Worship
Don’t design a church service that attracts people. Design a service that attracts God and let him attract the right people.
Building a Culture of Worship & A Community of Artisans
Our Core Values are all put together in worship.
Vibrant Spirituality | Authentic Community
Imago Dei | Life Giving Culture
At Story Church we believe that a healthy church is a spiritually vibrant church. Here’s why: we believe that the presence of God is active, effective, and powerful. Scripture teaches us that where the Spirit of God is, there is liberty and freedom, that we are changed in His presence, and that’s a good thing. The Church as a whole, and Story Church exists for two main reasons:
- To worship and love God, and
- To love and care for people.
We don’t want to build a church that attracts people, but one that attracts God, and allows Him to draw the people He chooses to this space.
There are lots of ways a church can express vibrant spirituality, but for us there will be 2 specific expressions that drive everything we do.
- Pray First – Before we act, we pray. It’s that simple. And in everything we do from services, to small groups, to sermon series, to calendar rhythms, to phone calls, to decision-making. we’re going to pray first. This is personal and corporate reality and it’s our first priority. Scripture teaches that “unless the Lord builds the house, those who labor do so in vain.” We believe that and we want God’s purpose and presence to fuel everything we do.
- Passionate Worship – We believe that God is worthy of our focus, attention, admiration, trust, and love. We believe that He inhabits the praise of His people. In other words, He’s with us, He’s present. Jesus promises to be with us throughout the scripture and the presence of Holy Spirit is more valuable than anything else. His presence in our lives, in our homes, in our relationships, and especially in our gathered meetings is fundamental and critical. Scripture says that we love, because He first loved us.The way He loves us is extravagant and passionate so our right response is to be fully present and to give our best back to Him in the way we worship.
It should be noted that “worship” is much more than the songs we sing when we are gathered together, it’s the way we live our lives, it’s the way we treat our friends and loved-ones, or the people we encounter on regular basis. It’s the way we do our jobs, it’s the way we treat widows and orphans. In short, our lives are a sacrificial act of worship and we want to give God all that we are to the best of our imperfect ability.
As lead worshipers we facilitate space(s) for people to experience and then interact with the Living God by worshiping Him in Spirit and in Truth.
We chase hard after God to love Him and to know Him. (leading where we know how to go)
We publicly “lift Him up (Jn 15; I Cor 1:22; Ps 22:25,117:14,18) we proclaim His character and kindness (Rom 2:4) in Spirit and Truth (Jn 4:23-24). We root our identity in Him (Eph 1:4-5, Jn 9-15) We edify God & His people (Eph 5:19) We remind one another of His greatness and love (Rev 19:10; Lk 22:19; I Cor 11:24) To edify, encourage and exhort one another and to strengthen our faith (Mk 9:24) to be further equipped for the Kingdom.
We operate as coheirs of the Abrahamic blessing – we are blessed so that we may be a blessing- we never seek to hoard God’s presence, rather we carry it (Gen 12:2; 2 Cor 1:6) We are carriers & conduits of God’s grace, kindness, blessing, peace, etc. We are ambassadors of the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18-20) We are kingdom agents tasked with carrying His presence (Jn 15; Ex 25:14; Lev 4:5, 6:11; Num 1:50)
We seek to multiply worship leaders and artisans by vetting, training, equipping, empowering and releasing them into their calling with recognition of various levels of leadership responsibility (Num 4:15; Ex 36:1; Deut 1:9, 10:8, Deut 10:2) We pray for workers recognizing this is not because God needs them, but that more workers for the harvest is mercy to us (Mt 9:38; Lk 10:2)