Castlemaine
Church of Christ
66
Blakeley Road, Castlemaine, 3450.
CORE VALUES
As a church we set out to determine the things that were important to us and to discover those things that shaped who we are and what we stand for. After an extensive discovery process to shape a vision for the future, we found that without first discovering and knowing our core values as a church, we were unable to shape that vision. Below are the value we see as shaping who we are and values that we see as determining our future as we seek to minister in our church and into our community.
WORSHIP
We value WORSHIP as we believe that it is a reflection of our individual and corporate lifestyle. We value Biblical worship as an integral part of our community and of our drawing near to God and as an outward expression of our love and adoration for Jesus as Lord. We believe our worship services must be culturally relevant and must exalt God and inspire people to intimacy with Him. (Romans 12:1)
THE BIBLE
We value the BIBLE and believe it to be the inspired Word of God. We value Biblical teaching as it reveals His plan of redemption and salvation of His creation. We believe the Bible to be the revelation of God’s plan for Godly living and that the integrity and authority of His Word surpasses all tradition and personal preferences of man. We value the Bible for its use in teaching, rebuking, correcting and training. (2Timothy 3:16)
FELLOWSHIP
We value FELLOWSHIP, the unity of believers, and the freedom of all Christians to participate in all church activities and ministries; as well as being welcome to commit to the church in membership. We see the caring for and acceptance of all people as an integral part of our fellowship. (Acts 2:42, Hebrews 10:25)
COMMUNION (Lord’s Supper)
We value COMMUNION whenever believers come together to worship and to remember the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. We value the invitation of Jesus to participate in the Lord’s Supper and that this invitation is extended to all who would call Jesus Lord. We value partaking of the elements as this represents to us the body and the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1Cor. 11:24-26)
PRAYER
We value both individual and corporate PRAYER and we value that through prayer the power of God is released as He intervenes into our circumstances. We believe that God is the same yesterday, today and forever and the power we see released through prayer in the Bible, in the same way is released today by a Sovereign God. We value that we can hear from God as well as commune with Him through prayer.
We value that prayer is the guiding foundation for all that we do. (Hebrews 13:8, James 5:16, Matthew 6:6)
FAMILY
We value FAMILY as we believe that all who confess Jesus as Lord are part of God’s universal family. From a church perspective, we see all regular attenders as being part of the Church Family and we value the provision of quality ministries for every demographic group within the family. We value the need for each one to grow in their faith, knowledge and love of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We value that ‘Family’ means that we are welcoming to all people and that people are overwhelmed by the warmth of our welcome and our love. (Acts 2:42)
MISSION/OUTREACH
We value our desire to see the lost saved and we believe that the lost matter to God and therefore they matter to us. We value our commitment to serve our community and value the calling God places on His church to meet the needs of those around us. We value a commitment to see God’s Church grow locally, nationally and internationally. (Matthew 28:19-20)
HOLY SPIRIT MINISTRY
We value the growth and development of God’s people and we believe that it is the Holy Spirit that empowers each one for ministry and that the same Holy Spirit power that raised Jesus from the dead is present in the Church today. We value the presence of the Holy Spirit in all believers and that when the power of the Spirit is released in a person they are then equipped and gifted for service, to serve the Body of Christ for the glory of God. (Acts 1:8, John 14:16, 17)