Terry Virgo on Our Vision & Values
by Terry Virgo
Newfrontiers has now been around for about 30 years, so, in Biblical terms, we have come of age and, praise God, we are still growing! It seems a good time to try and nail what really makes us tick. Others may have their views, but it’s good to hear from the horse’s mouth.
When we first started to work together in response to God’s prophetic word to us, we drew up a number of key values which, to some degree, defined us as Newfrontiers. We have always been evangelically orthodox and true to the doctrines of the Reformers, but in addition seventeen distinctive priorities have helped to identify and shape us. In the next few magazines we will present these values.
At Together on a Mission in Brighton in July I spoke in three sessions, first identifying our roots as being committed to Word and Spirit, reformed and charismatic. I went on to highlight our commitment to the local church as a place for discipleship, transformation into Christ’s image, corporate obedience to Christ and being a manifest temple of God’s presence by His Holy Spirit.
Finally we looked to the future. Having stated our understanding that Newfrontiers has functioned as an apostolic sphere, I stated that our commitment in the future will be more to the growth of multiplied apostolic spheres than to the mere survival of a title such as ‘Newfrontiers’. We have no desire to become an institution, as P-J Smyth graphically communicated at Together on a Mission! Having started as a rampaging herd of elephants, we don’t want to end up in a zoo! Our hope certainly is that Newfrontiers will together accomplish so much more than we already have. We have much unfinished business together, with nations to reach, leaders to train, churches to plant, cultures to challenge and individuals to transform.
However, transformation will take place only through healthy church life, obedient to Scripture and flooded with the Holy Spirit’s presence. The values we have highlighted draw attention to critical ingredients for sound church life, remembering that in the New Testament the word ‘sound’ means healthy, strong and robust, not coldly correct and tending to cautious quaintness.
Instead of bringing my own interpretation to the values that will follow in this magazine and in the three issues that will follow, I have invited a number of dear friends to bring their explanation of the seventeen values listed.
My aim is that in this and the next three editions of this magazine you will have in your hands a kind of précis of things we love and live for, and, who knows, maybe some will someday even die for.
We do mean business. We are on a mission together and let me invite you in the words of Moses, ‘Come with us and we will do you good!’