CORE VALUES FLUSHED OUT

Yesterday I wrote about brainstorming our core values and how we processed them with our team.  A while back I wrote about how I was no longer interested in asking my volunteers to sign a commitment of behaviors.  I want them to sign onto values and beliefs that necessitate certain behaviors and rule out others.

So we flushed out with our generation ministries staff team (those working with infants thru 29 yr olds) a set of statements that we then boiled down to 9 words and then expanded again in a few sentences for clarity.  Here's what we're asking our generation ministries volunteers to stack hands on this fall.  It's still in process and may continue to be word-smithed, but here's what we've come up with so far.  If you haven't wrestled with why you do what you do in a while, maybe this will spur you on to ponder it and create your own set of ministry values to rally your team around.

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TRINITY  
We believe and teach the Biblical truth that God is mysteriously triune.  We embrace the plan of the Father, the sacrifice and example of Jesus, and encourage obedience and attention to the voice of the Holy Spirit.  Our love for God is our primary motivation and our first loyalty.

JOURNEY
We are a unified body, supportive of, and integral with the work God is doing in and through the greater community of Jesus followers and the local body at JCC.  It is mission critical that we are supportive of all JCC ministries, attending weekend adult services, and are invested in a common vision.

COMPASSION
We are a grace filled community, accepting failure as part of the learning process and loving others before ourselves.  Understanding we are all in process and there is no fast track to discipleship, we humbly listen to one another and work together to become who God is calling us to be.

ENCOURAGEMENT
We strive to create spaces that reflect a positive attitude and seek opportunities to cheer one another on in our pursuit of Christlikeness.

LAUGHTER
Loving God is not a burden.  Laughter is good for the body and the soul and a gift from God.  We work to creatively and intentionally create spaces for joy and laughter.

RELEVANCY
We teach and interact in age appropriate ways.  We seek to be relevant in all ways in our teaching methods and plans, encouraging this generation to learn how to think intelligently about the intersection of faith and daily life.  In this, we want to teach them how to think first, learning what that changes second.

COMMUNICATION
We value regular communication.  We don’t bury our problems or ignore our responsibilities.  We strive to communicate clearly and graciously with one another as we address conflict and cast vision.  We are committed to mutual accountability and authenticity, talking directly to one another and avoiding gossip.

OWNERSHIP 
We own this ministry as a part of our calling from God.  We are committed to what we say we will do, regularly showing up and performing our responsibilities in a God-honoring way.

SAFETY
We believe it is our responsibility to create spaces that are both physically safe from predators and unnecessary risk, but also spiritually safe spaces where all phases of spiritual development are encouraged.