· Therefore, by God's grace, we will endeavor to glorify God in all of life, eagerly responding to His call. We will be grounded, guided, and governed by God's Word, embracing the Kingdom values and lifestyle we discover there. The hollow promises of self-actualization, career advancement, self-promotion, and comfort seeking lose their hold on us as we discover the joy of seeking first His Kingdom. (Matt. 6:33; Rom. 12:1, 2; II Tim. 2:20, 21)

2. A commitment to developing covenant community. Ministry flows out of being, both personally and corporately. A post-religious community-marked by very real people living authentic lives, valuing relationships, asking honest questions of a very present God, celebrating diversity but united in purpose-is a sign of God's Kingdom. (Eph. 4:15, 16; Phil. 2:1, 2; I Pet. 2:9, 10)

· Therefore, by God's grace, we will share our lives with one another under the Lordship of Christ, giving high priority to meaningful relationships and counting the cost such relationships require. As we live, pray, work, and play together, the Spirit of God transforms us, revealing Christ in us and proclaiming the manifold wisdom of God to the watching world. (II Cor. 3:12-18; Eph. 3:10; Col. 1:24-29)

3. A commitment to empowering and unleashing people. Every person bears the imprint of God's unique design, wonderfully made to reflect an aspect of His character. Our lives find fulfillment and the Kingdom of God is made known as we lay hold of that unique purpose for which Christ laid hold of us. (Psalm 139, Eph. 2:10; Phil. 3:12, 13)

· Therefore, by God's grace, we will equip and encourage God's people to follow the Lord fully by discovering and fulfilling God's plan. We will grow in our understanding of gifts and personalities, team-building and tent-making, catalyzing and synergizing. We will model and teach a Kingdom lifestyle free from constricting comparisons, unleashing God's people into contagious living which multiplies wholistic ministry and creatively impacts the world around us. (Numbers 14:24; Rom. 8:15-21; Eph. 1:9-14; II Tim. 2:2)

4. A commitment to maximizing impact by investing in leaders. God carefully, intimately, and purposefully develops leaders throughout their lifetimes. Coming to recognize, celebrate, and cooperate with this lifelong formation is critical to the health and effectiveness of leaders and to the fruitfulness of the larger Body of Christ. Our particular call in the Kingdom of God centers on caring for God's leaders. (II Tim. 1:8-14; I Thes. 5:11-13, 24; Heb. 13: 7-8, 16-17)

· Therefore, by God's grace, we will direct our time, energy, and resources to emerging and current Christian leaders and the organizations they serve. We will give freely to those who freely give their lives in Kingdom service. As did Jesus in His earthly ministry, we will give priority to leaders of leaders-those called to raise up, equip, and unleash other leaders. We will focus on relational, character, and lifestyle patterns that enable leaders to run the full course and finish well. (I Tim. 5:17-20; Acts 13:36; II Tim. 4:7, 8)

5. A commitment to maintaining a lifelong learning posture. Walking with God is an adventure, full of discovery. Some remember this; others forget. Yielded, hungry lives are wet clay in the Potter's hands, which He continually fashions through an entire lifetime according to His purpose. (Rom. 9:20-23; Rom. 11:33-36; Prov. 4:5-13)

· Therefore, by God's grace, we will remain teachable before God, gleaning from all of life under His instruction, receptive to new insights and fresh paradigms, alert to truth He may bring us from many sources. We will also focus our time, energy, and resources on "hunger pockets" in the church and the world around us. We will invest freely in and partner aggressively with leaders who are themselves teachable as we learn and grow together. (Ps. 32:8, 9; Matt. 5:6; Jn. 7:17, 46-49; Jn. 14:26; I Jn. 2:27)

6. A commitment to bringing Christ into every facet of 21st century culture. All of life and creation belong to God. God's Kingdom knows no sacred/secular dichotomy. Business and media, the arts and sciences, government and education wait eagerly, with the rest of creation, for the revealing of the sons of God. (Exodus 35:30-35; Num. 14:21; Ps. 24:1; Rom. 8:19-21; Eph. 1:9, 10)

· Therefore, by God's grace, we will be salt and light, leaven and seeds of God's Kingdom in the world around us. We consecrate our whole beings-spirit, soul, and body-to the service and celebration of the Kingdom. As our minds are renewed, we delight in employing them in the Master's service, and will challenge others to do likewise. We aim to be culturally relevant, technologically astute, and globally aware, and cultivate meaningful relationships with unchurched persons with a view toward incarnating and sharing the gospel. (Rom. 12:1, 2; I Thes. 5:24; I Cor. 5:9-11; II Cor. 5:14-20)

7. A commitment to cultivating innovation and entrepreneurship. In the beginning God created. People who are created in His image should be the most creative, resourceful, inventive folks on the planet! This God-who calls into being that which does not exist-is present in His people to birth churches, launch businesses, initiate discoveries, burst paradigms, craft solutions, blaze trails, create masterpieces, and revolutionize countries. (Gen. 1; Rom. 4:17; Rom. 8:19-21)

· Therefore, by God's grace, we will celebrate and model the entrepreneurial spirit employed for Kingdom purposes. We will applaud honest attempts to express God's creative heart through entrepreneurial ventures--even those that don't work out as planned, convinced that the only failure is failure to learn. We embrace purpose-driven flexibility in an atmosphere of continuous improvement, and encourage creative uses of underutilized resources. And we give praise to God who births His purposes in mangers, not palaces, and delights in preparing for us the very things which we have not yet seen, heard of, or thought about. (Matt. 25:14-30; I Cor. 2:9; Luke 2:7)