Centrality of God’s Word
(2 Timothy 3:16) We are committed to a proclamation of God’s Word that is clear, theologically sound and communicated in a relevant and practical way. The end result of our proclamation is people who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and are eager to please God by applying His Word to every area of life.
Passionate Spirituality (Philippians 4:13)
We recognize that it is only the presence and power of the Holy Spirit that enables us to live obedient, transformed lives.
Fruitful Evangelism (Romans 1:16)
We are driven to reach our neighborhoods, our nation and our world with the gospel of Jesus Christ regardless of racial, economic or political barriers. The budgets, programs and leaders of our church reflect a high commitment to outreach and evangelism, both locally and worldwide. Significant numerical growth through evangelism is an expected outcome of this commitment.
Humble Worship (John 4:24)
Worship will reflect our desire to discover and do what pleases God as we seek to submit to His desires. And though human needs and desires are taken into consideration, these are kept surrendered to the Lord through our local leadership.
Mission and Vision Driven (James 4:13-17)
Our congregations must have a clear sense of God’s mission and a compelling vision for the future that is communicated clearly to all members and that drives their programs, budget, personnel and priorities. We need church structures that facilitate mission and vision. A willingness to change and take risks are crucial to ongoing effectiveness for local church ministry.
Leadership Development (1 Timothy 3:1-10)
We are committed to intentional leadership development and the exercise of the leadership gifts. We desire that trained, godly individuals who are spiritually mature lead our local congregations. We desire to see mature leaders deployed in full time vocational ministry as workers for the harvest.
Church Planting (Acts 1:8)
Healthy congregations are committed to reproducing themselves. We have a vision for planting or facilitating the planting of churches in our community, district, our world. Believing that God desires the EFCA to reflect the economic and ethnic diversity of our nation, we will be intentional in planting churches among all people who make up our nation and our world.
Financial Stewardship (Luke 16:11)
Our churches must be financially strong through ongoing stewardship education and the challenging of our congregations to make sacrificial investments in eternity through regular and special gifts. Our teaching must address the issue of money and possessions in a biblical, relevant, and practical way. Our congregations must adopt God’s heart for the poor, disadvantaged and needy in the allocation of available resources.
Intentional Disciple-making (Matthew 28:19-20)
Intentional disciple-making processes to the next level of spiritual maturity must be built into the fabric of every local church. These disciple-making pathways must be able to take a majority of local church members from new life in Christ to spiritual maturity. We have a commitment to see each member of our congregations using their special gift(s) within and beyond the local church.
Loving Relationships (Hebrews 10:25)
Recognizing that all people are made in God’s image and are loved by Him, we believe that our churches must reach across social, economic and racial lines with practical acts of love within the church and the community – with special care for the needy, forgotten and defenseless. We also believe our churches must be characterized by believers who are committed to the reconciliation of relationships among all people. Within the local church, loving relationships produce unity, accountability and a powerful demonstration of God’s presence within our communities.
Prayer (Philippians 4:6-7)
The prayer lives of our congregations reflect a total dependence upon God. Experiencing God and following Him are hallmarks of our ministries.