Cumberland Valley Church
Mission Statement and Core Values
(expanded version)

Mission
“Following Jesus. Serving Together. Loving All"

Core Values - Flowing from our Mission
“Following Jesus”:

Relationship – We value the joy of being loved by God and loving him in return, knowing that this love-relationship is most fully experienced through knowing Jesus.

It is through the life, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus that we recognize our need for Him and encounter him - and in that encounter he invites us to a daily life full of prayer, trust, joy and obedience. To follow him is what we have been created for. We value the Bible as God’s voice of love to his people throughout the centuries, and we value times of gathered worship when we meet with Him for his glory and our deepest satisfaction.

Grace – We value God’s lavish and costly love to us – a love we don’t have to earn and through which we are forgiven, understood, accepted and empowered.

Grace strips us of our pride, of our need to impress God, of our need to perform or be perfect for him. It is appropriated simply by our humble and repentant faith, and it brings us the gift of freedom. Grace recognizes our inherent worth as loved image-bearers of God, especially when we fall, fail, hurt or lose our way for a time. We value Jesus as God’s clearest expression of grace to us.

Transformation – We value being changed into Jesus’ likeness in every dimension of our being by the work of the Holy Spirit in us.

As we progressively and deliberately surrender to God’s loving purposes for us in every sphere and experience of life, our desires, beliefs, speech, behavior and soul are transformed. This transformation is marked by such qualities as love, joy, peace, humility, faith, kindness, generosity, contentment, living simply, reconciliation, love towards enemies, courage, sexual purity and self-control – all marks of Jesus’ kingdom on earth.

“Serving Together”:

Community – We value spiritual relationships that support each another in our journey to know the fullness of God’s love.

We need each other as spiritual family to help meet our spiritual, emotional, social, and physical needs as the people of God. This can happen to some degree in large worship/teaching settings, but we believe it also requires small groups and one-to-one conversations that are intentional about loving and being loved. We seek to be inclusive of all ages, marital statuses and socio-economic experiences and welcome the hurting and questioning. We also value our diversity as an important means of knowing God, others and ourselves as we use our different cultures, experiences, passions and abilities for God’s glory and the good of each other, with each one doing his or her part.

Authenticity – We value relationships that are real, open and safe, and that mirror the gracious way God relates to us.

Authenticity means not hiding behind our fears and insecurities, and it means fostering an atmosphere of acceptance and nonjudgmental attitudes so that, together, we can share our brokenness, our struggles with sin, and our search for truth – with the hope of moving towards wholeness and God.

Family – We value God’s purposes for the family – to display his transforming love in the midst of vulnerable, intimate living, and to spread his kingdom through family growth.

In this setting husbands and wives, parents and children, and siblings learn to live a daily, dependent faith marked by heart-change and sacrificial love – a love that acts in the best interests of all, but must start in our families. We are committed to supporting these relationships at all levels, recognizing that many experience pain where God intends joy.

“Loving All”:

Compassion – We value all people as made in the image of God and accept our responsibility and privilege to meet their needs as we are able.

We are God’s hands, feet and voice to people near and far from us. We are called to feel what they feel and to bring tangible hope to them according to our ability. Our first response to the physical, emotional and spiritual needs around us is to those in the church, and then to the most needy in the world. With Jesus as our model and source, we sacrificially give of our time, money, tangible resources and skills to the oppressed, helpless and hurting.

Redemption – We value being part of God’s transforming heart in the world, where we help turn people, structures, ideas and values from self-centeredness and worldliness to God.

One primary way we do this is through our vocations – in both the product of our work and in the attitudes and relationships surrounding our work – because we work first for God and secondly for employers. We also accept our calling to bring God’s darkness-shattering light to entertainment, sports, arts, media, music, politics, business and the family; this will include conflict situations where we will pursue peace through understanding, forgiveness, and reconciliation with all.

Outreach – We value the good news (gospel) of Jesus and we want people everywhere to know him and experience the life-changing salvation that comes through him.

We are called to share the truth and love of Jesus with the people in our sphere of influence through authentic friendships. We will lovingly invest in people’s lives, and we will invite people into settings, relationships and discussions so that they will have the clear opportunity to enter a love-relationship with Jesus and life in him. Also, through our money, prayer, relational support and missions activity, we will spread this news to people near and far, crossing every cultural barrier as necessary, for their joy and the glory of God!

  May 2, 2011