but our communities are not being changed by them. With all the emphasis on “church growth” or “church health” or even “emergent church,” we seem to have forgotten that Christianity is so very simple. It’s about following Jesus and living like He lived. Scripture tells us that “God is love.” (1 John 4.8) We are given amazing insight into the contagious ability of love to prove who Jesus is by His words in John 13.35:

“By this all men will know that you are my disciples… if you love one another.”

We are told to love God with all our being in each of the Gospels. (Matthew 22.37, Mark 12.30, Luke 10.27, John 14.15) We’re told to love our neighbors as ourselves. (Matthew 22.39, Mark 12.31, Luke 10.27, John 13.34) And we’re even told to love our enemies! (Matthew 5.44, Luke 6.27-35)

Loving God and loving people is supremely important!

How do we love others? At Journey, we like to keep it simple. Love others the way you want to be loved. Helpful hands, encouraging words, kind acts, thank you notes, financial assistance, surprise gifts, hugs, and smiles. Love is easy when you quit being self-consumed. You also learn to be… strategic in your expressions of love for your neighbor through…

Community service: We will seek to serve our community sacrificially and actively. Let’s break a sweat! The scriptures tell us that the lost world will know we are followers of Jesus if we live lives of love, unity and obedience.

“We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.” (1 John 2.3)

“May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (John 17.23)

In other words, if we live our lives similar to His. Jesus was never too busy to help those in need and to serve. In fact he said…

“The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20.28)

In a day where most in our culture see the church as a user, we will seek to be a giver of life back to the community in which we live. Most churches today are so overscheduled that they don’t have time for the community, only for themselves. We will work diligently to find what has been lost through serving.

Mission

Our core value of mission indicates that we are not just nice, bland people who have a nice church in a nice town. It means that we see ourselves involved in God’s great plan of reaching all peoples with the Good News that Jesus Christ came into the world; He was God; He lived a perfect life, and was killed for our sins and failings. Through faith in Him and simple believing surrender to Him, all peoples can be reunited with the God who made them! Our mission is the same as Jesus’…

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19.10)

“As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” (John 20.21)

Being on mission with God means that we will…

Cooperation with other ministries: Who ever heard of a church that exists to serve and help other churches? Unfortunately, the American church has gotten so “turf-minded” that the only thing many local churches think about is their local church. Yet when the letter to the Corinthian church was written, it was passed around to all believing gatherings in that city. If Paul were to write a letter to the church of Monticello today, which church would receive it? We believe that God sees all gatherings that proclaim Jesus as Lord as equally viable.

“It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached.” (Philippians 1.15-18)

“Teacher,” said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.” “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.” (Mark 9.38-41)

And so we want to work together with other churches. We may choose to worship with another congregation at times. We may partner with another church to do effective children’s or youth ministry. It should not be uncommon for us to lend a hand to another church to help with their work projects or financial needs. Didn’t Paul collect money from the churches he started to help the persecuted church in Jerusalem? These were predominately Gentile churches helping predominately Jewish believers! Talk about cooperation!

“Now about the collection for God’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem.” (1Corinthians 16.1-3)

“This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.” (2 Corinthians 9.12-13)

It’s unbiblical to allow denominational differences to divide and dilute our united proclamation of Jesus as Lord to our community. We can maintain our distinctives (our flavoring) and work together for victory! While there are some doctrinal differences, many of our divisions today are based on preferences and control rather than doctrine.

We want to cooperate and initiate joint ministry with other churches to the community of Monticello. Why do we think that every local group must go out and do its own thing? If there’s no Commander-in-Chief, then certainly each group should be listening to their own generals and hoping that somehow, someway the battle will be coordinated well enough to achieve victory. But we do have a Commander-in-Chief! And He desires his body, the bride of Christ, to work together to expand His kingdom in their geographic area and beyond.

“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” (Ephesians 4.15-16)

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