Strategic service is allowing our corporate mission & strategy to determine our individual place of service.  Every Christian has certain gifts, talents, & abilities that God expects them to use to benefit the church.

This happens in a church where people genuinely connect are both encouraged and challenged in their relationships with God and each other. We want to be a relational church which breeds healthy relationships in which people feel encouraged & safe to explore their relationship with God.

A disciple works alongside another in order to learn all the ‘teacher’ knows, so they can duplicate the teacher’s work in another environment, or replace the teacher in the current environment. You are not responsible to know everything about your area of ministry, but you are responsible to pour what you do know into the life of another.

“Relevant” means using what is cultural to say what is timeless. We can allow the culture to drive us, we can ignore the culture, or we can strategically use the culture for God’s purposes. At Timberland, we choose to use the culture strategically to communicate God’s timeless message of hope.

“Intimacy” means being fully known and fully accepted. That’s the kind of relationship we want each member of Timberland to develop with their Heavenly Father. However it’s scary to be fully known, because we fear rejection. As your relationship with God gets more personal, you will become more accountable.

The transition from unbelief to faith in Christ is always a process of questioning, dialogue, and discovery, eventually leading to belief.  Our role is simply to partner with God in this process.

There is a difference between seeing the Bible as ‘authoritative’ and submitting to its authority. Submitting to it’s authority means allowing it’s principles to guide your decisions relationally, financially, professionally, socially… every area of your life. A church’s commitment to Scripture is only as firm as its members’ commitment to Scripture, so the strength of our church depends on your commitment to the Bible’s authority.