New Passion Church: Foundations Part 3

There are a lot of churches who have “Core Values” to describe the essentials of what they value as a church. One of the core values for The Church @ the Springs as an example is “Growing Larger and Smaller at the Same Time: We Value Small Groups.” At New Passion, we call our Core Values, our HEART. This is what we are passionate about. These are the things that we hope to drive us forward as people and as a church. If we do not live by these values as individuals, it will not work in a corporate worship environment. Below is New Passion’s HEART in detail…

H – Have Intimacy with God: Christianity is a personal relationship with our Creator, God. It is not a religion with a set list of rules to follow. God wants his followers to have an intimate, personal relationship with him, because he loves us. God sought out a relationship with Adam and Eve, he walked with them in the garden and spoke with them personally. That relationship was broken with sin and all through history and Scripture there has been one constant, God has pursued and provided redemption for his people.

E – Embrace Faith Bigger than Ourselves: Whether someone is outside the faith or a long time believer, we must constantly embrace a faith that is bigger than ourselves. For the person outside of Christianity, embracing a faith larger than themselves may be receiving the gift of salvation and making a decision to follow Christ. For the Christian, embracing a faith larger than themselves may be starting a new ministry, taking a missions trip, or starting a small group in their home. Christianity is a life of faith and if we are not being stretched in that faith, typically we are comfortable and living a faith life that is too safe.

A – Authentic Relationships through Genuine Community: For some churches relationships are programmed and organized. We believe that relationships within the church and outside the church have to be organic and real. Authenticity comes by having an open environment where people can simply be themselves. When people feel they have to put a mask on to fit in with certain groups of people, that’s not real. We desire that people come to New Passion and feel comfortable being who God made them to be.

R – Revolutionary Change through Local and Global Influence: Christ has given us every gift, talent, and ability needed to change the world through the Gospel. We have not been called to a faith life to sit and do nothing. We’ve been called to a life of passion and a life of action to make a difference in the lives of other people. New Passion will seek out those who need the love of Christ both physically and spiritually and meet those needs. Whether as individual believers, through community groups, as the entire corporate church, or whether partnering with other churches and organizations, we will see revolutionary change through our local and global influence.

T – Transform Lives by Pursuing Jesus: The bottom line is that the closer we get to Jesus the more our lives change. At the moment of salvation we are given new life, the more we walk in that new life with Jesus, the more like him we become. The more like Jesus we become, the more lives we see transformed around us. Life change produces life change and it is a continual process. Following a set of rules will never produce lasting life change. Allowing the life of Christ to work in our lives will. We believe that lives are changed through the Gospel of Jesus Christ and once our lives are changed, it is our calling to deliever the Gospel to those around us. At New Passion, we seek to pursue Jesus with our lives.