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    Core Values

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    Our Core Values

    starfish64Gospel-Centered – Jesus is the hope of the world—the Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer, and Reconciler of everything. We are committed to living out and promoting the Lordship of Christ and the advancement of His Kingdom. Jesus is God’s Son sent forth as the payment for the sin of humanity (Romans 6:23), the only way to God (John 14:6), and the mediator between God and men (1 Timothy 2:5). He is before all things and by him all things consist (Colossians 1:15-19). A personal relationship with Jesus Christ is not only essential to our holistic well-being; it’s the determinative of life and death.

    starfish64Next Generation – They are the future! It’s been said that it’s easier to build a boy than to mend a man. Consistent research has shown that upwards to 75% of those who come to faith in Jesus Christ make that life-changing decision before the age of eighteen. Adults (ages 19 through death) have only a 6% probability of ever making that faith-decision. We understand the urgency of reaching young people with the Gospel before they become hardened and desensitized to its life-giving message. We give ourselves relentlessly, and invest immensely, in reaching the next generation of youth for Christ. Eternity hangs in the balance!

    starfish64Holistic – Spiritual growth capacity is deepened by developing the whole person. We seek to strengthen young people’s spirit, mind, body and soul. We seek to empower young people to become responsible contributors to society by equipping them spiritually, socially, emotionally, interpersonally, vocationally, and by developing valuable life skills.

    starfish64Relational – We do not create events and programs in isolation. We create long-term impact by being relational, accessible, grassroots-empowering, servant leaders in all of our ministry endeavors. Relationships are at the core of every one of our initiatives.

    starfish64Justice Seeking – We believe that the Gospel satisfies all aspects of justice. Though the word “justice” may be divisive due to different cultural, political, and social interpretations of the word, the pure biblical doctrine of justice should mark every true follower of Jesus. We believe that Christ followers should be active agents of change in society by caring for and serving those who are impoverished, imprisoned, oppressed, abused, orphaned, at-risk, underprivileged, underserved, or marginalized (Deut. 10:17-19, Deut. 15:7-11, Prov. 19:17, Micah 6:8, I John 3:17, James 1:27). We give ourselves compassionately to championing the social, spiritiual, and physical needs of the “least of these” that Jesus referred to in Matthew 25.

    starfish64Empowered Lives – Not just a hand out, but a hand up! Poverty alleviation isn’t merely meeting a material need, it’s the ministry of reconciliation: moving people closer to glorifying God by living in right relationship with God, with self, with others, and with the rest of creation. We seek to empower others by reconciling these four foundational relationships so that impoverished lives can grow into self-sustained, responsible contributors in their homes and their communities.

    starfish64Collaborative – Regardless of size, no ONE organization can exclusively bring the kind of abundant Gospel fluency Jesus longs to bring to our cities. Through partnerships, we best witness the unity that Christ prayed for (John 17) and demonstrate to the world that God’s agenda is much bigger than our particular organization’s agenda. Our outreach strategy creates collaboration and partnership between churches, community leaders, schools, advocacy groups, and faith-based organizations both locally and globally.

    starfish64The Local Church – We recognize the essential role of the local church in God’s restorative plan, and that unique missionary forms of the Church are equally essential. Throughout the New Testament, care of the poor is a vital concern of the church (Matt. 25:31–46; Acts 6:1–7; Gal. 2:1–10; 6:10; James 1:27, 1 John 3:16-18). The church is the body, bride, and very fullness of Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:18–23; 4:7–13; 5:32). When people look at the church, they should see the very embodiment of the One who declared—in word and in deed to the leper, the lame, and the poor—that His kingdom is bringing healing to every speck of the universe. The task of the church from the very beginning was to embody Jesus Christ by doing what He did (Luke 4:18-19) and what He continues to do through us: declare—using both words and deeds—that Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords who is bringing in a kingdom of righteousness, justice, and peace. We are ambassadors of the Gospel, championing the local church and church planting movements through a myriad of missional expressions among the underserved, the unreached, and the gospel-destitute.