The Hills We Die On

Values are like a GPS unit, guiding and leading any organization in the desired direction. Too often values degenerate into sentimental ideas or mushy words on a plaque hanging in the break room. When these values are hazy or undefined, momentum is replaced by confusion and frustration. If this continues, eventually people start losing interest. As a church, we too have values. But they are more than heartwarming phrases in fancy fonts. 

While Reveal places a value on many things, we have 10 Hills We Die On. They represent the core elements of how we go about our work. They are the practices that permeate everything we do.
10 Hills:
It’s all about Jesus
There has never been a more famous person in all of history. Nobody is more loved, and nobody more hated. Opinions can be seen in art, literature, music and movies – some friends, some foes. At Reveal, we’re all about Jesus. Who He is, what He taught, how He lived. While you’re here, we hope you learn a few things about how to be a better person, how to have a better marriage or being more fulfilled in life.

Christ. Behavior modification won’t cut it. This is about life transformation from the inside out.

Where do you go from here? Your journey has a next step...we’ll help you find it. (Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. Colossians 1:10 from The Bible)

Seek Truth
Reveal is a place for everyone! Nobody needs to have it all sorted out before they visit our church, and you certainly don’t need to comprehend the deeper nuances of the Bible. We do not assume everyone who attends Reveal understand or even believes the Bible, but we do hope everyone who comes through the doors is open to exploring it. The Bible is the foundation for everything we practice, believe and teach. We put confidence in the Biblical text as God’s inspired word. Pointing us to truth, imparting wisdom for daily life and revealing more of Jesus. (All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16 from The Bible)

Leave The Masks
We believe we cannot step into everything God has for us if we put up false fronts. “Fake it till you make it” might be a popular slogan, but it’s not spoken here. Valuing authenticity means giving everyone the freedom to fail, without judgment. It means we can drop the facades, stop pretending, and leave the masks at home. Whether from the stage, through community taking place in homes, or on serving teams, we die on the hill of authenticity. Free to share our faults and weaknesses and not fake it. So take off the mask...it’s okay!

Spiritual Growth
Wherever you are in life, you matter and you have a purpose. We want to help you become the person God has created you to be. While we do not expect everyone who comes to Reveal to be a committed follower of Jesus, we do expect everyone who is around our community for any length of time to learn how to reflect the image of Christ in every day life. Reveal is a safe place, but safe doesn’t mean comfortable, and safe also doesn’t mean nothing changes. The Bible presents a dangerous message of life change. It challenges our status quo to push us beyond comfort, toward Christ. Behavior modification won’t cut it. This is about life transformation from the inside out.Where do you go from here? Your journey has a next step...we’ll help you find it. (Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. Colossians 1:10 from The Bible)

Come Together
Church isn’t the building – it’s the people. Church is not a weekly event, only something we “do” on Sunday. Church is us – it’s who we are. It was meant to go beyond gathering in an auditorium for an inspiring service and then retreating back to our individual lives. Being part of a local church was always about community. Though we live in a society that cheers on the independent lifestyle and the self-made man, we were built for community. Knowing and being known, loving and being loved, celebrating and being celebrated, serving and being served. While our Sunday service is a great place to start, it’s not where we want to stay. (Let us consider how to inspire each other to greater love and to righteous deeds. Hebrews 10:24-25 from The Bible)

The Practice & Proclamation of the Kingdom of God
We view the kingdom of God as the overarching and integrating theme of the Bible. The kingdom was rooted in the hopeful vision of the Hebrew prophets and inaugurated in the life and ministry of Jesus.
Early in His earthly ministry, Jesus said the Kingdom of God is near. He was not referring to a physical location, but rather the rule and reign of God had come among us. He then went on to demonstrate what the kingdom, or rule of God was like. He did this by praying for and healing the sick, casting out demons, serving those in need, spreading the kingdom message and being an instrument of social justice.
We are committed to the proclamation and practice of the Kingdom message. This means we seek and pray for God’s Kingdom to break in among us. Whether through salvations, healings (physical, emotional, and social), doing justice, serving, or delivering those held captive by evil, we pray for more of God’s reigning Kingdom to be present. “Pray in this way...Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done...” Jesus

Everyone Gets To Play
In Jesus’ Kingdom, everybody gets to play. Jesus recruited ordinary people, guys off fishing boats, women from all walks of life, to partner with God in His Kingdom message. And He’s extending the same invitation to us.
We believe that ministry is not reserved for pastors or paid staff. Rather everyone in the church has unique God-given gifts, and we are invited to use them to show off His creativity and handiwork. We don’t have to wait to be “spiritually mature” - we get to jump in right away. You’ll be surprised what God can do through you and His church when everyone gets to play!

Experiencing God
God is eager to be known and experienced by all. We believe that God is searching for lost humanity in order to draw us into relationship with Himself. In response to God’s initiative, we value the life-changing power of the experience of His presence.
We value an approach to God’s presence that is respectful both of God and of those we are with.
Therefore we reject the need for hype or manipulation in any way. We do believe, however, that we should make room for God’s activity in even the ordinary and mundane. God is always active, always at work, and always seeking to reveal more of Himself to those who look for Him.

Compassionate Ministry
We lean toward the hurting, the poor, the outcast, and the outsider with the compassion of Jesus. Compassion should be the leading edge of our service to God, each other and a broken world. As such, we seek to avoid unauthorized judgments of others, realizing that we are all fellow sufferers and strugglers with the rest of humanity.

We Are Spiritual Contributors Not Spiritual Consumers
Faith should not be an addition to life, but a reframing of life itself. Our understanding of this truth moves us from thinking as individuals to thinking as a community. This means we miss the call of God upon our lives and the church community when we stay self-centered.
We have to make intentional choices as individuals at Reveal to be contributors and give back to one another. This means each person that calls Reveal their church community has a responsibility, as an owner of the church, to participate in the ministry and function of the church.
As contributors, we choose to focus on community over self, sacrifice over self service, and commitment over inconvenience.
(Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:4 from The Bible).