Those on the outside looking in becoming those on the inside reaching out
Our vision for CORE is rooted in the ministry of Jesus Christ. Jesus understood his ministry in light of the words from Isaiah 61:1-4:
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
In Jesus’ ministry we see this prophecy fulfilled.
We want to be a church that reflects Jesus’ ministry. Jesus proclaimed and ushered in the Kingdom of God, he modelled the Kingdom, called people to be part of the Kingdom and anointed and commissioned his followers to carry on his ministry, until he returns.
We believe that the ministry of Jesus is the key to the growth and health of the church. We believe that the ministry of Jesus is key to the health of our community, our city, and our nation and beyond.
This is outworked in CORE in four practical ways: Welcome, Worship, In-Work and Out-Work.
To Welcome the Outsider In
The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I’ve been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. The message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board.
Ephesians 3:6 (The Message)
We want to be a church that welcomes all who come through our door, learning to show the love, hospitality and acceptance that characterised Jesus’ ministry, so that those who are on the outside are welcomed in.
Worship will be the Sign
A time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.
John 4:23-24
We want to be a Church that worships Jesus in both Spirit and Truth because that is ‘…the kind of worshippers the Father seeks’.
We believe that the worship of Jesus is key to the life and mission of the church. The prophet Ezekiel (Ezek 47) sees a vision of a restored sanctuary. Out of the restored sanctuary water begins to flow. Wherever the water flows there is life. Out of our worship of Jesus, God releases his Holy Spirit like a river. As the river flows out of the church it rebuilds, restores and revives the lives of people, the community and beyond.
To be a Community of Transformation (In-Work)
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:18
We want to be a church committed to welcoming the transforming power of the Holy Spirit to work in our lives (In-Work) so that by God’s grace we grow in Jesus’ likeness and character because transformed people transform community.
We understand that as the church gets bigger it also needs to get smaller. We value small groups as places of personal growth and transformation, empowering and activating God’s people for the service of the Kingdom.
Being Turned Inside Out (Out-Work)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you: and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Acts 1:8
We are co-missioned and anointed by Jesus to be his witnesses. As a church we want to learn how to take the Father’s love out into the community, city, nation and beyond (Out-Work), thus welcoming the outsider in.
They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.
Isaiah 61:4