CORE VALUES

The Core Values of Dade City Free Methodist describe the kind of people we want to be as we engage in our mission to glorify God, transform lives, and impact the world through the gospel of Jesus Christ. These values serve as the foundation of our ministry and hopefully capture God’s thematic purposes found in Scripture.

 TRUTH

First and foremost, Dade City Free Methodist Church is about Jesus.  We must focus our eyes on the true Jesus, as one who holds all things together (Colossians 1:17).  Jesus is truth (John 14:6, John 16:13). He is revealed in the truth of Scripture (John 17:17) and we seek to glorify Him in truth (Psalm 51:6).

WORSHIP

We all worship something.  Your time, energy, creativity, money, and resources go to something that you consider ultimate.  The Cross frees us to focus our passions for the One, True, Ultimate: The gospel of Jesus Christ. We seek to be living sacrifices, offering our entire beings to God as an act of worship (Romans 12:1).

 AUTHENTIC COMMUNITY

Transformation happens in authentic, gritty, raw community (Proverbs 27:17). When we invite people to church, we aren’t just inviting them to a building, we’re inviting them into our lives.  We meet in each others’ homes and celebrate life with good food, good laughs, and fellowship.  A community of transformation has depth, which we achieve by building one another up in love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24). We pray together, struggle together, and encounter life’s messes together.  By sharing God’s grace, love, and truth with one another, the Gospel is spread and transformation occurs.

 MAKING DISCIPLES

For spiritual transformation to occur, we must continually sharpen one another (Proverbs 27.17). We all need to be confronted with, challenged by, and trained in the Word.  We need to remind one another how God calls us to love our spouses and our families (Ephesians 5:22-33, 6:4), lead our church (1 Timothy 3), teach others (2 Tim othy2:2), fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12), and build a counter-culture within our city (Romans 12:1-2).

 EVERYDAY MISSIONARIES

Followers of Jesus are to live intentionally (2 Corinthians 5:18).  Knowing that God put us where we are for His purpose (Acts 17:26), we proclaim the Gospel (Romans 10:14-15) and live it out being purposeful in everything we do.  We seek to do everything – hobbies, work, dinner, marriage, music – for the glory of God; acting in His love towards the people He’s placed around us.

 LIVING GENEROUSLY

You Can’t Out Give God

We strive to be grateful, wise, innovative and responsible with the resources God has entrusted to us. We seek the deepest and highest return on every one of our investments, whatever they may be. When we honor God - He honors us.

SERVE: Loving God means Loving Others

We are called to transform our city (Jeremiah 29:7), not by railing against it from the outside, but by loving it from the inside. We are commanded to care for orphans (and the poor), widows (and single moms), the homeless, the fatherless, and the oppressed (James 1:27) – as Jesus did (Luke 4:18-19).

GRACE is Enough

We are compelled by the audacious grace of God that includes all people everywhere. We are deeply committed to the never-ending work of spreading this good news to as many people as possible, locally regionally and globally. 

GROWTH ~ Growing People Change

We don’t expect everyone who connects with our church family to be a committed Christ-follower, but we do anticipate that we will all grow as God works in us. We want to be a safe place for everyone. But safe doesn’t mean comfortable. Growth often comes from getting beyond our comfort zone.

 COMMUNITY ~ You Can’t Do Life Alone

We believe that all people are created to become connected to God and others. The opportunity to share life deeply with one another, praying for, bearing with, helping out is crucial to a God-honoring life.