The 10 Anchors of Union Church are theological convictions and philosophies of ministry that we are tied to in order to remain faithful to our core values of Gospel, Community and Mission. These Anchors inform everything from our partnerships and budget to our church government and Sunday liturgy. We believe that a strong commitment to these Anchors will create a culture that will bring God glory and us joy.
Anchor # 4 - Gospel-Centered Equipping
We are committed to developing the particular skill sets of the saints for the advancement of the Kingdom rather than capitalizing on the free labor of generic Christian volunteers for the growth of our local church. The primary role of church leadership is not necessarily to do ministry but to equip the saints to do ministry (Eph. 4:11-14). By definition, the church “body” is made up of multiple parts (apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, teachers), and when each part is developed to maturity it produces a multi-faceted ministry that more closely resembles Jesus’s perfect ministry. Because of this, we will prioritize leadership development, ministry coaching, and pastoral oversight to create a community where "the priesthood of the believer" is functionally embodied.
In our culture, Christian busyness flows out of either a wrong understanding of salvation (we believe we are saved by our works) or an overemphasis on quantitative production. Ministry cannot be measured solely by productivity. Our goals are both width (more people reached, more care given) and depth (greater spiritual maturity, greater gospel fluency). This means “success” is measured by organic, small, ordinary and slow growth not large, famous and fast production (as our culture would have us believe). Physical projects and behavior modification are easier to quantify but miss the holistic tone of gospel-centered ministry, which requires supernatural intervention, time and reflection. This type of work is difficult and requires special training that is unique from other lines of work.
We do not believe generic disciples can be made through cookie cutter programs. We want to encourage and equip the unique gifts within the body to serve in unique contexts. We are committed to using the church to grow people not using people to grow the church.