OUR FOUR CORE VALUES
We really value:
1. The indwelling, transforming life of the Lord Jesus Christ. (We’re Jesus people)
The risen Lord Jesus is our life, our hope, our joy, our strength and our first love.
So, we are prayerfully dependent upon him for everything, and seek to see his life through his Spirit increasingly and vividly evident in us.
2. The living, God-breathed scriptures. (We’re Bible people)
We encounter the living God in his living Word.
So, the way we live and the things we teach will be founded on the reliable, sufficient, authoritative Bible.
3. The unity of all believers. (We’re a united people)
All born-again believers are one in Christ Jesus.
So, we strongly embrace and emphasise unity between believers of diverse evangelical backgrounds and perspectives, and seek to see the gospel of forgiveness, reconciliation and joy made visible in our community life together at Capernwray.
4. The urgency of outreach. (We’re a missionary people)
We are commissioned by our indwelling Lord to love our neighbours and go and make disciples.
So, we strongly emphasise serving others and gospel proclamation throughout our ministry and place a particular emphasis on reaching and training younger people in service and evangelism.
OUR GENERAL CHRISTIAN VALUES
We celebrate and uphold:
1. Reverence
‘Do not come any closer,’ God said. ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.’ Exodus 3: 5
Reverence is a profound respect for God in his awesome, unsurpassable might, perfection and authority. Although we can now, in Christ, approach his throne of grace with boldness and confidence and call God ‘Abba’, we do so with awe and gratitude.
2. Wisdom
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom Proverbs 9: 10
Proper reverence for God will result in his word not simply being known but also lived out in everyday life, seeing his truth embodied in the way we think, relate, act, work and rest. The pursuit of wisdom is closely related to deepening intimacy with the Lord Jesus, ‘in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge’ (Colossians 2: 3).
3. Thankfulness
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5: 16–18
The gospel of grace and mercy means we have received undeserved riches and avoided a deserved punishment. The proper response to this is a deep-rooted and robust joy and thankfulness in all circumstances.
4. Humility
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5: 3
The gospel truth that we are saved not by our own efforts but by the finished work of the Lord Jesus embeds a profound humility in our personal sense of self and therefore in all of our relationships. We seek to present and glorify the Lord Jesus, not ourselves, and in his strength to imitate the one who came ‘not to be served, but to serve’ (Matthew 20: 28).
5. Endurance
You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Revelation 2: 3
The gospel hope of a perfect eternity on a new heaven and earth gives us the motivation to keep serving the Lord Jesus despite the inevitable disappointments, setbacks, frustrations and tragedies experienced as we live in a fallen world. The Lord’s indwelling life gives us the courage and strength to keep going.
6. Service
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. John 13: 14
The shape of Jesus’ life and ministry – self-sacrificial service for the blessing of others and the glorification of the Father – is now the shape of our lives and ministries. We serve the Lord and one-another joyfully and willingly, confident that in Christ we are already promised everything we truly need, so we can afford to live generously towards others without expecting anything in return.
7. Compassion
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3: 12
God cares about the suffering inflicted on his creation by sin and brokenness, as the healing ministry of the Lord Jesus makes clear. We therefore seek to extend loving care wherever possible to those with needs we can help to meet, of whatever faith or none.
8. Trust
Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear – not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. James 5: 12
As we are created by the God who is in very nature truth, we seek in his strength to be trustworthy people forging a community of trust and truthfulness. This includes our dealings with the UK Government; we commit to full and transparent compliance with the laws and regulations applicable to this organisation and ministry.
9. Peace
I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 1 Timothy 2:1-2
We seek to live peaceably as part of wider society in prayerful and practical support of our democratically-elected leaders and statutory bodies. As individuals and a community we follow the rule of law, respect individual liberties and promote and encourage mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.
10. Forgiveness
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4: 32
To proclaim a gospel of forgiveness without forgiving is hypocrisy. The key mark that we have understood and received God’s forgiveness in Christ is that we in turn forgive as we have been forgiven. Our love for one-another will also be evidence of this: ‘whoever has been forgiven little loves little’ (Luke 7: 47).
11. Fellowship
I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. John 17: 20 – 21
The loving union of Father, Son and Spirit is the pattern for the loving union we are called to with one- other. The gospel can break down all barriers we erect between ourselves, and calls us into interdependent body life for the service and glory of the Lord and his kingdom.
12. Justice
But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! Amos 5: 24
Treating one-another fairly is a key principle for people convinced we are all loved children of God made in his image. Alongside the awareness that God has shown mercy to us in Christ sits the conviction that we are to pursue justice and equity for all people. This will also lead us to support and abide by the statutory bodies seeking to sustain a fair and just society.
13. Hope
I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8: 38 – 39
Because our salvation is not dependent on our own merit or on our own works, our hope is entirely based in the person of the Lord Jesus, who is infallible, utterly reliable, and utterly consistent. We therefore view ourselves, one-another and this world as safely held in the loving arms of him who has promised to bring everything to completion in Christ. No-one is beyond the loving reach of the saving God.
14. Body-honour
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1: 27
Gendered physicality is intrinsic to being God’s image-bearers on earth. We therefore celebrate our bodies, neither idolising nor shaming them but enjoying and caring for them through good nutrition and regular exercise. We affirm both singleness and marriage as gifts from God, and believe sex to be reserved solely for heterosexual marriage. We believe gender to be given by God, not chosen by us, and fidelity to these truths to be a liberation. This value is further explored and its outworkings described in Capernwray’s Equal Opportunities Policy.
15. Creation-care
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. Genesis 1: 31 & Genesis 2: 15.
Part of the hope of the gospel is God’s full restoration of his creation from the effects of humanity’s damage upon it. We live in the direction of that future hope, stewarding God’s creation and resources as carefully and respectfully as possible. In particular we seek to care lovingly for the beautiful immediate environment with which he has entrusted us.
16. Love
And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.Colossians 3: 14
Everything we do is ultimately rooted in the love of God with heart, soul, mind and strength, and the love of neighbour as ourselves (Mark 12: 30 – 31).
