Mission and Values
I. MissionRiverLakes Community Church is a body of believers called to glorify God by declaring the gospel, maturing believers and giving our lives away for Jesus Christ’s sake.
II. Core Values
Seven core values are the essential elements of what we believe, who we are, and what we do at RiverLakes Community Church. We believe these values reflect the very heart of God and His design for the life and practice of His church.
1. God’s Word (II Tim.3:16; Heb.4:12; Col.1:28; ; 1Cor. 2:1-5)
We are a people who believe the Bible is God’s Word and, therefore, it is absolutely true and has authority over our lives in faith and in practice. God has ordained the preaching and teaching of His Word for the building up of His church and the maturity of His people, and therefore, we teach the Bible boldly, accurately, and relevantly in all ministries.
2. Community (Acts 2:42-47; Ephesians 4:1-6; Hebrews 10:24-25)
We are a people who practice genuine biblical community by living in caring relationships guided by biblical truth and grounded in spiritual accountability. We know that real and lasting spiritual transformation and life change occurs best in the context of authentic relationships. We are one in Christ and we desire for our relationships to reflect the unity we have in Him.
3. Prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17; Philippians 4:6; Heb.4:16)
We are a people who are utterly dependent upon God and believe that God answers the prayers of His people. Throughout the life of Jesus and in the life of the early church, prayer was both a necessity and a priority. God uses prayer as a means to accomplish His will in this world, and we desire to be a people who express our trust in and dependence on God in prayer.
4. Love (1 John 3:16, 17; John 17:26; 1 John 4:7-12; 1Cor. 13:1-8; Matt.22:37-39)
We are a people who have been transformed by God’s love for us and who desire to exemplify that love to the world in which we live. Jesus demonstrated that the most influential life is a life of sacrificial love and service. In the words of Mark’s gospel, Jesus “came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” We love by serving and by considering others as more important than ourselves. We believe that we will influence the world for Christ when, resting in, and responding to His great love, we extend that love through our own hands and feet in acts of service to others.
5. Holiness (1 Peter 1:15; Col.1:10; Eph. 4:1)
We are a people committed to purity and Christlikeness in our thinking, speech, and actions. A main attribute of God is His holiness, and He expects His people to walk in integrity. The Bible mandates that we are called to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord”. We believe this means that our lifestyle at church, work, play, home and in our community is to exemplify the biblical standards of God.
6. Faith ( 2 Corinthians 5:7; Proverbs 3:5, 6; Heb. 11:6; Gal.2:20)
We are a people called by God to live by faith in Him. By this we understand that following Christ requires dependence on Him and His wisdom, rather than our own. The Bible is clear that without faith it is impossible to please God. We endeavor to rely on God alone for our future, living by faith as we entrust ourselves and our church to the living God.
7. Evangelism (Matthew 28:19, 20; Acts 1:8; 1 Thessalonians 1:5; John 17:18)
We are a people who are passionate about proclaiming the gospel of salvation to lost people in our own community and to all the world. God left us here on earth to make His name great and one of the ways we do that is by sharing the good news of the gospel with people who do not know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. We evangelize through the preaching of God’s Word, through living lives that honor God, through missions, and through divine appointments orchestrated by God in our daily lives. Our calling is to know the gospel and to be both eager and prepared to share it.
