Core Values
SPIRITUAL FAMILY - We make room at the table.
The Bible makes it clear that God builds through family, both natural and spiritual. God has called all believers to be a part of a healthy spiritual family.
God Himself, sets the lonely in families (Psalm 68:6). God has never been about building a religion, a philosophy, or a movement, He's building a family. A spiritual family is made up of God's children, coming together to love God, worship, sacrificially give, and serve one another. Jesus said that the world would know we love Him by the way that we love each other. Yet, so many people feel alone, they feel unloved, the feel insignificant, and what they really want is to feel like they belong. This is where the Church comes in.
We believe the church should be a safe place where people can be honest, where they can share their challenges, where they can wrestle with truth, and where they can look for help in a time of need. People matter to God and He wants all of us to experience His love through genuine spiritual family. This doesn't happen through coming together for a few hours a week - it's what happens when people are joined together throughout life.
GENEROSITY - We hold nothing back.
We value the biblical principle of giving our first fruits to God and believe that generosity transforms our lives as Christ followers. When we give, we affirm our commitment to the ongoing mission of RISE Church: reaching people and building lives. As we continue to give generously with our time, talent, and our resources, we believe we'll experience the joy of seeing God transform lives.
One of the most powerful things about generosity is the truth that it always makes a difference in the life of both the one who gives and the one who receives. And remember, when you give your tithe (10% of your income), you are acting in obedience and worship to God, inviting His blessing in all areas of life (Malachi 3:10).
DEVELOPMENT - We grow together.
We value a lifestyle of worship that leads to the ongoing process of development in the life of every believer. We're all works in progress. We're not who we once were, and we're not yet who we will become. We should be able to see this ongoing process of development in the life of every believer as we grow closer to God. Religion leaves you empty. You may learn some rules and some new words and phrases. You may learn how to act during a service, what you should say and what you shouldn't say but in the end, nothing on the inside changes. When we fully engage with God, when we give our whole hearts and every area of our lives, we don't just "worship" during a service, we live a lifestyle of worship. Whatever we do, we do it to honor God and to show Him that we love Him. When we live this way, we'll never stop growing.
URGENCY - We turn it all the way up.
Heaven is real, hell is hot, eternity is a long time, and this is not a game.
We understand the weight of what God has called us to. We believe in the eternal afterlife and that by comparison, the present age is a short time. With that in mind how we live today affects our eternity. We are called to use our time wisely. (Ephesians 5:15-17). We know that we will give an account for the way we live. We set aside things that distract us and move with purpose to bring the gospel to our world. We act with intentionality and develop resilience because we understand our calling is to God. The mission gives us clarity and focus.
HONOR - We honor up, down, and all around.
When Jesus wasn’t honored in His hometown, it limited what he could do for the people. We honor to allow God to move freely among us. Honor is God’s idea. To honor is to show we value.
The first commandment with a promise is that children would be blessed if they honored their parents (Ephesians 6:2-3). Throughout the scriptures we are taught how to honor God and His people. The Bible makes it clear that when we honor people, we honor God. Honor starts with the heart and moves out to our words and actions.
AUTHENTICITY - We keep it real.
It’s OK to not be OK but it’s not OK to stay that way.
Authenticity attracts the right kind of people to you. We don’t pretend to be something we aren’t to impress people. We don’t use our circumstances or state of life as an excuse for us to stop growing. We are real people with real problems serving a real God who offers real solutions.