Ten Core Values of Long Hollow

I feel so blessed to serve as the Sr. Pastor of Long Hollow.  It’s not always easy, but it’s always exciting and fulfilling.  I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.  I love our church and what God is doing in and through us!

I realize we are not for everybody.  We are different from a lot of churches.  That doesn’t make us better, it just means we are being who God called us to be.  There are many great churches in our community, and we here at Long Hollow are pro-church!  But in our “different-ness,” God has called us to reach some people other churches won’t reach – people who have given up on church.

Through the years I’ve heard people say they didn’t like the direction our church is going or that we’re just about numbers.  I always pause when I hear that and search my heart.  But I can honestly say we are really not doing anything any different now than we have the last 13 years.  Oh, we may dress different and the music may be a little different (if you don’t like that, don’t worry.  I’m sure it will keep changing, and we may even come full circle! ) But at the heart of Long Hollow, we are doing the same stuff we’ve always done.  In fact, we have operated by these 10 core values since 1997:

1. We affirm that Jesus is the head of the church, therefore He tells Long Hollow what to do; we don’t tell Him.
2. We believe the Bible is THE Word of God, and it is our sole authority for our faith and practice.
3. We are convinced that the only way of salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
4. We are mindful that people matter to God, therefore they matter to us.
5. We are broken over the awareness that lost people go to hell, so we will do “whatever it takes” to reach them with the message of the Gospel.
6. We will never settle for low impact in our community.
7. We fear missed opportunities more than we fear failure, therefore we are not afraid to take risks.
8. We believe that change is good and normal for a healthy church.
9. We are committed to unity, understanding that the world knows we belong to Jesus because of the way we love each other.
10. We want to be and do all that we do as a church for the glory of God!

It’s important that we cling to these core values.  It’s so easy for a church to lose focus and become “me-centered.” In the end, it’s not about us.  The goal for all churches everywhere is to stay “Christ-Centered.”   May we forever and always tenaciously seek to make this the goal of Long Hollow!