Cherry Valley Mission Statement and Core Values

The central idea of our mission and our core values is connection. By "connection” we mean that in Jesus Christ, God makes it possible for us to experience significant connection with each other and with God. We believe that the following Mission Statement captures our understanding of what we are about in our world:
As a community of faith we exist to connect:
• To our world so that we can show and share God's love;
• To each other so that we can support, enjoy, and nurture each other;
• To God as the source of life and light.

Our Core Values are the things that provide definition and boundary for our life together. As a community of faith, we hold these values as central to our understanding of how God works in our lives and our world:

Connecting to each other
Behaviors
1. Change and growth takes place in small intimate groups
2. We will practice healthy living within our communal life
3. We will respect and strengthen community structures
4. We will grow through conflict
Phrases
1. It's OK to say no.
2. We will never leave in silent disagreement

Connecting the old with the new
Behaviors
1. We will be students of Christian faith traditions
2. We will be students of our own cultures
3. We will integrate what we believe into how we live.
Phrases
1. Every culture needs to hear God's message
2. Ever learning....ever growing
3. Know ourselves, know our neighbors

Connecting diverse communities
Behaviors
1. We seek diversity to achieve wholeness
2. We will seek first to understand, then to be understood
3. Living out the Kingdom of God today draws us together.
Phrases
1. Diverse by design
2. Kingdom Living

Connecting other people to God
Behaviors
1. We see God in every person
2. Our actions share our Faith
3. Stories communicate the truths of our lives and God's message
Phrases
1. Living True
2. Spirituality is a journey and not a destination

Connecting to the needs of our world.
Behaviors
1. We will listen and respond to community needs
2. God's Kingdom calls us to promote wholeness and oppose injustice
3. Mission involves seeing the Gospel in the world
Phrases
1. God's hands and heart