Core Values

We talked about the "core values" of our church today in staff meeting. In September, I will be presenting a teaching on the subject of what we believe are the core values of Stone Church.

What are Core Values?

The core values of a church are those values we hold which form the foundation on which we do ministry and conduct ourselves. We have an entire sphere of biblical values, but some of them are so primary, so important to us that through out the changes in society, government, politics, and technology they are STILL the core values we will abide by.

In an ever-changing world, core values are constant. Core values are not descriptions of the work we do or the strategies we employ to accomplish our mission. The values underlie our work, how interact with each other, and which strategies we employ to fulfill our mission. The core values are the basic elements of how we go about our ministry. They are the practices we use (or should be using) every day in everything we do.

CORE VALUES:

Govern personal relationships
Guide ministry processes
Clarify who we are
Articulate what we stand for
Help explain why we do ministry the way we do
Guide us on how to teach
Inform us on how to reward
Guide us in making decisions
Underpin the whole organization
Require no external justification

Essential tenets

CORE VALUES ARE NOT:

Operating practices
Ministry strategies
Cultural norms
Competencies
Changed in response to demographic changes
Used individually

Question: what would you consider to be the "core values" of Stone Church?