Epiphany Guiding Principles continued ...

We exist for God's mission to and for the world. We do not exist for ourselves. Mission is not something that we do among a menu of activities.  We are God's mission.

When we proclaim, "The gifts of God are free," we truly mean free for all.

We take seriously the words of Jesus adn the scriptures thta with God all things are possible. This is not triumphaslism, and it is not a belief in ourselves. It is a belief in God, who is able to bring life and light to all situations. Thus, we are a gongregation who takes risks to fulfill God's mission and vision for us.

Because the idolatry of wealth is totally pervasive in our world, we must lift up generous biblical financial stewardship as essential to discipleship. We take seriously the words of Jesus, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:21)

We celebrate change,growth, and transformatiion. We do not fear them.

Because God's mission and vision for this congregation belongs to all of us, the work of mission and ministry teams, mission spending, the state of our finances and stewardship, and decision-making processes must be wisely transparent.

In mission and ministry, we value permission-giving structures of congregational leadership rather than approval-seeking.

When conflict occurs, we follow Matthew 18:15-20 as a guide to resolution, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

As an authentic congregation in Christ, we hold each other accountable to speech and actions that build up this body of Christ and foster respect and love for all.

We do not take ourselves too seriously, but we take the claim, "He is risen!" with ultimate seriousness.

We believe that a congregation that is grasped by the Gospel of God exhibits the fruit of the Spirit in its life together: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faighfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We also believe that lots of laughter and humiity should mark our life together.