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1.    Why Do We Exist?   (Our Purpose)

To glorify God and to enjoy Him

2.    What Are We Trying To Accomplish?  (Our Vision)

To make and deploy mature and equipped followers of Christ ¹ for the sake of family, community and global transformation².

3.    How Do We Plan To Accomplish Our Vision?  (Our Mission)

4.    What Is Most Important To Us?  (Our Core Values)

    4.1    “Who We Are” Values

    4.2    “What We Do” Values

Footnotes

1    A mature and equipped follower of Christ is one who:

2    A community (local or global) demonstrates transformation when:

3    Our plan to disciple members in life-on-life missional discipleship will be accomplished:

 

Change
Truth
Equipping
Accountability
Mission
Supplication

 

4    Regarding Love, we believe that loving and serving Christ is the highest priority and the most satisfying experience of life, and that giving and serving are much richer life experiences than receiving and being served.

5    Regarding Integrity, we believe that the believer’s responsibility is to integrate truth into every aspect of life so as to live as a bond-servant of Christ whether in the marketplace, home, social arena or church.

6    Regarding Faith, we believe that salvation is only by faith and since faith is the certainty of things unseen, it pleases God to attempt things so great for Him that they are doomed to failure unless God is in them.

7    Regarding Innovation and Change, We Believe that ministry is most effective when done in the context of cultural relevance and in an environment of innovative change, while remaining faithful to the Word of God.

8    Regarding Truth, We Believe that God alone is absolute, that all truth comes from God and that the only special revelation of truth to man is God’s Word, the Bible, being inspired, infallible, unchangeable and powerful.

9    Perimeter’s Worship Services are designed for believers to worship God.  We are not a “seeker service” in that we do not place our highest priority for gathering on winning seekers, but rather on equipping believers and enabling them to worship as a corporate community.  However, the seeker is very important to us and thus every attempt is made to use our worship as an opportunity for the seeker to meet God.  We believe biblical worship is an excellent way to expose the seeker to God’s Word and God’s people.

10    Prayer is different experiences for people to come together and pray about specific issues or needs.  There are opportunities for a weekly prayer time, as our prayer ministry invites people to join them in prayer for the church.  The elders of the church come together once a month to pray for specific people who are dealing with certain challenges, including those who need physical healing.  Occasionally, we'll have church wide prayer events, as large groups will gather to pray.  At Perimeter, prayer is a high value and it's certainly not limited to these structured times, as prayer is happening throughout the week in multiple venues.

11    Seasons of Life Communities are groups which meet at least twice a month for the purpose of assimilating new people into the church family, establishing social relationships with other believers and experiencing biblical fellowship (“one-anothering”).  The groups vary in composition and program and in a “lite” way, engage in service and growth.  Seasons of Life Communities are grouped by age and stage of life.  In addition to evening gatherings at homes, we have a Season of Life Community for all ages & stages of life offered on Sunday mornings at the church facilities.

12    Area Communities are groups which meet at least twice a month for the purpose of assimilating new people into the church family, establishing social relationships with other believers and experiencing biblical fellowship (“one-anothering”).  The groups vary in composition and program and in a “lite” way, engage in service and growth.  Neighborhood Congregations are grouped by geographic identity.

13    Home Fellowship Communities are groups of usually 6 to 12 who meet for the purpose of Bible study, fellowship and care.   These groups, like other fellowship groups, keep service, growth and outreach as high values.

14    Supper Clubs are short-term, monthly gatherings of six to eight people. The clubs provide the opportunity for fellowship and a chance to get connected with each other. The groups are geographically based in order to encourage and allow for spontaneous encounters beyond the once-a-month dinners.
 
15    Seminars, Classes, and Groups are various venues used to better equip believers in both their walk with Christ as well as their ministry to others.  These multiple offerings generally fall into three categories: Family, Bible and Theology, and Christian Living and ministry.  Three “must take” courses for all members are “LINK”, “X-PRESS Your Faith” and “Faith and Finances”.

16    Discipleship Teams are small groups, usually 5-7 men or women, meeting weekly with a well-qualified and trained leader for the purpose of becoming mature and equipped followers of Christ by the use of Truth, Equipping, Accountability, Mission, & Supplication.  These groups provide excellent opportunities for fellowship and in a “lite” manner, provide opportunity for service.

17    Leadership Training describes our initial instruction given to prepare present and future leaders, both male and female, for effective ministry.  Both knowledge and specific skills are necessary to go along with commitment and maturity in order to expect outstanding leadership.  The first of two courses, “Theological Foundations”, focuses on knowledge while “Leadership Dynamics” focuses on specific training.

18    Theological Foundations is a course of study open to all members (male and female) who are believed to exemplify the qualifications of elder or deacon found in 2 Timothy and Titus.  The course runs for approximately ten weeks and takes the participant deep in exposure to the weightier issues of theology and Christian service.  Evaluation and testing is given to help determine one’s preparation for future pastoral and discipleship leadership.

19    Leadership Dynamics is a course of study designed to prepare its participants to identify their leadership style, learn skills related to personal and small group leadership, evaluate one’s leadership strengths and then direct the participant to the most effective use of his or her skills.

20    “LINK” is our messenger course designed to inform it’s participants how to discover their spiritual gifts, passions and personality style in such a way to help them link to a specific ministry which “fits”. 

21    Weekend Serving is a term used to describe those ministries that must take place so that our Saturday night and Sunday morning services can occur (i.e. Welcome Team, Usher Team, Kids Town, etc).  These are crucial ministries that support our “worship services” and are staffed by volunteers.

22    Church Ministry Teams are small groups of believers who devote themselves to working together to serve other participants within the church.  Some ministry teams serve by means of giving leadership and direction to ministries while others are comprised of those who are involved in “hands on” ministry.  All team members are cared for by a shepherd.

23    Community Ministry Teams unite outreach and mercy ministries with the single purpose of spreading the kingdom of God. These Teams are designed to extend the love of Christ through service to the community. Members of a group prayerfully commit to working together in an area of focused service for a year. Areas of service are selected according to the interests of group members.

24    Global Ministry Teams carry out Perimeter’s vision for discipleship based church planting to the ends of the world by developing partnerships with indigenous church planting organizations to envision, train and equip indigenous pastors.  The team further supports our partners by helping them to evangelize and disciple businessmen and next generation leaders on high school and college campuses.  In addition, the teams mobilize Perimeter to help our indigenous church partners to minister to the needs of the least and lost in their communities and countries.

25    “X-Press Your Faith” is a course designed to inform it’s participants in how to become effective at expressing his faith in such a way as to lead people to Christ.  As a part of this instruction, the participant develops a plan for meeting and befriending those who have not met Christ and introducing the gospel to them in a relational and non-threatening manner.  It is at this time that the participant will be introduced to the well-known “3-D Evangelism” training.

26    “Outreach Weekends” Three times a year the Lord’s Day worship is moved to Sunday p.m. and both Saturday p.m. and Sunday a.m. are used as engaging kick-off outreach events.  These church-wide outreaches are followed by a four-week “investigative forum”, which meets simultaneously with Sunday a.m. worship services.

27    Other Outreach Events describe any events sponsored by the church with the intent of inviting non-believers to be exposed to God’s Word and God’s people. 

28    Guest Sponsorship is the commitment of believers to “adopt” unchurched guests inviting them to various helpful church activities including worship services and eventually hosting them at an Inquirer’s Seminar.  Common Cause Leaders (see #11) sponsor their group members through all seven connecting points.

29    Community and Global Journeys are short term mission trips, either local or overseas, designed to give the participant a cross cultural experience enabling them to see the world from the perspective of the least and the lost and to contribute in a small but significant way to the needs of such.  Prior training is required for a journey and all journeys are comprised of approximately 5-10 participants, led by a trained leader.  Most participants raise their support from interested friends.  It is goaled that every Perimeter member participates in a Journey once every three years.

30     Generosity Ministry is dedicated to providing believers clear teaching in Biblical principles of God’s immeasurable generosity.  “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).   The believer’s response to God’s immeasurable generosity should be no less than developing a heart ready to be spent for others. 

31    Tithing means “tenth” and refers to the minimum standard (10% or “first fruits”) require by God’s people to give to His Kingdom work.  Such giving is to be done from a joyous heart and designed to be a reminder that God owns everything.

32    Ministry & Campus Development Project is our plan to raise the financial support needed to achieve the campus and ministries goals for Y25+ and beyond. In order to maintain a kingdom growing church, it is essential that we have appropriate facilities and the funding to accommodate our ministry.  The Campus Development Project is the means by which during our strongest and most resourced years we can provide the needed resources.

33    Estate Planning is a means of giving for the Christian steward who recognizes the role of a faithful steward of God’s possessions.  By utilizing Estate Giving designs and legal vehicles a person can transfer worldly wealth to the kingdom of God during their lifetime that will result in eternal rewards.  The church can assist persons who desire to make these types of gifts.