PURPOSE & VALUES

There is great freedom in living in authenticity. In fact, it is contagious. We believe we do not have time to be posers. We desire to be real. What you see is truly what you get. No one at Northlake has their act together, and we do not pretend that we are perfect. We accept one another in spite of our flaws. We believe the best way to live out the value of authenticity is by being in a Community Group. Living in relationships with others is where we will experience vulnerability and grow in Christ. Life is richer because we journey together, serving and being served, loving and being loved, knowing and being known. We aim to create nothing less than a community filled with love and acceptance.

Our greatest privilege is to be a praying church. The very act of prayer is a blessing for us. In prayer we grow in our love for Christ and learn to abide in him. Prayer opens up the resources of God here on earth. Charles Spurgeon once wrote, “Whenever God determines to do a great work, he first sets his people to pray.” We are asking God to do a great work, to bring renewal to our community. We desire to lives, churches and communities transformed as God ours our His Spirit on us. Prayer is our lifeline. We will never progress in grace if we forsake prayer. As goes prayer, so goes the spiritual vibrancy of the church. As a church we put prayer as a foundation in our times of worship, in our Community Groups, and it is also expressed in our monthly prayer gathering. We believe prayer can never be in excess.

God commands us to give and be generous - but more importantly he shows us how. God gave us everything we have. Furthermore, Jesus gave generously himself as an atoning sacrifice for us. God is extremely generous and we believe God calls us such generosity as individuals and collectively as a church. A lack of generosity is a refusal to believe that all we have is actually God’s. We believe we can never out give God. At Northlake we encourage everyone to grow in generosity. We believe that growing toward regularly giving is a step towards living generously. As a church, we demonstrate generosity by funding ministry partnerships, community initiatives, and ministry outside of our walls. Currently, our goal is to ensure 25% of our budget is directed toward funding ministry outside our walls.

The Great Commission was very clear, “go and make disciples.” We strive to build, grow and multiply disciples. We are disciples making disciples. We are engaged in helping others take their next step with Jesus and to see them do the same for someone else. Last words are important. Jesus' last words are even more important. He releases his followers with authority to make disciples. Not just the clergy, but all believers. At Northlake our disciple-making engine includes one-on-one relationships, Community Groups, Next Steps Classes and even leadership development groups. We want to show ourselves obedient in making disciples as this shows our love for Jesus.

There is only one church in the world and one church on the North Shore - that is the Church of Jesus Christ. Northlake is one expression of God’s people on the North Shore, but we are not “THE” expression. Our heart is advancing the kingdom! We believe it takes every Christ-follower, every church and every ministry to see our community become a e known as a city on hill, a light in the darkness. Kingdom people, working toward kingdom advancement that brings God’s “kingdom come, and his will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” We value kingdom partnerships. Northlake lives out this value by helping support kingdom partnerships with our time, treasure, and talents.