One of the questions often asked is: “What does a member of Northcliffe look like?” There is no simple answer to that question because Northcliffe is a church comprised of five generations of people. We desire to see all five of those generations growing into the image of Jesus. What we discovered is that we need to be healthy followers of Jesus. For Northcliffe, HEALTHY became the acronym for what we believe a disciple of Jesus at Northcliffe should look like. A HEALTHY follower of Jesus at Northcliffe lives in humility, pursues excellence, has an attitude like Jesus, leads where they can, is teachable, seeks harmony within the body of Christ, and is marked by a deep yearning for God. We confess that in all of these categories, we are all a “work in progress” but we strive to develop as HEALTHY disciples, which will lead us to be a HEALTHY church. Check out the videos below for how these attributes lead to being a HEALTHY follower of Christ.
Humility
We believe that no individual has all the answers or all the best ideas. So we want to do everything in humility, recognizing that God can and will use others for the growth of His church. We wish to pursue the good of others more than we pursue our own good. We want to be faithful to Him who called us. We want to serve our church and our community. All of these require humility.
Excellence
We believe that God deserves our very best in everything that we do. God held nothing back when He created the world and when He redeemed humanity through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Accordingly, we want to offer God the absolute best of all we have, say, and do. All our time, talents, and treasure come from God, so we strive to honor Him with excellence in how we use them.
Attitude
We want to have an attitude like Jesus, who was humbly obedient to God, loving others without seeking personal gain, and oriented towards the mission of God. This attitude is something that the disciple of Jesus should always strive to emulate.
Leadership
We want our leaders to model Christlikeness in all that they do. Leadership at Northcliffe means stepping up when needed and serving whenever possible. At Northcliffe, leadership is about the opportunities to serve and not the chance to be in charge.
Teachable
Reflecting the humility that we value in disciples of Jesus, teachability is a reflection of the reality that we don’t know everything. God is always teaching us something that we might better reflect His character in our lives and relationships. We can learn from God’s Word, the circumstances He is leading us through, and other believers. All of this means that we need to be open to what God is teaching us every day as we become more like Jesus.
Harmony
One of the goals of the church, is to be a body of people who live in harmony with one another. We want to be a people who avoid unnecessary conflicts, submit to biblical conflict resolution, and, if necessary, church discipline. We want Northcliffe to be a church where we live alongside and serve one another in love. Our goal, is to live peaceably with one another and point others to Jesus.
Yearning for God
While this is the last letter of our acronym, it can be considered the driving force of the whole acronym. At Northcliffe, we want our highest pursuit to be God Himself. God saved us not for our sake but for His sake. Having a relationship with God is the highest possible good for everyone who has ever lived and will ever live. Our desire for God drives us to love Him and His creation, to live authentically before Him, and the serve Him and our community.