DiscipleMakers’ Core Values

Our Core Values describe what is most important to us as an organization and mission.

Scriptures

The Scriptures direct our lives. They should drive all that we think, say and do—not just what is religious or spiritual. We apply them to family, politics, work, study, leisure and every other area of life. As a mission we are particularly concerned that our ministry conforms to the Scriptures. We don't quote verses mindlessly; rather, using the common standards of human language, we determine what the original author said, what that meant to the original audience in their context, and how it applies in our context.

Scripture: Psalm 1; 2 Timothy 3:16,17; Matthew 24:35; Psalm 19; Psalm 119

Laborers

We, the laborers, are the key resource and our character is what counts. We are often told that money is limited, that the harvest is not what it used to be, or that God must pour out His Spirit in revival. According to the Scriptures none of these things is true! Rather, God promises all we need; He declares the harvest is plentiful and that His Spirit indwells us. He tells us what is actually in short supply: workers for the harvest. His Great Commission is that we make disciples. Jesus’ conception of a disciple or a laborer is far beyond someone who claims to be a Christian. He must give up everything, he must hold to His teaching and he must love others. In doing so, he will bear much fruit. This may be an unbelievably high standard, but Jesus has commanded us to pray and to work for this end. The quality of our student discipleship is high because we are examples of the image of God worthy for them to imitate. More quality staff laborers are critical to our efforts.

Scripture: Matthew 9:35-38; 2 Timothy 2; Genesis 1:27,28; John 4:34-38; Acts 6:1-7

Unity

Real unity is hard work. It comes from adopting a servant's attitude and speaking the truth in love. But normally, our relationships are so shallow that we cannot know if we have real unity. We maintain the Sunday morning facade rather than developing one heart and one mind. We must penetrate below surface issues and know each other at the heart level. Then we must work to expand what we agree on and minimize the areas of disagreement. We must be careful to work through conflicts and not avoid them. We must also hear each other out with sensitivity and affirmation, build agreement around the Scriptures, and not coerce one another. We are called to work together as one Body. We consider the welfare of the whole mission as more important than our own. We do what is needed regardless of our gifting or ability. As individuals we have not succeeded until the whole team has succeeded. We support the whole team and our leaders.

Scripture: Philippians 2; John 17:20-23; Psalm 133; Ephesians 4; 1 Corinthians 12-14; Romans 12; 1 John 3-4; 1 Peter 1:22-25

Faith

God asks us to see things from His point of view and then to act on them. It's not enough to see His truth ourselves; He calls us to make every effort to influence the world around us for Him. Sometimes that may mean working behind the scenes and other times that may mean leading the charge, but in every situation we take the initiative to do what we can for Him. We may have a formal leadership role, or we may have none. Whatever our organizational position, we are to ask ourselves what we can do to help. We do not allow fear of failure to stop us from trying. We keep failing in the right direction until the Lord calls us home.

Scripture: Hebrews 11; Luke 17:5-10; Nehemiah; Romans 4:20-21, 1 Timothy 6:11-12

Gospel

The gospel is the glorious truth that God saves us from our sin through Christ's perfect life, death, and resurrection. As we believe this truth, God transforms us into His image over time. Nonetheless, we stubbornly trust in other things or in other things plus Christ. Faithfully revealing these as idols of the heart, God calls us to worship Him alone. By His grace He saved us, continues to save us and will one day save us. We certainly make choices that have real consequences, but our hope is in Him and not us. He disciplines us to show us the horror of our sin. He teaches us to renew our minds. He enables us to live as holy, pleasing sacrifices. Our family, ministry, dreams, hopes and accomplishments may disappoint us. All DiscipleMakers will be forgotten, but we will rejoice in God our Savior forever.

Scripture: Romans 1-8; Matthew 5-7; Isaiah 53; Genesis 3-9; Ezekiel 14:1-6; Psalm 32,51; Ephesians 2:1-10; Philippians 2:6-11

Care for One Another

We trust in the Lord, but as a human organization, caring for one another is the source of our power. We, as a mission and individually as missionaries, shepherd each other. We love each other by doing what is best for one another. Many times that will mean a sympathetic ear and words of affirmation. At other times that will mean truth spoken in love frankly and directly. A helping hand can get us through a rough spot, but to make significant progress we must have our issues clearly identified and addressed. We will make mistakes in caring for each other, but we will keep trying until we get it right. The Lord has given us a fabulous opportunity, and we have banded together to take advantage of it. We need every member of our staff team, but we also need each member to be at his best and to be putting the team first. As we do this we develop energized missionaries who constantly re-energize each other. This gives us tremendous power.

Scripture: Colossians 3:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:11; Hebrews 3:13; 10:24,25; Ephesians 3:17b-19; 1 Thessalonians 3:6-13