A Community Called G.R.A.C.E.

This book on the Ten Core Values of Neighborhood Ministries serves to tell our specific story. We desired to codify the contribution our work makes to the body of Christ and to its kingdom mission; to keep focused on Jesus, the kingdom of God and service to the poor in our city.This book is designed to give those leaders who develop at Neighborhood Ministries the tools to carry on, to stay the course, to bear the calling, to protect what has been entrusted, to pass on clearly what has been given to you. Though it could be argued that our core values are discussed frequently and are in the "air we breathe," I learned long ago that though more is caught than taught, we need words to describe what we are catching.This booklet is structured in a particular way. The first chapter contains the biblical and theological foundations of the work out of which the core values emanate. The next ten chapters are given to the values, each chapter tackling one. And each chapter has three parts. The first part has to do with how the value lives at Neighborhood and its biblical and theological underpinnings with stories to illustrate. Then each chapter has a way in which the work of the grace of God informs that value. The third part has some spiritual direction that helps us live that value; this part will be found in the back of the booklet in an appendix.