Vision & Values
Our focus as a church
Our Vision
Growing: Deeper, Closer and Further
Deeper in devotion, closer in community and further in fruitfulness.
We want to:
Grow deeper in personal Holy Spirit filled devotion.
Committing to being Jesus’ disciples, expecting the Holy Spirit to work through us in worship, prayer and through God’s word and its application to our lives.
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Colossians 2: 6-7
Grow closer to each other as we worship together as His kingdom community.
Learning to be effective disciples together through our services, Life Groups and ministry teams.
My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
John 17: 20-21
Grow further in fruitfulness as we shine for God wherever He places us.
Living it out through whole life discipleship, in our individual lives, our ministries and with people we meet.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Acts 1:8
Our Values
Like many churches, we want to express core Jesus-like values as we fulfil our vision to “Grow Deeper, Closer, Further”.
We embrace the Christ taught beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12), the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and many other godly qualities such as justice, righteousness, peace, wisdom, generosity and love as expressed and seen throughout the Bible.
Specifically though, and what makes Elmwood Church unique, is the application of the following six values to our vision. These are the values that determine the culture and define the direction of Elmwood Church.
We want to be a church that is...
Spirit Led
We want to be filled with the Holy Spirit and walk in step with the Spirit’s leading.
We seek to exercise our God-given spiritual gifts to bring glory to Christ.
We are always thirsty for more of what God has for us and acknowledge that nothing is impossible for Him.
Compassionate
We are called to be rooted in Christ’s love and to love others as well as we love ourselves.
We want to demonstrate grace and help those in need.
We want to give everyone a warm welcome, love and care.
Courageous
We are willing to be bold in following God’s call on our lives.
We understand that God’s love in action often requires sacrifice.
We will be prepared to step out in faith to take God initiated risks, be flexible and innovative.
Connected
We want to be anchored to Christ and close to each other.
We seek to relate meaningfully to our immediate community.
We strive to connect with other local churches (and the needs of)the wider world.
Empowering
We want to embrace our uniqueness, gifts and strengths.
We aim to enable every individual to be all that God wants, and do all God wants for them.
We endeavour to identify the role God has called us to.
Joyful
We want to excel in knowing how to celebrate all God is doing in our lives.
We hope to never grow tired of giving Him thanks and praise.
We want to enjoy being together and having fun.