Vision & Values
Granite Creek Community Church's vision is to see families and culture transformed by Heaven.
It’s about relationship, not religion.
We are motivated by Jesus' words to "Love the Lord your God out of, and with, your whole heart and with all your soul (your life) and with all your mind (with your faculty of thought and your moral understanding) and with all your strength. This is the first and principal commandment. The second is like it and is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." – Mark 12:30-31
These words inspire us to function according to the following five core values:
- FIND GOD: Celebrate/Worship – We celebrate God's presence together. Our first priority as a people of God is to worship Him. It is an expression of our love for God. Our commitment to a lifestyle of relationship with God flows from our worship. It is a time of self-disclosure with God; it is to be our most truthful place with God. In worship we are saying, "We love You." As we minister to the Lord, He in turn ministers to us.
Our view of God in ministry is a God Who is FOR us, not mad at us (reconciliation), Who has forgiven us (justification), Who has received us (redemption), and Who has changed us and is now helping us to realize it (sanctification).
Three goals of our worship services:- Celebration – "I was glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of the Lord." Psalms 122:1
- Inspiration – "They that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles." Isaiah 40:31
- Preparation – "He gave . . . some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for the work of ministry . . ." Ephesians 4:11
- FIND A FRIEND: Fellowship/Relationship – There is a desperate cry for love, a need to belong and a search for meaningful relationships that is predominate in our disheartened society. Thus, the need for small groups!
In small groups and home groups, we grow together, minister and serve together, play together, pray together, fail together, cry and laugh together and become victorious together. It is a place to develop meaningful relationships, be in an environment of discipling and nurturing, have a testing ground to develop leadership skills, and a place to hold each other accountable to God, as we provide a safe place for people to know God in a deeper way and be known by others in the group.
"You are a member of God's own family and you belong in God's household with every other Christian." – Ephesians 2:19 (Living Bible)
"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." – Ephesians 4:2-6
- DISCOVER YOUR GIFTS: You are unique, there is no one like you. We want to help you discover and grow in your gifts, talents and strengths. We offer classes and groups to help you do that. "For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another." – Romans 12:4-5
- SERVE: Ministry/Serving – To be a part of Granite Creek is to participate somewhere as a servant, understanding that our callings will be defined and proven as we serve. People are healed as they minister, service is a necessary component to healing and growth. Every one of us is different, and some will be more comfortable serving with people, or paper or things. That's okay! All serving roles are not alike. Find what suits you, or try something new.
Kindness/Love in Action – We demonstrate God's love in practical ways through acts of kindness, mercy and helping others. We are to be seed flingers, sowing seeds of God's love and kindness, not seed protectors, watching over God's business as though He had a limited supply. We believe doing the message precedes telling the message. We believe that small things done with great love will change the world. Being committed to serving on a regular basis will provide soil for great growth in Christ.
- GROW: Discipleship/Spiritual Growth – It is our belief that the New Testament calls for radical commitment. The principle thing we see about discipleship is that every Christian has been called to unconditional surrender of his total life to Christ. It is our desire, therefore, to have our intimate relationship with a living God, one which doesn't bring a legalistic or judgmental attitude to bear, but one where we seek God's will for our lives in our everyday activities and associations, as well as our life goals and aspirations. We are a community, stimulating others who are also wanting to live in this way. As a result, everyone is learning to live in freedom and live within the definition of being a community of people who have committed themselves to Christ. We experience spiritual growth as we study and apply God's Word to our lives. Granite Creek provides training and opportunities for people to actively pursue God's purposes for their lives.
"So Christ himself gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." – Ephesians 4:11-13
