Vision and values
St Paul's compilied its 'Vision and Values' document in 2006, after a consultation process involving church leaders and following subsequent feedback from the congregation. Church leaders met on three evenings to discuss, pray for and seek to discern God's direction for our church, and to clarify our values. We also needed to understand what was meant by the words 'purpose', 'mission' and 'vision' as people understood different things by these terms.
Our purpose statement answers the question “why do we exist?” and has three aspects. We exist to bring
· Glory to Christ,
· Growth to His Church, and
· Good News to the Community
Our values answer the question “How should we operate?” These values are like the DNA of the church, that we seek to be like in all we do. There are two foundational values: biblical and prayerful, which underlie the other five values that express how we will act:
· Generous: we will be generous and welcoming to all, so that others encounter God’s transforming grace for themselves
· Loving: we will be real and loving with each other, so creating a safe place in which people feel free to seek wholeness in every area of their lives
· Distinctive: We will be wholehearted in learning to be more and more like Jesus
· Outgoing: We are eager to go out to others, overflowing with the love of Christ, and determined to make the gospel accessible to all
· Led by the Spirit: We will be led and empowered by God’s Holy Spirit, accepting risk and change for the sake of his kingdom
Our vision is a picture of the future that is better than where we are, and that energises us to work towards it. As we prayed and discussed, we realised that the vision is much bigger than St. Paul’s, and is for the whole town (and further afield too). We expressed this as 'our vision is to see Leamington changed, one life at a time.' Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we will try to fulfil this vision by
· Helping each member of St. Paul’s to become a wholehearted disciple of Jesus
· Working towards St. Paul’s becoming a thriving centre for the Kingdom of God seven days a week
· Working together with other churches to continue the ministry of Jesus: proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God, and demonstrating it in practical, caring ways.
| 
