1. Vision

Our passion is to know Jesus, to please Him and to become like Him.

1.1. Mission Statement:
"To be an expression of the Life, Community and Kingdom of God in the Furness region, reaching beyond to the Nations." This is effected by becoming an apostolic, prophetic community of friends who love God, love each other and desire to impact and change our world.

1.2. Church Model
The church government model which we attempt to follow is that which is Biblically based - the Apostolic/Prophetic model. It is relationship based, with members relating organically and interdependently like the parts of a body.

There are four basic elements to the model:

1. VISION - Seeing Christ who is our goal, example and inspiration
2. TEAM LEADERSHIP - A team of leaders led by one leader
3. RELATIONSHIP - Covenant relationship based on grace, acceptance and commitment
4. DISCIPLESHIP - a dynamic, flexible model, discipling the next generation

2. Values

Our goal is the cultivation of Christlike character. This consists of, among other things : integrity, reality, transparency, honesty, teachability, humility, enthusiasm and creativity. Other values we would strive for include : family, embracing values such as marriage, sexual purity and fidelity, fatherhood, motherhood, family worship and parental responsibility; freedom of worship, embracing unrestricted access to the Scriptures, freedom to gather, freedom to pray and freedom to teach our children our Faith; human rights, the Biblical values, without the prevalent perversions.

What we are is far more important than what we do. In the City of Joy we are not aiming at religious behaviour or merely cosmetic change - we want God to do a deep, permanent work in our lives.

3. Christian Community Relationships

Every born-again believer is a priest to God and has a ministry. The Body is a functioning organism which emphasizes family, people and relationships. The Church then is a network of people and churches in relationship.

We have relationships on the following levels:-

3.1. Local - The format of City of Joy is primarily:-
i. Sunday Service - the prime weekly gathering for input and corporate worship
ii. Home groups - where families and individuals can build meaningful relationships, outreach at grass-roots level and "play & pray" together in reality. Commitment to these groups is essential.
iii. Celebration - a coming together, normally on a Sunday, for a time of celebrating God.
iv. Prayer meetings - regular prayer meetings are a priority. The emphasis at these times is on the Church - local, trans-local and international.

3.2. Trans-local - We relate in the Furness region with the leadership of the various churches, seeking to work together to advance God's Kingdom. Nationally we relate with churches that relate to New Covenant Ministries International (NCMI).

3.3 International - We relate to NCMI , headed by Dudley Daniel and an apostolic team, and we receive apostolic input and oversight from them.

4. Joining and Leaving

When the Church had no divisions, getting converted meant joining the Church and leaving the Church meant losing your faith. Today the situation is much more confusing, but we would like the following policies to be understood:-

We love those who have newly accepted Christ through our ministry to join us. We do not receive people from other churches if they are under discipline or have not left in good standing.
Membership is relational and functional. You belong to the community if you have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, a relationship with the elders and a relationship with the people.
Being in relationship with the elders means that you know them, they know you, you recognize their authority in the area of doctrine, Church government and, if necessary, Church discipline and they regard you as their pastoral responsibility. In their exercise of discipline the elders are not at liberty to apply a standard either above or below Scripture.
There is one area where we wish to be specific. Spreading scandal, negative criticism and the undermining of the confidence of our people is no small matter. Positive criticism is always welcomed, especially when it is brought to the direct attention of the leaders. No church is perfect and we are open to change, where it is Biblical and brings glory to God.

Because the Church is a network of relationships, leaving means withdrawing from relationship. We believe that Christians owe it to God and to their fellow believers to communicate fully before they decide to leave. We would prefer people not to join us if they intend to misuse us in this way.

5. Commitment

For those who desire to be a part of our fellowship we have the following word: Seek to understand the vision. Pray for God to show you where your special contribution can be made. Make yourself available to God, to the leaders and to His people and begin to fulfill His purpose.

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