TRUTH & GRACE
—The Gospel means “Good News”. What is so good about it? God took the initiative to rebuild the bridge, or relationship, with us; the bridge we burned. This rebuilding cost the Father his Son’s life and it is God’s gift to us—completely undeserved. Being loved first by God in this extravagant manner inspires us to look upward in prayer, praise & worship. It stirs us to build bridges with others and invite them inward as we share lives in unity as disciples. It moves us to action, reaching outward, imitating God to serve others with our lives. As we move towards God, we anticipate the fruit of our relationships will be —
UPWARD — Prayer / Praise / Worship Standing in awe of our Lord: We depend on the Spirit to energize us with his love and to empower us to joyfully give of ourselves, which is simply not sustainable under our own steam. We seek to rejoice in God together, giving Him Lordship, or first place, in every aspect of our lives.
INWARD— Discipleship / Shared Lives / Unity Pressing on to know God: As students of God’s Word we expect Bible-based truth to be clearly communicated as we gather. We honor God by continually growing as disciples while training others to do likewise, thus multiplying our lives. The spiritual health of individuals within BBF is critical as we seek to share deep and true relationships based on a mutual trust in God. See expansion on the core value ‘Inward’ in Appendix 1 at the end of this document.
OUTWARD— Service /Outreach /Action Inviting others into our community: We aim to serve as an example of Christ’s love by intentionally building bridges with our neighbors. We follow Christ’s lead by entering into courageous face-to-face conversations with those who don’t know Jesus and by supporting a wide range of mission efforts.
DON’T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT — The Bible is filled with encouragements and examples of these values — study God’s Word with us and see that we didn’t make these up. Check out Acts Chapters 2 & 3 to see what the first Christians did as they gathered together. Read Timothy 1 & 2, a ‘Handbook for setting up a Church’ and note that 2 Timothy 2 highlights these values. Dig through Colossians 2 or 1 Peter 1 for more.