Our Core Values

Our core values and our mission are mingled together. Generally in life, what we do comes from what we are. Here is an outline of our general values, philosophy of ministry and our mission.

Below is a well-known passage from the Bible that embodies our first three values.

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These words that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. From the Book of Deuteronomy, chapter 6:4-9

Our relationship with God is the central issue of life.

The most valuable service we can offer anyone is to present to them the way to have a relationship with God through Jesus. Jesus uniquely embodies God in a way we never will. He existed before this known world was made and came to earth in the form of a man for the purpose of directly connecting us to God.

This connection is fueled by God’s love for us. Once a relationship with God begins, there is a natural growth and trust that develops on our part. As in any relationship, we can determine how close we want to be. As in any relationship, our misunderstandings about God can hinder the level of trust and intimacy.

Our hope is to accurately present God, knowing that when people discover what His nature and character are really like, they will be drawn to Him. We encourage the elements that strengthen a relationship with God, such as prayer, worship and trust.

(Please visit the ‘Discovering God’ page to find out how you can know God personally.)

The Bible is a pathway to life and blessings.

There is a reason why The Bible has lasted 3,500 years! Most of it was here before the Greek philosophers, Buddha or Confucius. It has been proven historically accurate at countless points. And archeological discoveries have indisputably proven The Bible has the same exact content as it did over 2,000 years ago. But the best evidence of its value is when an individual makes a personal connection with it, reading it and sensing there is something of value there for him or her. This inner knowing is what really keeps people coming back to The Bible millennium after millennium!

We view the Bible holistically; that is, we don’t separate the Bible into relevant and irrelevant parts, or think of it as a one dimensional list of do’s and don’ts. The Bible expresses spiritual truths that are alive and dynamic. It is so flexible and multifaceted that two people can read the same passage and both come away with different personal guidance from it!

There are certain absolute truths which the Bible helps us to understand. It declares what God’s character is like and aspects of his nature. It identifies certain behaviors to avoid and certain ones to follow. It includes practical insights into business, health, family life and many other topics. When you add up all the areas of guidance it contains, you begin realize what a gift it is!.

We support and strengthen marriages and families.

Families are the building blocks of life. They are the environment that shapes our self image, our world view, our confidence and values. Supporting families and strengthening homes is one of the highest priorities for Pathways Community Church.

We do this through several ways:

• Providing great activities for children that teach character values, build a positive self image and highlight God’s love and care.
• We activate the inherent power of parent’s ability to influence children. We do this by providing parents with lots of simple, fun and interesting ways to train their children in God’s pathways at home.
• We have group family activities, including holiday ‘theme’ activities, movie and game nights, campouts, etc. We encourage a Friday night meal together in which parents pray a blessing over the children and each other.
• We provide marriage and pre-marriage counseling.
• Marriage Support Circles such as Blended Families, Marriage Enrichment and Parenting Skills use specific curriculums to bring fresh starts to couples.
• 12 Step Recovery Circles break the power of addictions that affect the entire family.

We have unity in diversity.

Some of us are African American, some of us Anglos, some Hispanic or other ethnicities. Some of us are Democrats, other may be Libertarian, Republican or politically apathetic. Some are Blazer fans, others are Laker fans (boooooo!) We are old. We are young. We are in between.

And we are in unity! We are spiritually family.

Having the same Father helps! Our unity comes from our connection with each other through God and His purposes, not through social sameness, hobbies, views or personal preferences.

Diversity of opinions is alright. We are more concerned about being a ‘thinking group’ than having ‘group think’. There are some basic beliefs we hold to unwaveringly and a wide range of issues we differ on. Kind of like family!

We are called to help meet other people’s needs.

Clearly we are not living in the Garden of Eden! There is much in our world that needs to be repaired or healed. We believe God calls each of us to in some way serve and help others. Serving is part of the DNA of Pathways Community. And strangely enough, working on a service project together is a great way to have fun and make friends!

It may be locally by working in a food bank, babysitting a single mom’s kids, maintaining an elderly person’s home, tutoring someone in the jail or volunteering at a civic organization.

It could be globally by sponsoring one of our African children in our Kenya children’s home, gathering supplies for a project, going on a short term mission, organizing a small fund raising drive at work for computers for 3rd world schools.

Being spiritual alive and whole is a great human need as well. There are hundreds of ways to encourage others spiritually: Praying for a friend (or enemy!), explaining how we have found strength in God and how others can as well, sending an encouraging text or hosting or leading a growth circle.

In addition to the individual acts of service, all ministry circles of Pathways Community are encouraged to prayerfully take on a service project as a group. Kids Sunday school circles can collect used soccer uniforms for a league in an African slum. An adult circle might decide to arrange a vacation for the family of a soldier. The sky is the limit!

God wants us to have an abundant life.

A full study of the Bible reveals clearly that life is to be full of joy, blessings, love, hope, peace, sufficient resources to meet our needs and to share with of others. We are to experience great relationships. A quick overview of the very first chapter in the Bible explains a lot about how God designed us. The truths explained below are very illuminating.

First, he made an awesome environment for us to live in. Then he formed in our nature inner character qualities such as the ability to give and receive love, to have self control, to make decisions on our own.

He then gave us authority and responsibility over this world He created. We are not to be defeated by life! Problems are not to rule over us, we are to solve them and achieve success in life. Our mindset should be one that looks for possibilities not just problems. We live as victors not victims. This is our birthright as children of God!

God said we are to be fruitful and multiply. That speaks to every area of life, not just having children. By following God’s pathways we can learn, grow and get ahead. We may have a tough past, but there are still many opportunities for success. God has revealed in the Bible countless principles to follow that bring great blessings.

Finally, as God finished creating mankind and this world, He declared that we are good. Every person has a God given dignity and all people are of equal value. Even when we fail, God has a solution: his forgiveness, acceptance and strength to change. None of us need to live with shame or inferiority.

We respect the Jewish roots of our faith.

This means different things to different people. For us, it means a respect and appreciation of the source of our faith. It was the Hebrew, or Jewish culture and people that God created, God blessed and God used to bring us Jesus.

The Bible explains that the New Testament is an extension of the Old Testament, which is the foundation. The New and Old Testaments don’t contradict. They do not portray two different religions or two different Gods. As revelation developed and history has moved forward, there have been changes in some traditions, but the principles remain the same. You could have an Old Testament without a New Testament, but you could not have a New Testament without an Old Testament!

That means that:

• We feel complete freedom to enjoy the Biblical celebrations and holy days. They are God’s method of imparting faith and teaching spiritual truth in annual cycles.
• We are ‘wired’ to have the day of rest each week and experience the blessings it brings. The Bible calls this the Sabbath. It is a time to set aside the stress, the work and focus on our spiritual life and our family.
• We prioritize family life, encouraging and supporting parents as they transfer blessings to the children.
• We are generous to the needy and regularly serve others. These are our responsibilities.
• We believe Israel and the Jewish people have a special place in God’s plan. Therefore we support Israel and her right to exist. God did not replace Israel with the church.

We see no need for an identity swap…that is, Gentiles trying to become Jews or Jews becoming Gentiles. Practicing some purely cultural (as compared to Biblical) Jewish customs or dress doesn’t somehow make a person Jewish, nor does God ask that of people.