The Values that Make our Gatherings Tick
Simply faithful in our Devotion.
In one of the first churches as described in Acts 2, believers devoted themselves to studying God’s word, prayer, sharing a meal, and fellowship. God blessed them with spiritual vitality. No pastor, church, or small group can manufacture the fruit of discipleship. That is the work of the Spirit. We are simply faithful in our devotion.
A gathering centered on Jesus and becoming more like Him.
Our worship gathering is always open to everyone, but not for everyone. Struggles and victories with sin, confession and reconciliation, encouragement, prayer, accountability, and the practice of Christian disciplines are part of what we do, but we won’t make you do it. We trust Jesus is present at all points of
We have Jesus in Common.
We lament the things that divide us, and desire conversations around difficult topics to be full of grace and truth.
We are attentive to the two times Jesus addresses us, “the church” directly:
- In Matthew 18 Jesus says that if a brother or sister causes hurt we are to go to them and let them know. Jesus also taught us to both offer and ask for forgiveness.
- In Matthew 16, Jesus describes the church as an army that has left its own city to storm the gates of hell, and Jesus promises that this army of love will prevail. We love our gatherings but they themselves are not the goal. We are a church among our neighbors, witnessing to Christ through our lives, friendships, and serving others at their point of need.
Christ-Centered friendship.
We value “continuing the conversation.” Our worship includes a meal. Our mature Christians will seek out our young people in age and in heart to talk about their lives and faith. Some of us meet in homes during the week. We are all encouraged to make invitations for meals, coffee, swimming, fun outings, etc.
We are institutionally simple and spiritually rich.
For more on the core values of our larger church network, the Brethren in Christ, go to https://bicus.org/about/what-we-believe/core-values/