VALUES

 

Worship

We value worship because we realize that everybody praises the thing they love. We emulate those we admire and resemble those we revere. We shape our lives and decisions by an example, live by an ideology and pursue our passions with devotion. At Compass we choose to shape our lives as images of praise to the God who has made us in His image, loved us, redeemed us from shame, freed us from sin and restored hope to our lives. We honor him, not just through praise and rituals but also by enjoying him and finding meaning in his purposes for our lives. Worship is supreme because God is supreme.

 

Authenticity

We value the freedom to be who we are. We refuse to bow down to idols that drive us to live for money, sex and power. We find our identity in our relationships to God, family, friends and the communities that He calls us to serve. We appreciate the ways that God’s grace frees us from the need to live for others approval and enables us to say no to expectations to conform to set patterns of society. We refuse to accept the notion that a person’s worth is determined by one’s possessions, beauty, accolades or lack thereof. We acknowledge that we are not perfect but know that we are still loved.

 

Wholeness

We value holiness. The English word holy carries the idea of wholeness, completeness, health and happiness. When we hear holiness today we are tempted to think of some hypocritical person who speaks of religious standards, rules and regulations. We want to recapture the root of the word, make it attractive, aspire towards it and seek to make wholeness contagious. We believe that God is the author of all that is whole, true, perfect and complete. We seek wholeness by giving him our brokenness and finding grace. We find grace by creating sacred spaces in our lives for hearing the good news of his unconditional love, accepting this love and living out Jesus’ example of love. We value holiness by following His living word and revering his holy name.

 

Rest

We value balanced life-work-play rhythms in our lives and in our life together. We aim to honor God by enjoying him, his creation, our creativity and the unique callings that he places on our lives. We are ambitious for our success to be holistic. We value Sabbath, quiet times, exercise and play. We realize that sometimes we have to press pause on everything in order to enjoy the most important things of life.

 

Family Life

We honor the place that family holds in our hearts and lives. We long to see God’s loving promises fulfilled not only in our lives but also in the generations to come. We want to honor our parents, draw upon the health of our heritage, improve on our shortcomings and live in such a way that we pass on legacies of faith. Our ministries will equip families and create opportunities to enjoy family life together.

 

Life

We value life. We seek to enjoy life, to find pleasure in God’s creation and to delight in His blessings. We contend that everyone should be given an opportunity not just to exist but also to thrive. We value fun and we encourage living life to the full. Jesus said that he came so that we could have life - and have it abundantly. We value meaningful relationships because we have found that life’s greatest joy comes as we live life together. Full life is meant to be shared, so we hope to lead others to abundant life as well.

 

Justice

We value justice. We advocate for those who have been stripped of the joys of life. We refuse to look the other way when innocence is stolen from one person for the fulfillment of another. We encourage compassion. We want to eradicate extreme poverty. We will empower opportunities for self-sufficiency. We will seek fair trade, balanced wages and a level playing field with chances to better one’s life. When the system does not allow for advancement and opportunity we will call for change.

 

Covenants

We value covenants that protect people and relationships. The good news of God is the story of a covenant relationship. At the heart of the covenant is a promise to be our God and an invitation to be his people. The assurance of his promise gives us an opportunity to find our identity and our security through our relationship with him. Likewise he invites us to grant safety, security and identity to our spouses, children, family and friends by living in committed covenants with one another. He replaces brokenness with connection, performance with grace, failure with forgiveness and separation with restoration.

 

Dignity

We value you. You are created in the image of God. You are loved with his gracious love. You are invited to share in his covenant of love - to be adopted into his home. You are family. We believe that each person should be treated with dignity, honor and respect. We will speak well of each other. Truth will also be spoken in love. We will uphold one another’s reputation. We’ll curb gossip, cut off slander and correct lies. We will grant grace, give people the benefit of the doubt and refuse to throw anyone under the bus. We will judge people by their character not the color of their skin.

 

Generosity

We believe the good news of the gospel is the message of Christ choosing not to enjoy heaven’s bliss when the world that he loved was in a mess. He chose to give up what was rightfully his and to serve those whom he had compassion upon. In Christ we see that at the heart of generosity lies a deep sense of compassion that breaks us free of attitudes of entitlement, selfishness and jealousy. We seek to follow in his footsteps, to choose contentment over hoarding, giving over getting and loving over seeking to be loved. In so doing we hope to incarnate Christ’s love, share in his sacrifice and bless the lives of many.