Six core values provide the foundation and focus for everything we do at OWC. Once you understand the values that drive OWC, you’ll better understand why we do what we do.
No value stands alone, and all are equally important. As you read through these values, see if you don’t find yourself drawn to living the kind of life where expressing these values is the norm rather than the exception.
Acceptance is meeting people where they are. We accept everyone for whom Christ died – which includes you! We choose to love those who are broken, forgive those who stumble and restore those who fall. Everyone has intrinsic value because we are all created in the image of God. In following Jesus’ example, we will show kindness, forgiveness, and grace — all demonstrations of God’s acceptance toward us.
Communitas is an intense community spirit, the feeling of social equality, solidarity, and togetherness. As a community, we seek to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. We voluntarily sacrifice and surrender our selfish desires and ambitions in order to accomplish the mission. Communitas is characterized by mutual accountability and love that goes well below the surface in sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly of life. No one stands alone, no one rises to the top alone, and no one falls down alone. Communitas is the very spirit of community that turns friends into comrades.
Generosity is liberally sharing one’s resources. We teach people to give generously without compulsion, because God loves a cheerful giver. Generosity is an antidote to greed. It feeds the hungry, fuels the imagination, and brings dreams to life. It nurtures growth, transforms lives, and requires faith. Our generosity will outlive us – its impact will be felt by future generations who will thank God and worship Him.
Making Disciples is the act of developing fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ and guiding them toward spiritual wholeness. We engage with one another on this lifelong journey of discovering God, and passionately pursuing who He created each of us to be. Relationships are a critical part of making disciples, and we cultivate relationships with both God and others through coaching, mentoring, counseling, serving, and teaching. Making disciples is the irreplaceable, core task of the church.
Missional Living is being an advocate for those who don’t know Jesus by doing whatever it takes to reach them where they are. We expect every disciple of Jesus to model missional living. This requires self-sacrifice – a voluntary willingness to be inconvenienced, discomforted, and used for the well-being of others. We seek innovative and creative ways to communicate the message in a culturally relevant way. We choose to focus on the unchurched, since this was Jesus’ model of missional living.
Multiplication is organically reproducing at an exponential rate. We strive to remove barriers to multiplication by deliberately developing reproducible systems. We will intentionally make disciples who make disciples, develop leaders who develop leaders, and plant churches that plant churches — this is the result of multiplication.