C ommunity The early church had a great sense of connectedness. They met each other’s needs. They gave sacrificially and they exemplified what it truly means to be the BODY of Christ. At Encounter we will do everything we can to foster a spirit of unity and peace. We will guard our unity by addressing division quickly. We will teach and preach on the importance of not gossiping and forgiving quickly. If we will humbly focus our energy on “THE” truth and not “OUR” truth unity is possible. We want to create space where people can connect. We do this at our service by setting up the Encounter Café, though we realize that the best connection happens outside the service. We challenge everyone to join a home small groups where authentic relationships can be developed. In addition, at least one event a month we have an event where we can just hang out and enjoy being with our church family.

O rganization Every church has some level of organization. Paul encourages the church at Colossi with these words, “Colossians 2:5 I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are…” The early church had a structure. They met in homes and in the temple courts. They met in large groups and small groups. This will be our organization. Everything we do will be aimed at moving people from the large group of the worship service to the small groups that meet in a home. In addition, we will always be asking ourselves if our plans and methods are God’s leading. We will also constantly evaluate our ministry. All programs need adjustment over time and in fact some programs need to be terminated. We have to ask – is this structure doing what it was set out to do?

M obilization Mobilization is about leaders leading and followers following. In the early church we see the apostles following God and the people following the apostles. We don’t have apostles today, but we do have God ordained leaders. Ephesians chapter 4 informs us that God gave leadership gifts to the church, “for the equipping of the saints for service.” Leadership is not just about leaders doing work, it is really about helping every Christian get in the game of ministry. In addition, we see in passages such as Romans 12, that God gave gifts to the church. In a new church it is important at first for volunteers to jump in and help where needed. As the church grows however, we will continue to develop our ability to get believers serving within their giftedness

P ractical Teaching Acts 2:42 declares the early church was devoted to the apostles teaching. In the following verses we see the life transforming power of the word. When the truth of God’s word intersects with the practical areas of everyday life – transformation is just around the corner! At Encounter we believe that God’s word goes way beyond theory. The Bible is more than some ancient text book. It is as relevant as this mornings newspaper! We will always strive to teach God’s word in light of heartfelt needs.

A we-filled Worship Of course the early church worshiped each week together as a body. The questions is – what did they do and what was significant about their worship. Unfortunately, we don’t have a crystal clear picture of a first century worship service. But Acts chapter two keys us in on the spiritual climate…”Everyone was filled with awe.” At Encounter we believe that each worship service should lift up the believer. Worship, by definition, is our continuous outpouring to God. This includes a lifestyle of worship (Rom. 12:2) and our private worship (Matthew 6). We truly believe when those who are continuously worshiping God in everything they do come together to honor the almighty, worship will be awe-filled. So instead of a certain worship style as our chief goal, we honestly just want to see believers lifted, seekers challenged and God exalted.

S pirit Led There are only four things that Acts 2:42 mentions as being a foundation of the early church and one of them is prayer. They understood something many have forgotten today – the Holy Spirit of God is ready and waiting to move to our prayers. There are many things we simply cannot do. In addition, God is diligent to teach us dependence on him. He wants us to know it is His power that makes things move. At Encounter we do not begin our staff meetings with a bunch of great ideas and conclude by asking God to bless them. We being by asking God to fill our minds with His leading and His Spirit’s direction. Then we follow His lead! This mindset will filter down to every aspect of the Church!

S ervant Evangelism Any church on mission with God is going to have evangelism as a core value. But when we read Acts chapter two we don’t see a minister of evangelism. We don’t see crafty evangelistic programs. We simply see Christians living out their faith and serving others. What if the secret to connecting with lost and hurting people were that easy? I believe it is! The people of the first century are not so different from people today. When the new idea of Christianity was being introduced there had to be some reason for people to leave the ideas of God and religion they grew up with and follow this new teaching. What would be powerful enough to initiate this conversion? When people see lives being changed and understand that someone cares about them enough to meet emotional and physical needs – they will also be open to having their spiritual needs met. At Encounter we want to help the addicted, lonely, abused, hungry and weary. When they see God’s love through us – they will want what we have.

Core Values are like a compass they give us direction.

Community

Organization

Mobilization

Practical Teaching

Awe-filled Worship

Spirit Led

Servant Evangelism