Before denominations existed, there was the Kingdom. Before preferences within the church, there was His Presence! Before Jesus ascended to Heaven, He spent 40 days with His disciples. During those 40 days, He spoke to them concerning the Kingdom of God. Above all, Jesus wanted His disciples to focus on and facilitate the Kingdom of God upon the earth. 

CORE VALUE 1: WE WILL BE DECIDEDLY KINGDOM IN THE WAY WE

PROCESS LIFE, RELATIONSHIPS, AND DECISIONS

- ACTS 1

During His last 40 days on earth, Jesus emphasized the necessity of waiting upon His Spirit before attempting to advance the Kingdom. Chapter 2 of Acts opens with the coming of the Spirit. The NT community would now be able to advance the Kingdom by the presence of God in the people of God. 

When Peter addressed the crowd in Acts 2:36-41, He preached on the necessity of Jesus as both Savior and Lord. Peter pointed out that following Jesus required responding to the Lord's word and to His Spirit. The early church understood that there was no salvation apart from Lordship. He is both our Savior and our Lord. 

CORE VALUE 3: WE WILL LIVE UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE LORD

THROUGH INTENTIONAL RESPONSES TO HIS SPIRIT AND WORD

- ACTS 2:36-2:41

In Acts 2:42-43, we see the early New Testament church devoting themselves to the Apostles' teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread, and the prayers. As a result, awe came upon every soul and many signs and wonders were being done. The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Devotion to the Lord cultivated awe which brought about blessing. 

Peter and John were on their way to the temple to worship and to pray. They encountered a man lame from birth, begging for money outside the temple. Peter and John took time to minister to the man's deep need and were used by God to grant him access into God's presence. Peter and John looked beyond the surface and met the need of the lame mans soul. They took time, listened to the Lord, and ministered to an individual. They were used by God to change someone's life.

CORE VALUE 5: WE WILL LIVE AS AMBASSADORS OF ACCESS BY GOING BEYOND THE SURFACE

AND DEALING WITH THE DEEP NEED FOR GOD IN OTHERS

- ACTS 2:46-3:10

When Peter and John recognized that the people were in awe, they made sure to point to God, not themselves. They demonstrated humble confidence in God and offered to the crowd the soul refreshment only God can provide.

CORE VALUE 6: WE WILL EXHIBIT HUMBLE CONFIDENCE IN GOD AND

OFFER OTHERS REFRESHMENT FROM GOD

- ACTS 3:11-26

Peter and John helped their new brother stand in his newly experienced freedom. They helped the no longer lame man to stand up against the enemy and grow in God at the same time. In short, Peter and John stood united with the no longer lame man. We will therefore, as a body of believers, stand together in the Truth of God. We will help one another walk in our identity as God's children.

CORE VALUE 7: WE WILL STAND TOGETHER IN THE TRUTH OF GOD WHILE

HELPING ONE ANOTHER STAND VICTORIOUS IN GOD

- ACTS 4:7-23

In Acts 4:23-31, Peter, John, and the no longer lame man were threatened. Instead of giving in to the enemy, they relinquished their burden to the Lord, requested a continued boldness to speak the word, and received filling from the Spirit to speak with boldness. 

CORE VALUE 8: WE WILL DEMONSTRATE OUR FREEDOM IN GOD BY PRAYERFULLY

LIVING AND SPEAKING THE WORD OF GOD WITH BOLDNESS

- ACTS 4:23-31

The interaction we see of the New Testament community with each other and with the Lord prepared them to encounter God. Their ongoing encounter with God caused them to expect great power in Him and to experience great grace from Him. 

CORE VALUE 9: WE WILL EXPECT TO EXPERIENCE GREAT

POWER AND GREAT GRACE FROM THE LORD

- ACTS 4:31-35

After dealing with an internal issue with Ananias and Sapphire, the Lord restored to the community a proper fear of Him. God's supernatural favor was then upon the New Testament community as they lived in the proper fear of the Lord.

CORE VALUE 10: WE WILL WALK IN THE PROPER FEAR OF THE LORD AND

THUS ENJOY THE ACTUAL FAVOR OF THE LORD

- ACTS 5:11-16

God set the apostles free from prison and told them to stand and speak His word. The enemy told them not to speak. They refused the word of the enemy, heard the word of the Lord, and obeyed the words of this life. 

CORE VALUE 11: WE WILL REFUSE THE ENEMY'S TACTICS THROUGH OBEDIENCE TO AND CONFIDENCE FROM ALL THE "WORDS OF THIS LIFE"

- ACTS 5:16-42

The New Testament community made sure that ministry to souls and the ministry of the word were both taken care of without neglecting either. The combination of serving souls and serving the Lord led to Kingdom blessing. 

CORE VALUE 12: WE WILL APPOINT QUALIFIED SERVANTS TO THE WORK

AND DEVOTE FOCUSED SERVANTS TO THE WORD

- ACTS 6:1-7