CORE VALUES

1.  Jesus is life.  The rest is details.

Jesus Christ alone is our hope, and the only real and lasting hope in the world (John 14:6).  We love him.  Because of this we don’t apologize for the gospel or for putting our relationship with him first in our lives (Romans 1:16).  We strive to follow Christ above all else in the world which competes for our time, energy, and attention (Luke 14:15-24).

A Caring People

2.  We are building a community of hospitality, caring and warmth.

The reason people come back to a church and stay there is because they are cherished (Isaiah 43:4).  Active Christians have friends in their congregation, and these relationships grow mostly in small groups (Acts 2:46-47).  Among us, love for one another is the norm (John 13:34-35, Romans 13:8).  Conflicts are resolved according to Jesus’ teaching (Matthew 18:15-17) and we constantly build one another up (1 Corinthians 14:12).  We rejoice together and we suffer together (1 Corinthians 12:25-26).  We practice hospitality (Romans 12:13, 1 Peter 4:9).

3.  We are all becoming leaders.

We are not content to grow as a people only by addition.  Like any healthy organism, we are multiplying leadership and reproducing ministries (Mark 4:26-29, 1 Corinthians 3:6).  We are serious about training, mentoring, coaching, and equipping people for ministry    (2 Timothy 3:16-17). 

…who support one another’s                          spiritual growth… 

 4.  We worship God with joy and delight. 

At FELC, we delight in excellent worship, giving our best to glorify God (Colossians 3:16-17).  While the gospel message remains unchanged, the form in which it is proclaimed changes for it to be communicated effectively (Luke 5:36-38).  Therefore we offer a variety of options, traditional and contemporary—all for the sake of Christian ministry.  Our praise of God includes a dedicated choir, a graduated handbell choir program, a contemporary worship team, and people involved in the visual, audio, and graphic arts (Psalm 150:1-6).

5.  We practice Christian formation and growth in discipleship.

We can’t outgrow Christian faith.  We are all called to move from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity (Philippians 3:13-14, 1 Corinthians 13:11).  For this reason we work to bring people into an ever-growing relationship with Jesus.  We believe in the Christian formation of children through our Church School classes, Faith Lutheran School, and our own example (Proverbs 22:6).  We provide opportunities for growth in discipleship for youth and adults in every stage of life (Ephesians 4:12-15). 

…who reach out to the community                with Christ’s love.

 6.  Lost people matter to God and so they matter to us in love.

Jesus came to seek and to save the lost, and calls us to be part of His ministry (Luke 19:10, John 1:46).  We like unchurched people, we go to where they are (John 4:28-29), and we know the difference Jesus can make in their lives.  In all we do, we seek to fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20, John 20:21, 1 Corinthians 9:19-27).

7.  God calls us to plant and nurture new ministries.

Any healthy, God-created organism or organization reproduces and multiplies (Genesis 1:28, John 15:8,16).  Out of our dedication to reach unreached people in our city and region, we seek to plant new communities of disciples in strategic places, that Christ’s love might be known by people in eastern King County (2 Corinthians 10:15-16).

8.  We are blessed to be a blessing.

As we grow in faith, we turn our hearts to God, giving of ourselves and our resources, freely and cheerfully (2 Corinthians 9:6-7).  We are a generous, open-handed people who offer ourselves sacrificially (Romans 12:1) for the sake of the Kingdom and its expansion.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And you can go to the ELCA national website, which explains our national affiliation as a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Click here.  You can use the back button on your browser to return to our website at www.faithluth.org