You see them in annual reports, or on an organization's website under the heading “Our Values.” Words like integrity, honesty, innovation, and collaboration. Those words are intended to capture the way an organization conducts itself, and the business they are involved. But values are not simply words that we write on a piece of paper, or some marketable language we put up on a website. In Sovereign Grace, our values are so much more because they capture the beliefs that we share, and they shape the gospel life that we are endeavoring by grace to live together as members of Sovereign Grace Churches. Rooted in Scripture, our seven shared values form the gospel culture that we are building in our churches. How those values are expressed or practiced may look different from church to church, but like the molecules that make up DNA, our shared values are the building blocks that shape the distinctives that mark Sovereign Grace.
Recently Jeff Purswell, our Director of Theology and Training, rewrote the descriptions for each of our Seven Shared Values. Jeff not only strengthened the descriptions theologically but also provided additional clarity to each culture-shaping value that we share. You can find our Seven Shared Values, along with their descriptions here. Would you consider taking 10 minutes to read through them? I believe that 10-minute investment will be edifying, and soul-strengthening for you. And would you not just read them, but pray that God would give us grace to live out these values in our lives and in our churches in a way that brings God much glory.
Mark Prater is the Executive Director for Sovereign Grace and serves as an elder at Covenant Fellowship Church. He and his wife, Jill, have three married daughters and a growing number of grandchildren.