We have several devotions that we hold tightly onto as a local church. They come directly from Acts 2:42 where the rhythms of the early church were identified as devotion to the Apostles teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers. Our way of stating those values is to simply refer to them as the following:
Devotion to His Word: At the Bridge, "What does the Bible say about that?" is a primary decision making question. We want to be known as people of the Word, which is why we prioritize exegetical, expositional teaching. That simply means that we are committed to letting the text speak for itself, and change our mind. Rather than reading meaning into the text, we study to discover the authors intended meaning, so that we can be transformed by not just knowing God's Word, but by doing it.
Devotion to His Church: True obedience to the text doesn't just happen individually, but corporately as well. As we grow in our obedience as a tribe, we will grow in our obedience as individuals. As such, we take seriously the call to know one another, serve one another, love one another, and to speak truth (yes, even hard truth) to one another. Our Covenant to Belong helps guide us in this kind of accountability to one another.
Devotion to His Mission: It is our desire to make Jesus last words on earth our first priority. We want to make disciples, wholisitically mature believers that are reproducing the the Christian life in others. We believe every person is called to join in this mission, and that true Christian movement comes from equipping and releasing the Saints into Christian service, both in the local church, but also outside of it.
Devotion to His will: We believe that true Christian unity comes from the committed pursuit of God's will. As we pursue Him through praise, worship and prayer, we practice a posture of emptying ourself of our own desires, so that God can fill us with His. When we are fixed on doing God's will God's way, God will get the Glory.
These values are overseen by the elder team, because they represent high-level oversight, and the elders are tasked with ensuring the local church remains a biblical local church in the midst of ever-changing philosophies.Our directional team oversees the flexible part of our ministry (that which is constantly changing) and our elder team oversees the fixed part of our ministry (that which we hold to as essential to the faith).