VISION, MISSION VALUES AND OBJECTIVES

Arising from the Vision and Development day 14th March 1998, and Staff training days 10th June 2001, and 28th June 2002:

Vision

The peace (Shalom) of God pervading the inner city of Sydney at individual, community and structural levels.

Mission

HopeStreet seeks to follow the Spirit of God in empowering all people of the inner city of Sydney, especially the most marginalised, toward wholeness in all of life and hope for eternity.

We do this through:

• Building relationships and communities of wholeness and hope.
• Fostering life-enhancing choices.
• Offering the Good News of Jesus in a holistic way.

Values

1. Jesus Christ as the centre of all we do.  Christ charts our direction, motivates and sustains us to be truly ourselves and is the one to whom we seek to draw others.
2. Putting together the Gospel imperatives of Luke 4:16-18 ("...bring good news to the poor") and Matthew 28:19 ("Go therefore and make disciples of all ...") by responding to physical, social and spiritual needs in an integrated way.
3. The incarnational presence of workers journeying with others.
4. Building the church as the community of disciples, in contextually relevant ways and fostering local leadership.
5. Facilitating the empowerment of people to take control of their own lives.
6. Seeking justice and reconciliation for the marginalised and oppressed.
7. Welcoming all people and appreciating the diversity of each person’s contribution.
8. Working together in the development, practice and evaluation of our ministry.
9. Relevancy and connectedness with the inner city context in all that we do.
10. Recognising God's presence and activity before and beyond us.  Through prayer and practice we join in this activity.

Ministry Objectives and Related Strategies:

Objective: To establish and sustain ministering churches in the inner city.

Strategies: 

• Identify inner city suburbs where there is little or no Christian presence and through a process of research, listening and understanding, establish a credible presence through relevant and connected ministry, programs and projects.
• Encourage, develop and empower local leaders.
• Foster mutually beneficial partnerships with churches emerging amongst HopeStreet for ongoing cooperation in local ministry.
• Develop mutually supportive partnerships for the ongoing sustainability of churches emerging amongst HopeStreet, especially amongst communities of the poor.

Objective: To establish and develop appropriate programs, projects and activities that empower and meet the needs of people in the inner city experiencing poverty, homelessness, abuse, addictions, long-term unemployment, loneliness, cultural alienation, and other forms of destitution and marginalisation.

Strategies:

• Identify and foster of the capacity of the community to care for its own members.
• Ongoing research to identify unmet needs in the inner city and develop appropriate and sustainable strategies in response.
• Development of strategies that identify and address the underlying causes of disempowerment and inequitable distribution of resources (structural, communal and individual) in order to meet human need with an emphasis on justice and equality.

Objective: To establish an education program for churches and others raising awareness of urban issues and theology.

Strategies:

• Provision of an Urban Mission Training Unit located in the inner city of Sydney offering a variety of courses to secondary, tertiary and theological students and the general church constituency to address urban issues.
• Provision of accredited courses through Morling College (ACT) for students wishing to gain credit towards degree and diploma programs.
• Provision of urban retreats, walks and week-end exposure tours.
• The publication of material in newsletters, journals and other print or visual media that address these issues.

Related Documents

Distinctives of Urban Ministry

Empowerment Policy