CORE VALUES

OF NEW CREATION CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP

Reverend Dr. Claudette A. Copeland                  Bishop David M. Copeland

I. A BIBLE CENTERED CONGREGATON …We derive our preaching, craft our policies and order our practices, from a grace-centered understanding of Holy Scripture. We view love for God and loving-kindness for the individual person as the highest fulfillment of God’s law.

II. A PROCLAIMING CONGREGATION … We believe in the possibilities of change in the human heart, through the anointed preaching of God’s word. (2 Corinthians 5:17)  We publish the Word of God as central to our gathering; we proclaim Christ through preaching, teaching, personal evangelism, technology, itinerant travel and witness through mass media.

III. AN ADORING CONGREGATION… We actively pray to, and worship the true and living God through Jesus Christ. We create an atmosphere of  freedom and encouragement that the Holy Spirit may have liberty to operate each time we gather.  We lift up Christ that persons may be drawn and respond to God’s invitations. We model public prayer and worship in hope that persons will adopt prayer and worship as a private lifestyle when we are absent from one another.

IV. A FAMILY HONORING CONGREGATION…We seek to reach,  integrate and teach each component of the family:  We seek:  the welfare of senior adults; to maximize the gifts of single adults; to strengthen and guard marriages; to partner with parents to shape Biblical values in teens; to celebrate and position children for a bright future and solid Christian life .

V. A GENEROUS CONGREGATION…Individually we return the tithe to this storehouse; we encourage freewill giving and acts of kindness to the household of faith and to the poor and under served.  Corporately we share the tithe of this church with other ministries and ministry efforts, the local and foreign mission fields, scholarships, and relief of the needy and the poor. We view generosity as an expression of holiness.

VI. A SERVING CONGREGATION. We are committed to respond to each other in times of need, and to serve our larger community when in crisis or peril. This includes relief of the poor; aid in social disasters; care for the homeless, the hungry, the imprisoned and the aged; comfort of the sick, the suffering, and the bereaved.

VII. A HISTORY HONORING CONGREGATION. We celebrate our origins. We are Evangelical . We publicly seek the lost, in the Wesleyan Methodist tradition. We are Pentecostal . We seek personal and corporate power from the active life and work of the Holy Spirit as taught and experienced at Azusa Street 1906. We are Liturgical.  We display the historical symbols and rituals of the Anglican and Catholic churches, and the cultural traditions of Africa.

VIII. TRAINING AND EQUIPPING CONGREGATION. We model, offer and support education. We encourage a trained clergy, an intellectually stimulated laity, and a prepared youth. We seek to connect our congregation to avenues of  learning which will make us more effective in our life and witness. We view openness to education as one expression of humility.

IX. A COLLEGIAL CONGREGATION. We talk together about our vision, our mission and our ministry plans. We seek the enlightened buy-in of our people through explanation, prayer and covenant agreement. This is lived out in our council structure of government: Board of Directors, Elders Council, Deacons Council, Children and Youth Council, Worship Council, and Leadership Forums. We view understanding as a key component of unity.

X. AN ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE CONGREGATION. We value and strive to maintain a clean and beautiful environment, free of pollution, dirt, clutter and visual detractors in both our external grounds and the internal work and worship atmosphere. The earth is the Lord’s.

XI. A HOLISTIC CONGREGATION. We believe God loves and responds to the needs of the whole person. We therefore support, comfort, and aid the fullest redemption and development of the human person in entirety: spirit, soul, mind, body and social context from the cradle to the grave.

XII. AN ORDERLY CONGREGATION. We respect those who govern the church, and willingly seek and submit to their guidance in matters of faith, practice and ministry. We order our conversation to honor leadership and to edify our sisters and brethren. We order our lives to promote peace and harmony in this local church, in the Body of Christ and in society, as much as is possible, and in accordance with Holy Scripture.

XIII. A VISIONARY CONGREGATION.  We believe by faith that anything can change. We see possibilities. We are willing to try new things, go new places, obtain new ground, and we aid and encourage those around us to do the same, for the greater glory of God.