I have a lot of respect for Rob Bell and his church, Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids MI. And I especially resonate with the six directions that their community has identified as a kind of mission/values statement for their church. I wanted to share them with you here and I've also posted a permanent link to them in the sidebar. You can also read them at the Mars Hill site. I like these so much I think we might borrow them for our own church plant's vision statement.

BACKWARDS: ROOTS/
We see ourselves in a long line of generations taking part in the endless conversation between God and people. We believe the Bible to be the voices of many who have come before us, inspired by God to pass along their poems, stories, accounts, and letters of response and relationship with each other and the living God. To know where we’re going, we have to know where we’ve been.

FORWARDS: JOURNEY/
We started Mars Hill because we believe that every church has to ask the question: “What does it look like for us to be the church here and now?” We are constantly exploring new and creative ways to live out and communicate the teachings of Jesus. Because we see faith as a journey, change is assumed, innovation is expected, and rebirth is welcomed.

INWARDS: WHOLENESS/
We believe that God wants to redeem every part of us, and that Jesus’ message of salvation is holistic in nature. We believe that all of life is spiritual life, and that all of our fears, failures, and broken hearts can be restored and made whole. We value the inner journey, because we want to be fully integrated people—mind, body, and soul, emotions and experiences all offered together to God.

WITHWARDS: COMMUNITY/
We believe that we were created to live deeply with one another, to carry each other’s burdens and share our possessions, to pray for and confess our sins to each other, to suffer and celebrate together. It’s in these sacred relationships and honest, loving communities that God transforms us. The way of Jesus cannot be lived alone.

OUTWARDS: SERVING/
Jesus calls His church to be a compelling force for good in the world. God uses people as agents of change, to relieve suffering and fight injustice, living out the transforming message of the resurrected Jesus. At Mars Hill, we believe that the church is at its best when it serves, sacrifices, and loves, caring about the things God cares about. We were created to live for something larger than ourselves.

UPWARDS: CELEBRATION/
We believe that the world God created is good, that He creates people in His image, and that no amount of darkness can erase that divine imprint. Because we believe that all of life is sacred, we look for God’s fingerprints everywhere. We celebrate the divine in the daily, pursuing lives of hope, gratitude, and worship. God invites everyone everywhere into this way of life, and we believe it is the best possible way to live.