Acts 1:8

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

These were the last words Jesus spoke on Earth.

They must be important.

Jesus could have said anything before ascending into heaven, but he chose these words. We are all called to tell people about Jesus. We are all called to take action, and use words to do God's will.

Words are powerful -- that's a statement I hear my wife say over and over to our son. He's grown up knowing that words are important, and they contain power. Perhaps that's why he enjoys spending time reading and writing.

The words that we use in our daily lives are powerful too. They carry weight and we get to choose what words we use. We can spread words of judgement. We can spread words of hate. Or we can spread words of love and hope. Our words can lift people up or put people down. They can be used to belittle or strengthen those around us.

So when the idea of Radius came into reality it was important that we used words to describe who we are. The words that make up our core values were not idly chosen. They aren't church-y sayings that you've heard all your life. They are meant to convey the the DNA that make up the core of Radius.

Here are some examples of our core values:

We are not an obligation or a destination, but a mission and a movement.

We believe the Holy Spirit is always at work; and God’s presence is promised when we meet.

When we gather, God’s love is tangible, God’s power is evident, and God’s presence is regular.

We want people to feel comfortable to come as they are; but leave inspired and equipped to be more.

We are children of the Light; we do not fear the darkness.

We act on the belief that God’s house will be a house of prayer.

These look great on paper, but that's not enough. We as a church have to live out these values everyday of our lives. If you are a part of the Radius family, you represent these values to our community every day. That's not an easy thing to do, but that's why we offer so many opportunities to be around the Radius family; to stay encouraged, to be strengthened, and to have a group of people that are willing to speak life and hope and love into your life regularly. We want to fill you up so that you can pour out life, hope, and love to those around you; whether it's at school or at work, at home or out in the community.

If you've never been to Radius, then I invite you to come see what these value look like in action. We take them very seriously, and although we are far from perfect, our goal is to continue to strive to live out these values in everything we do.

Gather with us this Sunday as we continue talking about our core values and learn more about what we do as a church. In the mean time, check out Blake's message on who we are here.