OUR CORE VALUES New Hope Evangelical Free

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OUR CORE VALUES New Hope Evangelical Free Church, Cedaredge, Colorado (The following five Core Values were approved along with the original Articles of Incorporation on January 17, 2000. Grammatical and typographic errors have been corrected and formatting updated). 1. Centrality of God’s Word The Bible guides and directs us in everything we do, as a church and as individuals. Teaching of the Bible is an essential part of our worship service, using the “expository” approach; that is, examining an entire book of the Bible, verse-by-verse. 2. Fervent Prayer We are committed to seeking our Heavenly Father through fervent prayer, both as individuals and as the church body, approaching Him as His children, righteous before Him because of the sacrifice of Jesus, finding His response in the Scriptures and through the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and trusting Him in the answer we receive. 3. Relevant Worship We are committed to personal and corporate worship that encourages a tangible contact with God, to praise and bring glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and to learn of God through sound teaching of the Scriptures to guide and inspire us in our walking, serving, and maturing as Christians. Our music style is a blend of hymns and choruses, accompanied by piano and/or other musical instruments singly or in a worship band. 4. Intentional Disciple-making We are committed to reaching people who don’t know Jesus as Savior by equipping members of our congregation to tell them about God’s plan of salvation, making disciples by establishing believers in the faith through Bible study and other effective Christian education, sending some of our congregation out as missionaries to take the good news of Jesus Christ to the world, and supporting missionaries from other congregations and our denomination. 5. Ministry to Others The Bible very clearly instructs us to love, just as it is God’s nature to love. Whether with our Christian brothers and sisters or anyone else we come in contact with, we are committed to loving them in practical ways, through the use of our spiritual gifts and our God-given abilities and financial resources.

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CHURCH DISTINCTIVES New Hope Evangelical Free Church - Cedaredge, Colorado The following Distinctives were initially adopted along with the original Articles of Incorporation on January 17, 2000. They have been revised and approved four times since with the latest approval occurring October 28, 2007). 1. Leadership (elders and deacons) work together as a team, must be Biblically qualified (1 Timothy 3:1-13 and Titus 1:6-9), and must be able to function in their area of giftedness. 2. The pastor’s primary job description is to equip believers to do the ministry. He must be Biblically qualified, a role model, and live a life pleasing to the Lord. He must be able to initiate “vision casting” with the leadership. 3. We desire that members of New Hope Evangelical Free Church participate as God has gifted them. 4. New Hope Evangelical Free Church desires to be a purpose driven church, not issues driven. Doctrinal issues that are not in line with the Statement of Faith of the EFCA are not to be spread privately or publicly. Therefore, issues involving sign gifts, prosperity gospel beliefs, word of faith beliefs, and the charismatic movement are not to be promoted in the New Hope Evangelical Free Church body. New Hope Evangelical Free Church desires to be a non-charismatic church but is not anti-charismatic in our love for others who differ with us. 5. Music style will be a blend of hymns and choruses. 6. There are no charter members and applications for membership will be filtered through the Board of Elders, who are responsible for reviewing testimonies and presenting people before the congregation for final affirmation. 7. Congregation ruled and elder led is the way New Hope Evangelical Free Church will function. The pastor, Board of Elders, and the congregation make up the Body of Christ at New Hope Evangelical Free Church. We also recognize that congregational rule does not mean we function as a democracy. By congregational rule we agree, as the Body of Christ, to seek the mind of God and keep seeking God until He makes it clear. Jesus Christ is Lord of the Church, specifically in the direction we need to take on issues brought to our attention. If we are seeking God, then principles in Philippians 2:2-5 will be manifested among the people at New Hope Evangelical Free Church. The example of “how not to do it” is found in Numbers 13 and 14. 8. The pastor and the leadership team will function according to the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws.

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9. At least these five major issues will always be brought before the congregation to provide an opportunity for voicing their insights and concerns before any voting by the congregation takes place: a. b. c. d.

Hiring or firing of a pastor. Newly appointed leaders and ministry chairpersons. Yearly budget for New Hope Church. Expenditures for single items or a group of like items with cost exceeding $1,000 not to include salaries, wages, missionary support, or other regular monthly expenditures. e. Major ministry directions and changes that affect the body at New Hope Church. 10. Marriages between believers and unbelievers will not be performed at New Hope Evangelical Free Church or by the pastor. Counseling is at the option of the pastor. 11. Communication will be done Biblically (Ephesians 4_25 to 5:2; Philippians 2:2-5) and with integrity. This will ensure a healthy atmosphere when potentially divisive issues are discussed. 12. Membership in secret societies: After careful and prayerful study of the issue, the Congregation of New Hope Evangelical Free Church has concluded that membership in a secret society (including Freemasons, Elks, and Oddfellows) is incompatible with a consistent Christian life and testimony. Therefore, although those who are affiliated with secret societies are welcome and encouraged to worship with us, a prerequisite for official membership in New Hope Evangelical Cree Church, with associated voting and other privileges of membership, will be for the candidate to state in writing that they are not active members of the organization and that they renounce any principles or practices of the organization which differ from the doctrine of salvation through Christ alone (John 14:6).

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