Beacon's Core Values

Our Mission

Building people who know, love and serve God...

Knowing God: Preaching the Good News so that men and women will trust in Jesus Christ�and then grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior.

Loving God: For the Christian� life's main pursuit is learning what it means to love God with all of our heart, soul and mind.

Serving God: An outgrowth of knowing and loving God is the desire to serve him. We seek to provide opportunity to do that.

Our Core Values

These are the six value statements that govern what we do as a church:
1. Dependence on God
2. Authority of the Bible
3. The Great Commission
4. The Great Commandment
5. A Commitment to Community
6. EFCA Statement of Faith

Explaining Our Core Values

1. Dependence on God: We are a people completely dependent upon God. Prayer is our lifeline, and is vital to the spiritual health of every believer, every church. Looking to God, and listening for his voice are essential to our being a church that carries out his will.

2. Authority of the Bible: God has spoken, and we hold the Bible to be his written word to man. Therefore it is our authority for life and practice. We teach and preach from the Word� knowing it is God breathed, life giving, and life transforming.

3. The Great Commission: Outlined for us in Matthew 28:16-20. Jesus told his disciples to go and make disciples, teaching them to obey everything he has commanded. As we go through life, we make it our aim to build others up in their faith and share the wonderful news of hope in Christ.

4. The Great Commandment: Outlined for us in Matthew 22:37-40. Jesus sums up the law and prophets in two precise statements; Love God and love your neighbor. A distinguishing mark of the church is love. Our highest priority is to love, worship and serve God�a true love for God will be evidenced in the way we love our fellow man.

5. A Commitment to Community: God in his infinite wisdom chooses to work His eternal purposes through the Christian community, the Church. Through small communities within the Church people experience blessing and strength, receive nurture, guidance and accountability.

6. EFCA Statement of Faith: The 12 point doctrinal statement of the Evangelical Free Church is the creed we hold ourselves accountable to, and by which we are held accountable by our denomination.

What keeps you coming to Church?

It could be Promiseland for your child�maybe it�s because your teen is ministered to by our Youth Group�maybe you like the music�or think the preaching is good�it could be that you feel �home � here. You need more than that. We are so tied into the consumer mentality that it�s hard to break away from it. We tend to view church, and whether or not it is good, by how it benefits us. There are benefits such as I�ve listed that come with involvement in a local church, but that should not be enough to keep you here. And it will not be enough to sustain you in the long run.

Each of us needs to have vision and passion for how the Lord wants to work through us both individually and collectively as a church. There has got to be more than simply what�s in it for me and how does it bless my kids. When we begin to attend a church, we are becoming part of a family. You are investing time, money, energy and heart into this endeavor and we must have an underlying reason or passion for doing so.

As an elder board we have been working through some issues regarding vision and purpose. In one sense, we are not reinventing the wheel. Jesus gives us clear marching orders in Matthew 28:16-20

�Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, �All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.� The Lord has given that directive to every believer and every church for all time.

Here at Beacon, God has brought together a particular people, in a particular locale, for this particular time. We are called to serve him, know him and love him. You�ve probably seen our mission statement �Building people who know, love and serve God.� We believe that�s our call.

We have also written down what we see as the �Core Values� at Beacon. These are values that as leaders we live by, and we believe are essential to building a healthy church. We�ve put these values into a concise form�they are the �non-negotiables� of ministry�they help us to steer the course. Beyond these values we have a vision statement that sums up what we are believing will happen in the weeks and years to come.

Our vision is �A church on the move�bringing people fully alive in Jesus.� �A Church on the move��are we moving? Not necessarily�We believe God has called us to this area. We expect God to grow us�that will involve change and a willingness to do whatever he asks. �On the move�� indicates we are willing to grow, try new ministries, take risks, and adapt to what and who the Lord brings our way.

�bringing people fully alive in Jesus�� A man or woman is not fully alive unless they are living under the control of the Spirit of God, praying continually, and growing in God�s grace. Our goal is to see people experiencing life �to the full�� (John 10:10). This involves an awareness that we are constantly at war with the evil one � the first part of John 10:10 states �the thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy.� The battle is real, the evil one desires to destroy, derail and render us useless in this life. In order to live well and fully alive we must keep our eyes on Jesus The goal is a people who worship the Lord 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is not burdensome�this brings life! Jesus also said �whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.� The directives in Scripture to �pray without ceasing�

(1 Thessalonians 5:17) , �be filled with the spirit (Ephesians 5:18)�, �deny ourselves�and follow Christ� (Luke 9:23)�and so many more speak to the fact that he wants our attention all the time. As we look to him� �in all our ways�� (Proverbs 3:4,5) it is there that we walk fully alive in Jesus.

Our vision is to bring people to that place where they wait on him, devote themselves to prayer, listen for his voice, and are indeed fully alive as God desires. This type of people make a church that will be on the move�contagious�bringing others to a saving knowledge of God�sacrificing for His glory, and truly alive.

In order to press on�each of us needs to have a clear vision before us. Seeing that vision happen will involve a godly discipline, grace, and a heart that is willing to surrender to the purposes of God. My prayer for you�for me�is that we, by the power of God�s spirit, live each day fully alive in Christ.