In case you missed any of our series the last few days, here is a summary of what we talked about. Click on the core value and you’ll be taken directly to the page with an explanation of that core value.

Freedom Ridge Core Values

1. everyone is welcome

2. Bible application

3. be culturally relevant

4. enjoy life

5. knowing God

6. micro-missions

Today we finish up our series on the Freedom Ridge Core Values. I hope you have enjoyed it and it helps you have a good understanding of the heart and mission of Freedom Ridge: love God, love people, change the world.

Yesterday I said this last core value would make a huge difference in your life. It’ll take a commitment on your part, but it will be well worth it. Our final core value …

6. micro-missions

As you can tell from our mission statement, we are based on the Great Commandment (“love God with everything you’ve got, and love your neighbor as yourself.”) I want Freedom Ridge to be known as a church that reaches out to people and ministers to them in practical, tangible, discernible ways. This is not to make us look good or feel good about ourselves, but is driven by our love for our neighbors and desire to follow the Great Commandment. The great thing about micro-missions is we can do them as a church or you can do them as individuals.

Every time you take part in service projects in the area, or serve someone in your neighborhood or at your job, or go on short-term mission trips, or even the simple act of bringing someone to Freedom Ridge with you, when you do these things you are taking part in micro-missions. We’ll even do something as crazy as canceling services on a weekend and have an organized time of community service.

Simply put, when you reach out to someone in order to demonstrate the love of Jesus to them, then you are taking part in micro-missions.

We believe that the life we live and know at Freedom Ridge is to be shared with everyone! So let’s get after it!

We’ve got two more core values to cover in this series. So far we’ve looked at (1) everyone is welcome, (2) Bible application, (3) be culturally relevant, and (4) enjoy life. Don’t take yourself so seriously.

All these core values will help us fulfill our mission: love God, love people, change the world. Today, we look at one that is the foundation of all that we do. It makes it all possible, and it’s a no-brainer. Today’s core value …

5. knowing God

It’s amazing that the creator of the universe wants us to know him, and he made it all possible through Jesus Christ. 1 Timothy 2 tells us “God wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus …”

We will place a priority on helping people to know God. We realize that life is a spiritual journey and everyone of us are at different spots on our journey, so we won’t compare ourselves to each other. But we will encourage people to progress a little further each day, each week, and each month in their journey of knowing God.

Our weekend services, small groups, and service projects, coupled along with personal devotions, will help people in their journey of knowing God. Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God with everything you’ve got. It’s hard to love him if you don’t know him.

Tomorrow we’ll discuss our last core value that goes right along with Jesus’ statement, “It is better to give than receive.” Don’t worry, it’s not about money and I promise you it will make a huuuge difference in your life.

We are now halfway through our series of looking at the core values that define who we are at Freedom Ridge. Our core values enhance and clarify our mission: love God, love people, change the world. So far we have looked at (1) everyone is welcome, (2) Bible application, and (3) be culturally relevant. We want to reach the current and next generation for Jesus.

The core value we will cover today has to do with Freedom Ridge as a whole and Freedom Ridgers as individuals. Today’s core value is:

4. enjoy life

Too many people equate church with boredom, rituals, or being just for pansies. They think that church is a waste of time and only for the weak; that it is stuffy and serious, and if you are having fun then you aren’t being a good Christian. When Jesus came to this earth, he came with the mission to provide freedom from religion and freedom of life to anyone who would choose to accept him. He even said “I have come so you might have life, and have it abundantly.”

We’re pretty sure that Jesus has a sense of humor. At Freedom Ridge we want people to know it is OK to have fun and it is OK to laugh … even in church! We’ll have regular events with the sole purpose of having fun just to spread the joy.

Tomorrow we’ll hit the core value that’s the foundation of all we’ve talked about so far. Until then, smile.

The core values we have covered so far this week are (1) everyone is welcome and (2) Bible application. These help define our mission: love God, love people, change the world. Yesterday I told you that this next core value could make or break Freedom Ridge and must be built into our DNA from the start, so without further ado let’s look at our third core value:

3. be culturally relevant

Have you ever heard churches say “But … we’ve always done it that way”? That’s not us. Our only tradition will be change, and the reason for that is we want to be as effective as possible in reaching the current and next generation for Jesus.

We won’t be afraid to try new things, and if it doesn’t work we won’t be afraid to scrap it. If a ministry or philosophy has outlived its effectiveness, we won’t be afraid to adjust it, rework it, or place it on the shelf of relics and move on. No sacred cows.

With that being said, I do want to stress that we will never compromise the message of Jesus Christ. Methods change, but the message stays the same. While we will be using culturally relevant means and updating the way we do things, our main goal will be to present the timeless truths of the Bible and the message of Jesus Christ in the most effective and understandable way possible.

Tomorrow we’ll talk about a core value that’ll bring peace of mind, and I’d venture to say may even blasts some stereotypes about church right out of the water. Can’t wait.