We are adopted into God’s family, so we intentionally create family and community wherever we go.

Ephesians 1:5; Ephesians 2:19; Matthew 12:48-50; Galatians 6:10; Romans 8:15-16; 1 Peter 2:17; Acts 2:41-47.

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We think like healthy family members and do what’s best for the whole environment, mutually submitting to one another in love and not being selfish.

Philippians 2:3; Romans 12:9-21; Ephesians 5:21; Galatians 5:13; 1 Corinthians 13; Ruth 1:16-17.

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In covenant relationships, we purposely grow our capacity to trust and be trusted as we empower and confront one another in order to live out who we truly are.

Matthew 18:15; Luke 17:3-4; Ephesians 4:15-16; 1 Corinthians 4:14-21; 1 Thessalonians 5:14; 1 Samuel 20.

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We are loyal, which is demonstrated most radically when people fail. We do not punish and abandon those who fail to save face or show we hate sin, but instead we are commit to helping them be restored.

Galatians 6:1; Matthew 18:15; John 8:1-11; Psalm 141:5; John 21.

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What Does This Mean?

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God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit have brought us into their intimacy and family. From their love and wisdom, we build healthy families and communities.

John 17:23; John 15:15-16; 1 John 1:3-4; Ephesians 3:14-21; 1 John 3:1; Hebrews 10:24-25.

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Jesus explicitly created us to live in community; people are most alive when planted in a healthy family of believers.

Genesis 2:18; Genesis 1:26-28; Acts 4:23-35; 1 Corinthians 12:21-27; Psalm 133:1; Ephesians 3:14-20.

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The way we love people is a direct reflection of our love for God.

John 13:35; 1 John 4:20; Proverbs 14:31; Matthew 10:42; Matthew 25:34-40; Hebrews 6:10.

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Love for ourselves, which springs from God’s great love for us, is vital in truly caring for others and creating healthy families. Matthew 22:37-39; Romans 12:3; Ephesians 5:1-2; Ephesians 5:28-30.

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We draw from the Holy Spirit’s gifts and graces in the whole family of God, not just from those in leadership.

Romans 12:4-10; 1 Peter 4:10-11; 1 Corinthians 12; Matthew 10:41.

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We value and honor each other, even when we disagree.

Philippians 2:3-16; Romans 12:4, 10; 1 Peter 2:13-17; 1 Peter 5:5-6.

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We do nothing out of selfish ambition or gain. Instead, we intentionally partner with others to seek mutual benefit in everything we do.

Philippians 2:1-4; Romans 12:10; Ephesians 5:21; James 4:1-12; Hebrews 10:24-26.

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We are responsible to speak up with loving confrontation when others in the family of God sin, based on the truth that, as a new creation in Christ, they are too amazing to be behaving that way.

Matthew 18:15-17; Galatians 6:1-2; Luke 9:54-56; 2 Corinthians 3:16-18; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 2 Corinthians 7:9-10; Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:13; Psalm 139:14.

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Forgiveness is our standard; everyone is given the opportunity to rebuild trust in the community.

Ephesians 4:32; Matthew 18:21-35; Luke 17:3-4; Luke 23:34; James 5:16-20.

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We believe in God’s design and instruction that loving, life-long marriage between a man and a woman is the healthiest and, ultimately, the only structure upon which to build a stable, thriving society.

Hebrews 13:4; Genesis 1:27-28; Matthew 5:32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 1 Corinthians 6:18; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5; Mark 10:1-12.

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Don’t Misunderstand…

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Not all Christian communities are demonstrating healthy relationships.

1 Corinthians 3:1-3; Galatians 6:1-2; 1 Corinthians 4:14-15, 5:6.

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People who have experienced broken marriages and/or families are not disqualified from greatness, as Jesus is more than able to forgive and restore them into healthy, holy families and communities.

1 John 1:9; Romans 8:1-3; John 4:1-42; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 2 Corinthians 5:16-17.

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We recognize that it is possible for someone to behave their way out of the community, so sometimes it is unwise and unsafe for a community to extend grace at the same level that God does.

Ephesians 5:11; Romans 16:17-19; Titus 3:9-11; 2 Timothy 3:1-6; Matthew 18:17; 1 Corinthians 5:4-6; 1 Timothy 1:18-20.