ministry at alderwood
The mission of Alderwood is to Follow Jesus Together. We do that by equipping people to Connect, Grow, and Go. Over the course of church history, models and strategies have consistently adjusted to meet the needs of people. We humbly accept the task to continue to uphold and champion a gospel centered, biblically faithful, and theologically orthodox way of following Jesus as a community. We are committed to intergenerational, age-appropriate, and worship environments and experiences designed to further this mission. The leadership team annually reviews the vision of Alderwood and seeks to align resources and communications to accomplish this unique vision for this time and these people.
core values
CONNECT
We follow Jesus by connecting together in Jesus-centered relationships. Within our church family, connection happens as we put the needs of each other ahead of our own, loving our church like Jesus has loved us. Our relationships are not judged by affinity or commonality, but by the way we encourage one another to follow Jesus.
While connecting in Jesus centered relationships can happen in many spaces, the primary expression of our connect value exists in Groups. Groups have three categories: life, recovery, and connect. A significant catalyst for connection among kids and students is camps, and retreats. Service teams, courses, bible studies, and organic relationships play an important role as well.
grow
We follow Jesus by growing together to become more like Jesus. This means growing in our knowledge of Jesus, our love of Jesus, and the way we live like Jesus. Spiritual growth happens best in the context of relationship, and the study and application of God’s Word in community is the most effective way that groups can help each other grow.
The primary expression of our grow value exists in our worship service messages, midweek adult program, bible studies and courses. Growth also happens as we serve together and use our gifts to bless the body of Christ and the world around us.
Go
We follow Jesus by going together to do what Jesus calls us to do. Going towards others means both serving people in Jesus’ name and sharing the good news of Jesus and his kingdom with the world. Going is the job of the church, not just individuals, and when our community is outward focused, we make the truth of the gospel visible to each other and the world. Through prayer, mutual service, building relationships with our neighbors, sharing the gospel, and inviting others into Christian community, we participate in the mission Jesus gave us to make disciples.
The primary expressions of our go value exist in our service teams and in representing Jesus in our relational worlds. The Compassion Center and supporting the missions fund which provides ongoing support to both our local and global mission’s partners play an important role as well.
How We do ministry
Staff-Led - We focus our primary resources (staff, budget, facilities, communications) on ministries that directly advance our Connect, Grow, Go mission. These ministries receive full organizational support and are designed for broad church participation.
Volunteer-Led - We celebrate initiatives that emerge from our church family. While these ministries may serve more specific purposes or communities, they must be self-sustaining and work within defined resource parameters. We provide clear pathways and parameters for these ministries through our ministry application process.
frequently asked questions
We want to support and empower current volunteer leaders by providing clearer guidelines and expectations. This is not about adding more burden but helping volunteers feel confident in their alignment with mission, vision, and values. Alderwood leadership is in constant conversations about scaling and growth, which often means limiting ancillary ministries to keep the main thing the main thing.
Alderwood has traditionally been a staff led and elder governed church with highly engaged membership. The desire is to provide more clarity for current and future volunteer led ministries. This document would be approved by the board, with executive team recommending changes as needed.
The philosophy isn’t meant to stifle creativity, but rather to provide a clear framework within which creativity can thrive. By understanding the church’s core values and mission, ministries will have the freedom to innovate in ways that align with the overall vision.
Evaluation will be a collaborative process involving ministry leaders and staff. It’s not just about meeting requirements but engaging in a dialogue to ensure that we’re all moving in the same direction and staying true to Alderwood’s mission. These decisions will live at the Pastor level of our organization with input and direction from the appropriate Executive team member.
All ministries believe they align, that is why they exist or have a desire to exist at Alderwood. We will work with the leaders to assess what changes could be changed. The more common is that resources will be adjusted for ministries with less alignment. It will be imperative for the board and staff to support decisions that come from this document.
Staff will utilize the matrix to place each ministry identifying any gaps. Document would be sent to ministry leaders for review, then an in-person meeting with appropriate staff member to discuss any changes that are being recommended. Executive realizes this is delicate because some of these volunteers engaged in these ministries are also staff at various levels.
