core values
Our core values are rooted in the earthly ministry of Jesus and the life of the early church. They serve as the banks of the river. They channel, focus, and direct our energy as a church towards our mission of following Jesus and loving people. They help us define what is most important. They become the filters we use for making decisions.
For a full statement of faith, please click here.
We are biblical.
The early church's ministry was rooted in the life and ministry of Jesus, the teaching of the apostles and the writings of the Old Testament Scriptures. We believe that the foundation to life and ministry is to be the Word of God. It is the word of God that is the sole authority for our faith and practice. It is the word that does the work in the life of the church to unleash her full potential. This is why our discipleship groups use the Word as their main textbook. Click here to find out more about our discipleship groups. As our pastor says, "you cannot consistently read the Word of God with a view towards applying it and it not change your life." As C.H. Spurgeon put it, "Visit many good books, but LIVE in the Bible."
We are growing.
We are not consumers, we have been invited to be gospel coworkers. We want to move from sitting on a pew and being amused to being engaged in meaningful growth. At South Seminole, we believe that growth is about a heart posture that is visibly becoming more like Christ. Jesus never said "attend me," He said "follow me." Following Jesus implies movement in a specific direction towards maturity in Christ. This is the type of growth that is most important. This growth is less about programs and more about steps towards spiritual maturity; a process we facilitate through our Discipleship Pathway.
We are relational.
If you study the life of the early church, you will find a group of people who were together. That is, they had cross-generational relationships that fueled their faith. The Christian faith has always been inter-generational and we strive to develop healthy relationships that facilitate the passing of wisdom from one generation to the next through authentic relationships. This is why our life groups are so important. We believe life happens and relationships are forged in circles not rows. To find out more about our life groups, please click here.
we are accountable.
We believe that if we are a people in meaningful community whose desire is to see one another grow, then purposeful accountability is not a barrier to growth but a bridge to it. Accountability challenges and motivates us to become what we say we are. From discipleship groups to service teams, we are a family who strive to watch out for one another with grace and care.
we are intentional.
We believe that everything Jesus did had purpose. Therefore, to live like Jesus means that we are intentional in our ministry and family priorities. Nothing is important if everything is. We never grow by accident, therefore we have to prioritize that growth with intention, and that has to instruct our calendar of events and activities. Consequently, we strive to be strategic with our time together prioritizing things that will most facilitate our growth. This is why our ministry is built around a Discipleship Pathway. We can have all the good intentions.in the world, but if we don't take intentional steps to accomplish our mission, we will never become all that we could be.
we are replicating.
We believe that Christianity is about the life of Christ being replicated in our own life and then investing our life in others so that we fuel that process in them. This is what discipleship is all about. We want to be a family that makes disciples; that replicates the impact we have received into the lives of others on every level including our D-Groups, Small Groups, Service Teams, and even our church body. Replication of our life and faith in the lives of others is the ultimate aim of our growth and is the hallmark of spiritual maturity.
