It is our DNA that largely determines who we are and who we’ll become. At RCA, our spiritual DNA is made up of our seven values:
• Expository Preaching
• Spirited Worship
• Sacrificial Love
• Christlike Holiness
• Biblical Discipleship
• Church Reproduction
• Global Missions
1. EXPOSITORY PREACHING
Fancy word, simple concept. Paul told his disciple Timothy to “Preach the word.” God did not mean for His word just to be taught; He meant for it to be preached.
Expository comes from the root word “expose.” It simply means that the preacher is exposing the meaning and application of the text rather than imposing his own wisdom or viewpoint onto the text. Expository preaching can be either topical or verse-by-verse.
2. SPIRITED WORSHIP
Worship is not just an event that takes place in a church service: it’s about all of your life being lived to bring glory to God. This can only take place as a person walks in the Spirit.
To the degree that a person’s life is declaring the glory of God, what they do in a church service, or any other time, can be called worship. Jesus said the Father was looking for true worshippers who worship the Father in spirit and truth.
3. CHRISTLIKE HOLINESS
God tells us, “Be ye holy, even as I am holy.” The standard for believers is holiness in thought, attitude and action. The measure of holiness is Christ.
But believers are not just called to emulate Christ. That inevitably leads to frustration, disappointment and disillusionment. Christlike holiness originates from the inside out because its source is Christ Himself. Believers are called to live in conscious dependence on the risen Lord Jesus Christ who lives in them to live through them. The result is a life that is holy, even as He is holy.
4. SACRIFICIAL LOVE
Biblical love is not just an emotion and it is not just an action. It is an identity that expresses itself in action and emotion. God is love, therefore He loves. It defines His identity, therefore it determines His activity.
Romans 5 says that same love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. God does not want us merely to choose to act in loving ways or to feel loving feelings; He whants us to embody His love to one another and the world around us. That means we are so wrapped up with Him that we feel what He feels for people, and we serve people as Christ served them—to the point of laying down our very lives.
5. BIBLICAL DISCIPLESHIP
Jesus modeled ministry in a very simple way during His time on earth by investing His life in twelve men He called His disciples. It’s no accident that He used the exact same word to describe the mission of every believer: to “teach” or “make disciples” of all nations.
Discipleship includes reaching people for Christ, but it’s not just evangelism. It’s the work of leading a person to Christ, building them up in Christ, and teaching them to do the same with others.
Discipleship can be messy and it takes time. It is the mission, however, not just of pastors and church leaders, but of every follower of Jesus Christ.
6. CHURCH REPRODUCTION
Virtually every living organism reaches a point of physical maturity at a particular size and then begins to reproduce after its own kind. Intuitively we know that it is an abnormality for something to grow larger and larger indefinitely.
The church is not just an organization, but a living organism, so once a church reaches a mature size, we should expect it to reproduce after its own kind as well. As the Church of Jesus Christ, if we intend to reach a world population that is growing exponentially, we must be continually and regularly reproducing: not just disciples, but churches exponentially.
7. GLOBAL MISSIONS
Global Missions is nothing more than an extension of Biblical discipleship and church reproduction around the world. We are called to reach all nations – not just our own community and country. We are constantly supporting and seeking to impact the world through establishing and helping churches that reproduce and make disciples.
