Vision & Values
Just like every family has a "feel of its own," so too every church family "feels" a little different. These differences are due to specific things that are regarded as important in each "family" and the particular things that are given priority in the life of the church (our values). It also has to do with what direction each group is heading in and the manner in which we set out to get there (our vision).
Here is our vision-statement...
The vision of First Love Church is to be a Bible-based, Christ-centered church family where love comes first; which advances the Kingdom of God in the power of the Holy Spirit by saving the lost, maturing and equipping believers and releasing people to repeat this process until the glory of God covers the earth as the waters cover the sea.
To see our vision broken down and further explained please click here.
Following are 3 values that we consider all-important...
LOVE
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
(Matthew 22:36-40)
We believe that God is a God of love (1 John 4:16) and that when His love invades our lives, we respond by loving Him back and by living out His love towards other people. Since Jesus calls this love "The Greatest Commandment" and James calls it "The Royal Law of Love," (James 2:8) we consider love to be the supreme guiding principle in everything we do.
We are building a church based on a passionate love for God, a sincere love for one another and an urgent love for those who do not yet know the love of God! We are building a church where love comes first, hence our name, "First Love Church." We also want to be a church where we never loose the sweetness of our privileged romance with Jesus, our Heavenly Bridegroom (Revelation 2:4).
We believe that true love for God and others is outworked in concrete expressions in our everyday lives. Our love is expressed in our decisions, our priorities and our relationships.
TRUTH
"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
(John 8:32)
"Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth."
(John 17:17)
We believe that God's truth is revealed in His Word, which is the Bible. We hold the Biblical record to be the inspired and authoritative revelation of God which should guide all of our lives. We subject ourselves and also every part of the life of the church to the scrutiny of God's Word and we make whatever adjustments the Word of God may require of us.
We consider the teaching and preaching of the Word of God as essential in the life of the church. We believe that God's people should not be hearers of the Word only, but also doers of it (Matthew 7:24-27; James 1/22-25). Our commitment to the Word of God has to go beyond the areas of our personal preference, as we also embrace those things that are not natural or comfortable for us.
As we see fit, we will run training courses that we feel will benefit the church. These training courses are designed to teach people what the Bible has to say about various topics which are important to understand. These topics include: how the Bible fits together; what the Bible teaches about marriage, parenting, finances and other "life issues"; spiritual gifts; how to defend our faith intelligently; leadership training; etc. For more about Training, click here.
POWER
"Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good."
(1 Corinthians 12/7)
"Does God give you His Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?"
(Galatians 3:5)
We believe that God wants His people to experience His presence in a personal and powerful way! We do not believe that "the age of miracles has passed away" or that God is unreachable. On the contrary, we believe that God wants His people to live a supernatural life, dependent on His presence and power within us.
We believe that the power of God's presence is what the human heart is crying out for. Religion which is devoid of this power is deceptive and meaningless, and the Bible tells us to have nothing to do with it (2 Timothy3:5). God still heals the sick, fills people with His Spirit and sets the captives free. After all, God is by definition a supernatural being and if He is with us and in us, why should it be unthinkable that He does supernatural things?
We give glory to God for many wonderful works of power among the people at First Love Church. He has caused kidney stones to supernaturally disappear, flu symptoms to instantly evaporate, long-term back pains to suddenly go away, lumps to mysteriously vanish and irrational fears to be no more, etc. We believe that God is looking for people who will trust Him to be their source in all things. For more Testimonies, click here.
We also believe that God supernaturally speaks to His people today through gifts of revelation and prophecy. We read about all of this in 1 Corinthians 12 & 14.
When the church meets together, it is our desire to give the Holy Spirit space to do whatever He wants to do. This means that the service does not always go as we expect or plan it to, but it also means that we share in the priceless privilege of seeing God powerfully at work amongst His people and changing lives!
