who we are: values
God has called his people in every age to certain core values arising out of biblical principles. At the same time, God has been uniquely calling and shaping Alexandria Covenant Church for the community, world, and times we live in. As we experience God's Spirit drawing us together, our values include:
Expressing the Good News of Jesus to others:
Sharing Christ because people matter to God.
- You matter to God!--so much so that God sent his only Son Jesus into the world so that "whoever believes in him will not perish because of their sin, but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
- God continues to seek and save lost people (Luke 15), and entrusts us to be the hands and feet of Jesus in sharing his Good News with others--in our church building, in our community, and around the world.
Enfolding people into the family of God:
Connecting to a compelling Christian community.
- We warmly welcome you no matter what stage of your spiritual journey you find yourself in. We want the quality of our lives and love to be so compelling that you will encounter the living Christ among us--and that you, too, will trust Christ and be "adopted" into God's family.
- We value small groups and teams where you can be known and can get to know others, recognizing that 'the bigger we become the smaller (more intimate) we must become.'
- We also value the youngest, oldest and those least able to care for themselves — and will provide a safe and secure environment for you.
Encouraging one another:
Growing to know and imitate Christ.
- We value strong and comprehensive instruction in God’s Word for all ages and stages of faith evelopment. Our goal is to help you grow into Christ (Ephesians 4:13,15). Recognizing the Holy Spirit’s presence in the life of every believer, we will encourage you and help “fan into flame” the Spirit’s gifting in your life (1 Thessalonians 5:11; 2 Timothy 1:6).
- Because spiritual maturity is demonstrated through the quality of our relationships with one another, we will respond to God’s call to “carry each other’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2), “confess [our] sins to each other and pray for each other” (James 5:16), “[speak] the truth in love” to one another (Ephesians 4:15), and above all, to “love each other deeply, because love…covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).
Equipping disciples:
Developing devoted Jesus-followers for ministry and mission.
- We obey our Lord as he calls us to “make disciples…baptizing them…and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). And we desire to follow Jesus’ call to feed hungry people, welcome strangers, provide clothing, look after those who are sick, and visit those in prison (Matthew 25:35-36).
- We value our pastoral leaders as they “prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” in unity, maturity and fullness in Christ (Ephesians 4:11-13).
- We seek to develop “reliable people, who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Timothy 2:2) and will instruct our younger generations in the love, knowledge and ways of God so that “the next generation will know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children” (Psalm 78:6).
Exalting God:
Worshipping God as our created and eternal destiny.
- We understand worship as the surrender of our whole lives in service to God (Romans 12:2).
- God delights in “a broken spirit and a contrite heart” (Psalm 51:17); God also desires for us to come to Him in confidence as his adopted children and heirs of our Father God through Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:14-16).
- We value prayer. We want to be people who talk and listen to God often, about everything. Believing God is still at work in the world (John 5:17), we watch to see what God is doing and are eager to join him in his work.
- Worship is also a specific activity as God’s gathered people, in which we bring God the glory due his name (Psalm 29:2). In worship we celebrate what God has done for us through Jesus Christ, which involves “telling the story” of God’s work in the Scriptures and in our daily lives. From the beginning, God created us to worship Him. Because one day “every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11), in worship we’re rehearsing for our eternal destiny.