In the fall of 2024, FUMC Westfield gathered for a mini-retreat, led by their pastor, Rev. Alison VanBuskirk Philip, and Rev. Juel Nelson, Metro-Highlands Associate Superintendent. The retreat focused on identifying the core values that define their church culture, a critical part of ongoing leadership development.
The retreat was part of the congregation’s ongoing leadership development. Rev. Philip shared, “We’ve had a mission statement, but one of the things we’ve been focusing on is church culture—what behaviors do we want to adopt to shape how people feel when they walk through the door? While a mission statement is important, it doesn’t address behaviors in the same way values do.”
The leaders gathered in small groups of four to five for conversation and brainstorming. When it came time to share, it was clear that the Holy Spirit had been hovering over their conversations. Similar ideas and stories bubbled up across the room.
They identified four values that were key to both their identity as a congregation and their aspirations for the future. Rev. Juel Nelson helped them refine these ideas into actionable verbs.
The leaders agreed on four guiding values:
- Welcome All
- Cultivate Community
- Grow in Faith
- Reflect God’s Love
The day ended, the leaders felt good about the values they identified, and everyone went home. Often, that’s where conversations about congregational values end, but Rev. Philip extended the conversation. Immediately following the retreat, leadership shared the values with the congregation as part of the Sunday morning worship service and invited the congregation to identify ways that they see themselves living into each value.
The leadership discerned the values, the congregation shared their feedback, then Rev. Philip got to work. She planned a sermon series for February where each week they would unpack one place in the Gospel of John that Jesus embodied value, and each week a church leader would give a testimony about how that value matters in their ministry.
For the value, Reflect God’s Love, Rev. Philip focused on John 13, where Jesus washes his disciples’ feet. “The foot washing story gets to the heart of it,” she proclaimed. “We need God’s love before we can reflect it. We must allow our feet to be washed—dust, callouses, and all. Then we are called to touch the feet of others— dust, callouses, and all.”
After Rev. Philip preached about the necessary relationship between receiving and sharing God’s love, Stina Nanavati, chair of the Nurture Team, shared about what reflecting God’s love means to her. She shared from her experience, “Reflecting God’s love is virtually impossible for me if I forget that to reflect love, I need to open myself up to receive and to be vulnerable.”
In a tangible act of reflecting God’s love, Rev. Philip introduced a reverse offering during the service. Instead of placing an envelope in the plate, each person was invited to take an envelope containing a small sum of money and a challenge to use it creatively to bless others. Quiet joy emanated throughout the sanctuary as “The Gift of Love” played on the piano accompanied by the gentle sounds of ripping paper and chatter as families read the ideas and brainstormed how they would use this gift to reflect God’s love in practical ways.
The investment has paid dividends beyond just framing the church’s culture. In times of division and uncertainty, knowing who we are and whose we are provides a steady foundation as we witness to our faith. Rev. Philip was grateful for the way the values the congregation identified provided a touchstone in this stormy political season. “It was grounding in the midst of this political season. The church says this is who they are, I reflect back to them ‘This is who you say you are, now let’s apply it to what we’re living through.’
A church’s values are not just words. They’re guiding principles for how we do life together. As we seek to live faithfully in this season, may we remember our values and may they be an anchor that guides our actions.