CORE
VALUES

Wholistic

When we meet someone in needs we encounter a complex network of material, social, emotional and spiritual needs. A wholistic approach means realising that “everything is connected to everything else”. This means that as well as providing practical things like food and shelter for the hungry and the homeless, we also try to be a stable, welcoming social network where people can find friendships which will encourage positive life changes. And all of our projects are linked to worshipping Christian communities which provide an opportunity to explore that spiritual space that all of us have. In short, we try to love people.

Our model for this approach is Jesus who not only had things to say about God but actively engaged with people, especially those at the margins of society and showed them practical compassion. A woman who had been bleeding for 12 years for example (see Mark 5:24-34) he not only healed of her disease (material need) but made sure that the crowd knew this so that she would be accepted back into her community (social need) and pointed out that her action was a sign of faith (spiritual need).

Incarnational

To be incarnational is to come in person. Our aim is to be people meeting people, sharing our resources and experiences with them, rather than a facility providing services. Offering dignity and respect to each person we meet is critical to properly valuing people (particularly the undervalued and marginalised) and the effect of this on people’s positive growth is astounding. So we do not come to solve people’s problems for them but to share life with them. In short we seek to love people.

Our inspiration for this approach is the God who became a man in Jesus (John 1:12). That God comes to earth as a person gives the clearest and most accessible picture of who God is. It shows that God is on our side. And the huge cost of sacrificing His Only Son shows the magnitude of God’s love for people (see Mark 12:1-12).

Empowering

Empowerment means not just helping people but helping to build their capacity for independence and self-determination. It’s the adage about teaching people to fish rather than just supplying regular tuna sandwiches. In each of our programs we aim to identify the capacity that people have and build on that toward greater independence. At The Terrace we help people move from homelessness to housing.  The employment training program helps people move from unemployment to training and employment …  And so on through each of our programs. Often the first step is to help people see that there are positive choices the can make in their lives. They are only stuck if they choose to be.

We recognise that some groups like those with disabilities and the aged have ongoing constant needs and organizations are needed to provide this support. Our focus on empowerment means that we leave this work to others.

The practice of the people of Israel was to leave the edges of their fields for the poor to gather grain. In this way they participated in their own support rather than just receiving a handout (). The need to give directly to those who could not work was also recognised – in the practice of almsgiving (). Jesus models empowerment amongst his disciples. He takes a group of fishermen, public servants and other odd-bods and builds them into a group who have the courage and conviction to take his message of reconciliation across the world after his death, often at the risk of their own lives.

For more information see:

Vision, Mission, Values and Objectives

Distinctives of Urban Ministry

Empowerment Policy