Ethos statement of Mission Housing

As a Christian organisation, which has been a member of the Evangelical Alliance for many years, we are committed to establishing and maintaining a distinctive evangelical Christian ethos and practice to fulfil our charitable objectives. The Ethos, Practice and Principles of Mission Housing recognise the need to be consistent with the purposes and patterns of behaviour, which accord with an orthodox and historic understanding of the ethical implications of the Christian faith.

As a member of the Evangelical Alliance, we are in agreement with their Statement of Faith. These are also our core beliefs, believing them to be central to the Christian faith.

Our Affirmation of Faith:

“Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, as revealed in the Bible, is the sole and absolute authority in all matters pertaining to faith and practice. Together we will seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit in prayer and reflection to interpret this teaching so that collectively we discern and achieve God’s mission and our purpose through the governance of this organisation.”

This confirms that our faith is not simply a matter of professing belief in Jesus Christ and the authority of the Bible, but that it is to inform every aspect our behaviour. This document is to help with understanding around how our beliefs and values are expected to be honoured and reflected in our behaviours and the decisions we make.

Our Ethos in Practice

1. Every person is fearfully and wonderfully made in God’s image, and our choices and actions are informed by a reverence and respect for human life. God created human beings in His image, male and female, possessing equal value, made to glorify Him and together reflect His image. God loves and cares for everyone in their physical, cultural and ethnic diversity. We are called to love everyone and treat them with dignity, mercy, compassion, kindness, humility and justice.

2. Jesus is good news and has commissioned his followers to go and make disciples in all the nations. We are passionate about actively sharing the good news of the Kingdom and generously serving those in need.       

3. As those who have accepted His call, we seek in the whole of our lives to love God, follow Jesus and respond to the Holy Spirit through regular prayer and worship, engaging with the Bible, participating in church and other spiritual disciplines. Our behaviour matters to God and impacts others in our community and so we strive privately and publicly to live holy lives that honour Him, reflect His character and build His Kingdom.  

4. We are God’s children, adopted through Grace and empowered by his Spirit, extending his Kingdom together. Through our whole-life discipleship, we affirm the value and importance of seeking to follow Jesus’ example, obeying His teachings and dedicating our lives to the purposes of God through the coming of His Kingdom

5. Friendship, family, singleness and marriage are gifts from God, designed for the flourishing of humanity and to glorify God. Sexual activity is a good gift from God, that belongs exclusively within marriage between one man and one woman, as historically understood by the Church and defined by the Church of England in Canon B30. God calls us to chastity within marriage and celibacy outside of it and we seek to lovingly hold one another to these standards.   

6. God made the earth and entrusted humanity as its stewards and so we take seriously our responsibility to care for and cultivate His good creation knowing that God will make all things new in his glorious Kingdom.