Having core strength is critical to not becoming injured while working hard to have a healthy fit body. Core strength is also critical to the future health and growth of Sagemont Church, now quickly approaching our 50th anniversary, with our seven foundational truths that are known simply as Sagemont’s Core Values. Understanding these values will help everyone understand why Sagemont continues to do the basics that we have done for half a century. Each Sagemont member is encouraged to learn, understand and apply these seven values to our lives. In a fall 2012 series preached by our Senior Pastor, Dr. John Morgan, just weeks after the new Worship Center opened, he used the acrostic LEADERS to help everyone remember our seven core values.
Brother John shared, “God loves you and has a plan for you. He wants to speak to your heart. We do LOVE GOD in our church. We do love others so EACH ONE MATTERS. We do believe in the AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE, we are DEBT-FREE, we do believe in EXCELLENCE, RELEVANCE and also SPIRITUAL GROWTH. We do these things as a united church so we can get the Gospel to the ‘uttermost parts of the earth.’” Not only does the LEADERS acrostic remind us of our core values, but so does the beautifully painted 44-foot mural that hangs in the Worship Center Lobby. The seven unforgettable images were painted by Kobus Möller, a famous Christian artist from South Africa.
1. LOVE GOD
We believe we are most like God when we love like Him. Demonstrated by the unselfish giving of our time, talents, truth-telling and treasures to God and people.
To introduce Sagemont’s first core value, Brother John paraphrased the story from Matthew 22. “Over 2,000 years ago there was a lawyer who tried to trick Jesus by asking the question, ‘Which is the greatest commandment in the law?’ Christ’s response to that question has shaped the thinking of this church in a most powerful way and His answer is engraved on the hearts of every believer on the planet. The answer? ‘Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and all of your soul and all of your mind. This is the first and the greatest commandment.’” (v. 37)
Sagemont Church has taken Jesus’ answer to heart through its mission statement which promises that our church will be “Living Proof of a Loving God to a Watching World.”
“The first thing that has to be established is that we worship God who loves us, and He loves us unconditionally,” Brother John said. “He loves us so much that He gave His very best, His only begotten son, Jesus. He is a loving God and because of that we are to be a loving people. We Love God because He first loved us.”
2. EACH ONE MATTERS
Each individual matters to God. Therefore, we believe God has commanded us to value and love our neighbors and those that are not our neighbors. Demonstrated by a genuine sense of “family” inside the church and intentional relationships for the purpose of evangelism outside the church.
Everyone is welcome at Sagemont. Each individual is treated with love and respect from the moment they arrive on our campus. “This church believes that Each One Matters,” Brother John said in his message about this core value. “That’s what Christianity is. It’s more blessed to give than to receive so the church needs to look out through tearful eyes to a hurting world and honestly say we’ll do what we can to help you.”
Sagemont carries out this core value on a daily basis through its various ministries. A unique example of this is the Helping Hands Ministry which steps in and helps members who have faced unexpected “bumps” in life. But there are many other examples as well. Promiseland cares for special needs children. The Women’s Ministry provides teachers’ lounge makeovers for area public schools. Missionaries spread the Gospel through local and international mission trips, and hearts are healed regularly through the work of the Counseling and Connection Center teams. “When you love people, you don’t give them what they want, you give them what they need.”. At Sagemont they need to know that they matter to us because they matter to God.
3. AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE
We believe God’s Word is the foundation of our faith – our pattern for life and living in this world. Demonstrated by a love for God’s Word, the intentional study of God’s Word, and the passionate practicing of God’s truth in our daily lives.
“If you do not know truth you will never be free,” Brother John said. “When it comes to the Authority of Scripture, it’s one thing to say you believe it, but it’s another thing to obey it. 2 Timothy 3:16 says ‘All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.’”
At Sagemont, the Bible is not just a book that collects dust on a shelf. No! It is our inspired, inerrant and infallible message from God that guides every area of our lives.
Since the church’s beginning, Sagemont has not only submitted every decision to the authority of Scripture, it also has encouraged every member to study the Bible for him or herself. Children to senior adults have opportunities to be involved in classes, Bible studies and small groups for the purpose of learning the Scriptures and discovering how to apply them to their lives.
4. DEBT FREE
We believe God’s Word is the foundation of our faith – our pattern for life and living in this world. Demonstrated by trusting God (through His people) to meet our needs and to show the world that He is able.
Another core value is that Sagemont Church is one hundred percent Debt Free. The church started out in financial bondage, as most churches do, and continued that way for the first nine years. In 1975, it owed $600,000 and was on the brink of going deeper into debt to finance a much-needed building expansion. However, “God moved on the hearts of our church and we began to read the Bible and see some things that most of us, including myself, had never seen before,” Brother John said. “The truth of the matter is, if you read through the Bible, God’s people were to live in freedom. Building of the tabernacle and temple was all done without borrowing money in order that the church or the people of God were not in subjection to the world. Bondage is awful. Ask those incarcerated in the penitentiary. Ask those addicted to drugs, lust and pornography who can’t break the habit. Another group of people who are in bondage is those who are in debt.”
After that revelation, things changed at Sagemont. Not only did the church get out of debt, it also operated on a cash-only basis from that moment on. Since then, over $300,000,000 in tithes and offerings have been used for ministries and missions rather than for the purpose of paying off interest obligations.
The church is a top supporter of 10,000 missionaries in the U.S. and 141 countries of the world. It gives financial assistance to 160 retired ministers and widows, scholarships to seminary students and Sagemont students at Houston Baptist University, and aid to local pregnancy centers. The current state-of-the-art children’s building, 50 acres of land, two auditoriums, the 170-foot cross and the empty tomb were all constructed to the Glory of God without borrowing money. “We cannot do what God has called us to do and owe the world millions of dollars!”
5. EXCELLENCE
We believe excellence honors God and influences people. Demonstrated by doing our best with what God has provided.
There are two parts to “Excellence.” The first is the excellence of God. He alone is perfect because He is the Excellent One. The second part is that because He is excellent, we also should conduct ourselves with excellence. “Excellence is not opulence,” Brother John clarified. “If we are going to have excellence as a core value, we want to have a grip on what that means. Everything is important to the Lord, such as how we handle our time, our talents and abilities, our material things, and our education. All of that is to use it for the glory of God.”
In trying to represent our God the best we possibly can, this value permeates everything we do from worship services to special events. “We are taught to give of our best.” Brother John said. “God is looking for a people who will put Him first.”
6. RELEVANCE
We believe we are called to connect a changing world with the unchanging message of the Bible. Demonstrated by doing all we can in worship, teaching, and living to speak a language that people understand.
“I am the way the truth and the life and no man comes to the father except by me.” Jesus’ words in John 14:6 are as relevant today as they were when Jesus spoke them two thousand years ago. “Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever,” Brother John said. “Relevance is not taking and changing the Word to conform to the culture. It’s taking the culture as it is and introducing it to the Word of God. The church becomes more relevant when it makes the Scripture comes alive.”
In reaching out to our communities, Sagemont tries to speak their language -- literally. Three different styles of worship services are offered to target varying demographics, and the styles of today don’t look anything like the style of the 1960’s when Sagemont began. From the blended format of our main Sunday morning services that connect with a broad range of people to the contemporary format of Sagemont V that connects specifically with younger generations to the Spanish-language format of Sagemont en Español that connects with those who speak Spanish as their heart language, the worship service styles are specifically geared to help people of varying cultural backgrounds connect with God in worship.
When the word “Baptist” was removed from our sign in the early 1990’s, Brother John was emphatic that it was not a doctrinal compromise, but instead it was an evangelical strategy. “We know there are some people who won’t go inside a Baptist church or a church of any other denomination. They say ‘I know what they believe in there and I don’t like them.’ If they come in and feel that you met a need in their life, they will be back. But to be relevant you have to have a one time. Relevance is taking the Word of God and putting it out where people can understand it and then show them the result. ”
7. SPIRITUAL GROWTH
We believe anything healthy will grow, and spiritual growth is a process. Demonstrated by intentionally offering avenues for learning, strategic service, accountability, connecting with other believers, and regular assessment of personal spiritual growth.
The last core value of our church is Spiritual Growth. “Where we are spiritually depends on how we can see things beyond the eyes of mankind and see things from God’s perspective. Man says, ‘I think it ought to be this way, I think it ought to be that way,’ but God says, ‘I know what way it is to be and I am asking you to seek My face and turn from your wicked ways.’”
When a person becomes a believer, he is considered a “babe in Christ.” Christians are not meant to stay baby believers, instead they are to “grow up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Mature Christians want to be in a church that teaches the Bible and preaches the Word of God.” Sagemont is such a church.
Spiritual growth occurs when we study and apply the Word of God. Sagemont Church takes great responsibility in teaching the Word of God each week. “We have laboratories to perform the work, where you can serve the Lord,” said Brother John. “You can take the message and go on a mission trip. You can take the spiritual gift God has given you and use it for the glory of God within the church.”
Every Sunday, over forty-five adult iCONNECT classes meet to study God’s Word, and several others meet during the week. Opportunities to learn God’s Word exist for children and students each Sunday. Plus, hundreds of children are involved in the Wednesday-night MiDWAY program where they are introduced to God’s Word and taught about its importance in their lives.
As we celebrate 50 years of God’s blessings in our church, we recognize that His hand has been constantly on our direction and faithful members. We have chosen to LOVE GOD with all our hearts and souls and minds because we know that EACH ONE MATTERS. Our core strength has come from the Lord because our seven core values have kept our church united and our focus on Him at all times because we believe in the AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE. Four decades of being DEBT FREE has allowed Sagemont Church to practice EXCELLENCE in every aspect of our church. Sagemont’s importance on the RELEVANCE of God’s Word in our everyday lives leads to intentional SPIRITUAL GROWTH of all who attend.
If you haven’t already taken the time to embed the acrostic LEADERS in your heart and mind, then do so and like so many before you apply them to strengthen your core for the journey ahead…Sagemont Church’s next 50 years!