Core Values & Practices

V. CHURCH LEADERSHIP

A. VALUES

1.    Recognizing Christ as the Head of the church, we further recognize that He has appointed certain men of character to be spiritual elders, or pastors, in the local church. These men, rather than someone outside the church, have the final human authority in their church’s affairs and decisions. In addition to elders, we recognize the role of deacons in the church—those individuals who are officially appointed servants of the church (1 Timothy 3:1-13; Philippians 1:1).

2.    We believe that the terms “elder,” “overseer,” and “pastor” each refer to the same position (Acts 20:17, 28).

3.    The New Testament model is that of a Christ-centered submissive plurality of pastors rather than a single-pastor leadership structure (Acts 14:23; Philippians 1:1).

4.    Elders/pastors are to be appointed based upon the character qualities described in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9.

5.    Leadership in the church must be radically different from leadership in the world.  The greatest in the church must be the servant of all. Church leaders are to be humble servants, very teachable, responsive to criticism and models of always learning, growing, and improving.

6.    We believe that the character qualities and doctrinal understanding needed to become an elder/pastor/overseer are best developed within the local church. We view additional training (such as that offered by Bible schools or seminaries) not as a qualification for a pastor, but rather as a possible supplement to the equipping of a pastor within the local church (Titus 1:5).

7.    We value and esteem women in the church and encourage their ministry in various roles. In accordance with the New Testament, we reserve the office of elder/pastor/overseer for men alone (1Timothy 3:1, 2:12).

8.    A pastor/elder is to be a servant, modeling Christlike humility, teachability and love, as well as a leader, demonstrating faith, courage, and strength in managing the church (Luke 22:26; Hebrews 13:7).

9.    Elders are to devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word as their primary focus in the church. Deacons are servants of the church who assist the pastors in areas that enable the pastors to focus on prayer and the ministry of the Word (Acts 6:1-6).

B. COMMON PRACTICES

1.    Hometown Church practices a plurality of elders model with elders having equal authority in the church, rather than a traditional senior pastor model. Some churches have chosen to select one of the elders to provide servant-leadership to the community of elders for the management of the church. Yet, even in these cases, the church is being led by Jesus Christ through the community of elders, not through just one man.

2.    Our practice is for elders to be active as the spiritual leaders in the church, whether or not they are paid church employees.

3.    Our practice is to encourage men and women to share the word of God with each other (Colossians 3:16)—and to do so in a way that does not violate 1 Timothy 2:12: “I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man.” How this verse is interpreted and applied varies somewhat from church to church and culture to culture.

4.    Our preference is to have more than one elder in each church. However, where this does not exist, our preferred practice is for that one elder to select a group of mature men to act as an advisory group in order to protect, encourage, and confirm him in his leadership of the church.

5.    Although there are exceptions, our general practice is to develop and appoint leaders (elders and staff) from within the local church.

6.    In training for church leadership, Hometown gives special attention to equipping a man who has a family to lead in his home as a husband and as a father. When we evaluate a married man for leadership, we look at the strength of his marriage and his family before evaluating his ministry skills and other credentials (1 Timothy 3:4-5, 12).

VI. ONENESS (LOVE AND UNITY)

A. VALUES

1.    We strongly revere the “doctrine of love and unity” within all of Christendom. God desires unity between believers as a high priority, and we strive to maintain a unity with every believer, both within and without Hometown
(Ephesians 4:3).

2.    We believe that our unity must be centered in Jesus Christ and in the truth of the gospel and of the Scripture. Unity is maintained and enhanced as we believe and obey the Scriptures, unite in a common vision and follow the Lord together.

3.    We value a deep “Jonathan-David” covenant love and loyalty for one another, particularly among leaders in churches, regions, nationally and internationally
(1 Samuel 18:1).

B. COMMON PRACTICES

1.    For the sake of the gospel and the Great Commission, our practice has been to avoid divisive arguments on “gray areas” of doctrine and to discuss "gray areas" in an atmosphere of grace and respect with the goal of increasing our unity.

2.    When disunity arises on ministry and doctrinal issues, our practice is to encourage leaders to persevere in seeking unity so that the church can move forward.

3.    When members have a disagreement with the leadership on secondary issues, our practice is to grant full fellowship to that member as long as he/she respects the teaching of the elders and does not create strife or disunity through that issue.

4.    One reason that we advocate an elder-led (versus a congregational-led) structure is that it promotes and encourages unity in the church.

5.    Recognizing that spiritual warfare exists and that our enemy seeks to divide, we place a high value on building and maintaining unity between elders and between their wives.

6.    We promote the practice of church attenders being empathetic listeners, humbly seeking first to understand and then to be understood (Romans 12:15; James 1:19).

7.    We promote the practice of defending, and believing the best of, one another, and not receiving an accusation against another person or an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses (1 Corinthians 13:4-7; 1 Timothy 5:19).

8.    We seek to honor, love, pray for, and cooperate with God-fearing and Bible-believing churches and leaders locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. Our goal is not to compete with other churches but to cooperate as allies in furthering the Kingdom of God.

9.    In international ministry we aspire to support, cooperate with, and honor the national Christians in each country, striving for the unity Jesus prayed for in John 17. We believe that God will honor our church planting efforts as we first humbly seek counsel from and unity with national Christian leaders in each country.

VII. RAISING GODLY FAMILIES

 A. VALUES

1.    We believe that strong families are foundational for the physical, social, emotional, and spiritual development of each individual; for healthy relational patterns within the church; and for stability in society. Strong families produce strong churches and strong communities (Ephesians 5:22-6:4).

2.    We value the husband and the wife following Christ’s example in loving and honoring one another sacrificially. We also promote differing but complementary roles in the family, with the husband as the head of the household, wholeheartedly laying down his life for, sacrificially loving and leading his wife, and his wife wholeheartedly laying down her life for him, honoring, supporting, and submitting to her husband (Ephesians 5:22-33).

3.    We believe that human sexuality is a gift and is to be celebrated and practiced exclusively within the marriage covenant between one man and one woman.  Therefore, in accordance with the Bible, we consider any sexual expression outside of or apart from that covenant (including adultery, fornication, homosexuality or viewing pornography) to be a sin (1 Corinthians 6:9; Matthew 5:28).

4.    We believe that life is a gift from God that begins at conception and should be valued and protected at all stages of development and ability (Psalm 139:13-16).

5.    We aspire to provide compassionate ministry to those who are divorced while at the same time teaching that God hates divorce and wants couples to stay married. Churches in Northlands (with some exceptions) generally teach that God permits remarriage after divorce in two instances—marital infidelity or if an unbeliever leaves a believing spouse (Matthew 5:32; 1 Corinthians 7:15).

6.    We believe that parents are primarily responsible for their child’s spiritual, academic and personal development. Church ministries, including youth ministries, are intended to strengthen the parent-child relationship and to support parents in fulfilling their God-given responsibilities (Ephesians 6:4). 

7.    We place a high value on men being strong spiritual leaders in their marriages and with their children (Ephesians 5:25-27, 6:4). 

B. COMMON PRACTICES

1.    Although ministry is important, we hold that one’s home life takes precedence over ministry outside the home.

2.    Our practice is to encourage families to be “on mission,” actively involved in evangelism, discipleship, and church planting.

3.    Our practice is to affirm those whom God has led to be single in a desire to have an undistracted devotion to the Lord.

4.    Hometown Church puts a great emphasis on equipping and supporting parents as a church community to win the hearts of their children so that they will love God and love people their entire lives. In parenting their children, church members are encouraged to grow in their humility before God, their faith in Christ, their love for and relationship with their children, their faithfulness in teaching God’s Word to their children and their diligence in providing godly correction and discipline (1 Thessalonians 2:7-12; Deuteronomy 6:6-7; Ephesians 6:4).

5.    For a two-parent Christian family, our churches focus on the father and mother working together as a team and on equipping the father to be the spiritual leader in training their child(ren). For a parent who is single or who is not married to a Christian, churches seek to provide that parent extra support and specialized ministry as a church community (Ephesians 6:4; James 1:27).

6.    Parents are encouraged to take the lead in their child’s education, whether through homeschooling, Christian schooling, or secular schools. While all parents are supported in whatever educational choice they make, it has been a common practice among our leaders to homeschool their children, particularly in their early formative years.   

VIII. EVERY MEMBER A MINISTER

A. VALUES

1.    While we recognize that God calls some to be workers in the gospel as a full-time vocation (1 Corinthians 9:14), we affirm the “priesthood of all believers” rather than a “clergy-laity” system. All Christians are “priests,” according to 1 Peter 2:5-9, empowered through the Holy Spirit to worship God and be workers in the church and the world.

2.    The elders have the responsibility to train and equip the members in ministry, but not to actually perform the entire ministry of the church (Ephesians 4:11‑16).

3.    God desires each member to utilize his or her unique spiritual gifts in ministry (1 Peter 4:10-11).

4.    All ministry is in vain without the help of, and our reliance upon, the Holy Spirit. He is our source of power in the church and in the believer. He is our Helper in all matters of faith, service, and direction (1 Corinthians 12:4-7).

B. COMMON PRACTICES

1.    Our churches seek to equip members with certain basic spiritual disciplines such as daily devotional times, serving in the church, sharing the Word with believers, and sharing the gospel with unbelievers.

2.    From the example of the Jerusalem church in Acts 8:1-4, the practice of many church attenders has been to voluntarily and spontaneously spread the gospel to new areas and new people groups, without relying upon pastors or paid staff.

3.    Though Hometown would not be considered part of the charismatic movement, churches emphasize the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of members and in the ministry of the church. 

4.    Churches encourage the use of spiritual gifts in their many forms. As for the sign gifts, most churches in Northlands have understood these gifts to be for the purpose of authenticating the message of Christ to unbelievers. For example, most would understand the gift of tongues to be the supernatural ability to speak a known language as a sign to unbelievers (Acts 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 14:22). 

5.    It is a common practice in churches for believers to share communion in informal settings (homes) as well as church buildings, and for baptisms to be conducted by non-pastors as well as pastors. 

6.    Our historical practice is for our church’s ministry to be both centralized (in a rented or church-owned building) and decentralized—ministry performed by individuals in homes and in the marketplace (Acts 2:46, 5:42, 20:20).