Our first value is about our real love for Jesus Christ. The Christian life is a call to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus lived a perfect life, died on the cross, and rose from the grave for his people. One of our responses to that great work is to love him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Matthew 22:37).

God has loved us by giving his Son for us, and now his love has been poured into our heart. One of the evidences of his love for us is our love for others. At First Baptist, people are not nuisances or interruptions. They are objects of our love and care just as they are for God himself (1 John 3:11).

God calls his people to a discipleship journey of growing in godliness. God, however, does not call us to do this in an isolated way, but as members of a church family. One of the great realities of our church is the presence of people across the spectrum of life from babies to great-grandparents. We are committed to growth in godliness that happens in each of these stages of life (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).

The Great Commission demands that we be faithful in preaching the gospel in Jacksonville, but also demands that we be involved in taking the gospel to the nations. We desire to see, not just Jacksonville, but the entire world come to know Jesus Christ, and we want to be part of the effort in bringing them to know him (Psalm 67:4).

The Bible is the authoritative Word of God. In it God speaks to his people and tells them who he is, who they are, and what he demands of them. Because the Bible is the actual word of God it has authority over us, and since it has complete authority over us, we are totally committed to it (2 Peter 1:20-21).

In the Bible, worship refers to the activity of lifting praise to God that happens in a specific time and place, and it also refers to an entire lifestyle where all our lives are given over to Jesus Christ. At First Baptist, we take both forms of worship seriously, and we are committed to doing that with hearts full of joy (Psalm 100:1-2).

Throughout Scripture, God is described as doing his work in cities. God has placed us in the great city of Jacksonville, Florida, and we are asking him to do a great work in this city. Our call to serve Jesus in Jacksonville fuels our love for this city. As a church, we want to love our city, serve it, and make kingdom investments in it (Acts 14:21).