Vision and Values 

Vision

At St Gabriel’s we want everyone to encounter the love of Jesus, whoever they are and wherever they find themselves on a journey of faith. We believe this is possible by seeking after God, encountering his presence and sharing the love that we receive with the community around us. We want to do this in Word, Spirit and Action, teaching and experiencing God’s love as well as showing it in practical ways.

Values

Living out these values help to shape who we are as a church and the kind of culture we want to inhabit in everything we do whilst acknowledging our own brokenness and receiving God’s grace.

Meeting God

Spirit Powered

We long to be filled with God’s spirit and want to do everything in his strength and not our own. We believe the Holy Spirit is at work today and his gifts are for the whole church and for the benefit of the whole world.  1 Corinthians 12:7 “…the Spirit is given for the common good”

Worship Fuelled

We love to worship in song and with our whole lives, through which we can come close to God and encounter his love.  
1 Chronicles 16:23 “Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day.”

Bible Driven

We are inspired by the life of Jesus revealed in the gospels and look to him as a lens through which the whole of scripture is viewed. Our behaviour and values are accountable to the truths this reveals in the Bible. Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

Prayer Soaked

Prayer backs everything we do because it ensures we are listening and sharing everything with Almighty God. By covering all we do in prayer, we expect his answer and by faith, see him work powerfully in different situations for his glory.    
Philippians 4:6 “…by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Sharing the Love

Abundantly Generous

Nothing we have is our own, it is given to us by God and we delight in giving back to him. We want to continually be giving our best away to his purposes, even if it does not benefit us directly because we know it will enlarge his Kingdom.
Mark 12:44 “They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything…”

Delighting in Difference

Our diversity of cultures and persons of different backgrounds and experiences lights up our community and is part of what makes it special. We seek ways to be an eclectic family and care for one another as we journey together into God’s truth.  Revelation 7:9 “…from every nation, tribe, people and language…” See how this affects our welcome in our Equality Statement

Enduring in Faith

We have a rich heritage of faith and deep-rooted spirituality. We seek to cultivate resilience in our community so that our faith may endure and thrive even in difficult times and that we might be ready for anything! Hebrews 11:1 “…Faith is confidence in what we hope for…”

Outward Reaching

We desire to share the love of Jesus with as many people as we can! This includes those both near and far, from all walks of life, that do not yet know the good news of Jesus. We do this as an overflow of the love he has shown us. Matthew 28:19 “…make disciples of all nations…”