Formation Through

Core Values

Step 1. Begin with one direction

Choose one value that resonates with where you are right now. Formation is most powerful when it’s focused, not rushed.

You don’t need to master everything to begin. Formation starts with awareness, practice, and grace.

Step 2: Adopt One Practice (6-8 weeks)

Select one simple practice connected to that value and commit to it for a season.

Examples:

  • Backward: Read one Psalm each morning and reflect on God’s faithfulness.

  • Forward: Share a meal with someone from church you don’t know well.

  • Inward: Pause daily to name one emotion and what might be underneath it.

  • Outward: Pray daily for one person and look for ways to bless them.

  • Upward: Practice five minutes of silence and prayer each day.

Step 3: Reflect Weekly

  • What did I notice

  • Where did I resist?

  • Where did I experience grace, growth or provision?

Step 4: Practice in Community

Formation happens best together. Join a Life Group or invite someone else to join you in this journey. Talk about your experience and learn from others walking the same path.

5. Live It Daily

Over time, explore other values and practices, allowing your life to be shaped in every direction.

Core Values | Practices

Backward | We know where we come from.

At FCC, we look backward at the inspired word of God and to our own experience of God so we can know his immutable character and wisdom and have grateful hearts. This is vital to our deepening love relationship with Him.

  • Regularly study and meditate on God’s Word, allowing Scripture to shape how you see God, yourself, and the world.

  • Practice intentional remembrance by reflecting on where and how God has been faithful in your life—both personally and communally.

  • Practice testimony: Regularly name and share stories of God’s faithfulness (in groups or conversations).

  • Practice gratitude: Keep a gratitude list or prayer rhythm that names God’s past faithfulness.

  • Anchor decisions in Scripture: Ask, “What has God already revealed that speaks to this?”

  • Practice hospitality by consistently seeing, stopping, and approaching others—especially those who feel unseen or unfamiliar. (a reference to Part 4 of Stranger God by Richard Beck)

  • Pursue diverse relationships across ethnic, political, generational, and socioeconomic lines.

  • Commit to shared life by actively participating in a Life Group.

  • Invite others into community by regularly welcoming people into church gatherings and shared spaces.

  • Practice curiosity and empathy: Listen well, ask thoughtful questions, and resist judgment or assumptions.

  • Love others sacrificially by consistently pursuing their joy and well-being above your own (Philippians 2:3).

  • Pursue reconciliation quickly and courageously when relationships are strained.

  • Practice shared rhythms: Eat, pray, and celebrate together regularly.

  • Practice peacemaking: Address conflict directly, gently, and biblically.

Inward | We do our work

We believe at FCC that we must all work to become aware of what’s going on inside of us and discover why we do what we do. We believe the journey to becoming whole is in loving God with everything that we are — heart, soul, mind and strength.

  • B.L.E.S.S. is a framework that outlines five practices that lead to an outward focused life. 

    • Begin with Prayer: Pray for the people you want to reach. 

    • Listen with Care: Pay close attention to people’s stories, dreams, hopes, pains, and challenges, demonstrating genuine interest and empathy.

    • Eat Together: Share meals together. 

    • Serve in Love: Be attentive to opportunities God provides you to care for people and attend to their needs.

    • Share Your Story: Once you build a relationship and earn trust, look for ways you can share the story of how Jesus is transforming your life and the world.

  • Live sent by using your story, time, gifts, and resources to bless others.

Upward | We pursue God’s presence.

At FCC, we believe that experiencing the presence of God is the goal for our lives and that we should be desperate to experience His presence, listen to His voice and experience His power. With great reverence we abide in His presence, extending our worship and praise in celebration of His greatness.

Forward| We do life together.

We believe at FCC that as we move forward as apprentices of Jesus we will always be better and stronger together (ethnically, politically, generationally and socioeconomically) — rooted in Christ and marked by love and hospitality.

  • Seek honest feedback from trusted people to grow in self-awareness and humility.

  • Practice emotional awareness by regularly pausing to name strong emotions and explore what may be underneath them.

  • Examine your inner life—desires, motives, thoughts, and attachments—seeking alignment with God’s will through repentance and obedience.

  • Practice generosity by giving regularly, cheerfully, and sacrificially.

  • Serve faithfully by committing your time and gifts to a ministry team.

  • Practice confession (to God and trusted others).

  • Practice limits: Sabbath, rest, and saying no.

  • Practice naming false narratives you believe about God, yourself, or others.

Outward| We serve others.

We believe at FCC that we are to live as those sent out to use what we have (our story, suffering, time, talent, spiritual gifts, etc.) to bless others, share His truth and demonstrate God’s love. 

  • Cultivate a regular prayer life, both speaking to God and listening for His voice.

  • Practice abiding through rhythms like Sabbath, journaling, solitude, and meditation on Scripture.

  • Express worship and praise individually and corporately as an act of love and surrender.

  • Practice repentance by agreeing with what God reveals as true and responding in obedience.

  • Release self-reliance, acknowledging dependence on the Holy Spirit’s power.

  • Anchor your heart in God’s presence as your ultimate source of joy and fulfillment (Psalm 16:11).

  • Practice stillness and silence

  • Practice fasting