What we Believe
Our Mission
Loving God, Loving People.
Our Vision
That everyone who calls the AVC their church home would be serious about God.
Our Values
Bible Study and Prayer
We consider the bible to be the final authority of all matters regarding faith and conduct. We recognize the importance of studying and knowing the Word of God and applying it to our daily lives for spiritual guidance and direction. We also want to be people of prayer, offering God our thanksgiving, petition and intercession. Spending time studying the Word, learning more about God, and praying is an extremely important part of maturing in our faith as disciples of Jesus Christ.
Worship
Our desire is that our personal and corporate worship would be an intimate/passionate time of meeting with our Father and that our daily lives would reflect the heart of our God. We want to be a people characterized by a lifestyle of worship, which goes beyond simply focusing on a worship event (Sunday mornings). A lifestyle of worship is lived out every day when we embrace God's will for our lives.
Outward Focused
Being an outward-focused church is a big part of AVC's identity. We are not about buildings or big programs. We want everyone in our church to invest in the lives of people in our community and abroad. Missions and outreach are a high priority: we encourage everyone to join to reach out to our city, to Mexico, Haiti and Oliver, and to wherever else the Lord leads. We feel a renewed call to stand for mercy and justice and want to live out Isaiah 58 both in our personal lives and as a church body:
"Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD? Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard."
Generosity
We want to be people who are generous with our time, gifts, resources and finances. As a church body, we make it a practice to use our resources for God's glory wherever He calls us to give. As individuals and families we also want to cultivate sacrificial giving in and outside the church. As Proverbs 3: 9 in the Message says: "Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best."
Authentic Community
We want our church to be a safe, yet challenging environment. We pray that we can support, encourage, mentor, disciple, and provide accountability for one another. We highly value families and smaller groups where relationships can thrive and true community flourish. We give opportunities for everyone to connect and find support.
Walking in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit
We believe that God is still very involved in our lives today and that He is speaking to us (the prophetic), healing, and working miracles in us and through us. While God doesn't always choose to heal, we pray for healing; while He doesn't always work the miracles we ask for, we continue to ask and take the risks we feel He's led us to take, knowing that God can work in us and through us more powerfully than we can imagine.
