We aspire to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, and minds,
and we commit to the following Core Values before the Lord when no one is
looking. We also commit to live our lives before the audience of One, Almighty
God, before whom we’ll stand one day.
1. Humility: Throughout the scriptures, both in the Old and
New Testaments, the Lord considers humility of the heart an absolute requisite
for His favor and blessing. The fundamental importance of humility in our hearts
as God requires it cannot be overstated. We acknowledge that everything we are,
everything we have, and everything we do, is from Him, and that in and of
ourselves, we are poor (1Cor 4:7, John 3:27). The Lord says in the scriptures
that He dwells with the humble (Isaiah 66:2), and resists the proud (1 Peter
5:5). Jesus taught us that we should learn from and emulate His humility(Matthew
11:29).The humility that the Lord requires is not merely an intellectual
acknowledgment of its necessity; neither is it mere courtesy and politeness in
mannerism, but true humility of heart in the way we deal with Him and one
another( Psalm 149:4, Matthew 5:3-5, James 4:10).
2. The Fear of the Lord and living a life set apart, holy unto the
Lord: The scriptures clearly state that holiness is an absolute requisite
for the Lord to dwell among His people. Perfect holiness and purity will not
dwell amidst darkness and compromise. The Lord calls us to sanctify ourselves in
order to do wonders among us (Joshua 3:5).The scriptures say that without
holiness no one shall see God (Hebrews 12:14), and “Blessed are the pure in
heart for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). “Who will ascend to the
Lord’s Hill? He who has clean hands and a pure heart” (Psalm 24: 3-4). God
told King Saul through the prophet Samuel “Obedience is better than
sacrifice” (1Samuel 15:12). A.W. Tozer said it well in an article entitled,
“Prayer is not a substitute for obedience.” The title says it all.
3. Prayer and Fasting: We are committed continually to lift up a
collective cry to Almighty God, to release His Church from the bondage of its
lukewarm attitude, apathy, self-centeredness, and disunity (Rev 3:15-16). Only
through heartfelt prayer will the Lord lead His Church out of its “Babylonian
captivity”(lack of the Glory of God among His people), and restore the Church to
her calling, to the place where she can effectively be His voice to a sick and
dying world (Matthew 7:7, Jeremiah 29:13-14). We are committed to seek His face
continually, to contend for His manifest Presence among us, and nothing else
will do (Exodus 3:15). We are further committed to wait patiently upon the Lord,
for Him to fulfill His vision for Cape Cod (1 Thess 5:17, Luke 18: 1-8).
"Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run
who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it
will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will
sureley come,It will not tarry" (Hab 2:2-3).
We believe His promise in James 5:16, that the effective,
fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
4. Sensitivity , yielding, and obedience to the leading of the Holy
Spirit: Throughout the scriptures, both in the Old and New Testaments, God
is continually speaking to His people: “Your ears shall hear a word behind
you” (Isaiah 30:21). “Ask of Me and I shall show you great and mighty
things, which you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3). “And I will bring the
blind by a way they did not know” (Isaiah 42:16). “My sheep hear My voice
and follow Me” (John 10:27). "Those who are lead by the Spirit of God, are
the sons of God” (Romans 8:14).
We acknowledge that we cannot do anything in our own strength or in our
human wisdom. We acknowledge our utter dependence on Him to guide our steps
(John 15:5).
5. Unity in diversity through the love of Christ: We believe
that the Church is one body, the Bride of Christ (John 17, 1Cor 12, Rom 12:4-5,
Ephesians 4:16, 1Pet 2:5, Ephesians 2: 20-22, 2 Cor 6:16, Col 2: 19).
We also realize that within the body of Christ there exists diversity in
expression of faith. The core value of diversity is clearly displayed in chapter
3 of Nehemiah. Despite their diversity, many families, skills and leaders--
priests, men of Jericho, the Tekoites, Gibeonites, goldsmiths and different
families clans-- were involved in successfully rebuilding the ruined walls of
Jerusalem.
Among the 12 disciples of Christ there also existed differences in
personality and temperament, but they were united and crystallized around
Christ.
We desire to see the Glory of God come upon Cape Cod. In order to
facilitate this, and encouraged by the examples of Nehemiah and the disciples,
we commit to labor together as diverse churches, ministries, and organizations,
to be part of the process of contending for the Glory of God on Cape Cod
(Nehemiah 3, John 17: 11, Psalm 133, Acts 2:44, 2Chron 5:13-15, 1 Cor 1:10, 1
Cor 1:10-13).