MINISTRY PRINCIPLES
Every staff position at Wyoming Rescue Mission requires specific qualifications particular to that area of service. Qualifications, duties, and responsibilities are listed in the job description for each position. Beyond these specific duties and responsibilities, all mission staff members, regardless of position or department, aspire to serve as genuine Christians with the hope others we serve in the community aspire to the same!
RESPONSIBILITIES
Spiritual Enterprise:
As a mission we are a spiritual enterprise, we hold forth a message (Latin missa); as mission workers, we are always advertising these beliefs, for better or worse. Our spiritual message “Jesus Saves” follows what our Lord proclaimed in Luke 4 that he came to preach good news to the poor. This message comes across only when our personal conduct is consistent with our faith, both on and off the job. Our life-restoring message, distinctive in our marketplace, is that a life lived before God is the best hope for personal success and personal fulfillment!
Guided by our Mission Statement:
In promoting the message, we are guided by our Mission Statement. We minister to and serve as Christ to all those in need, of all backgrounds and identities; our ambition is for others to be lifted out of homelessness and poverty both physically and spiritually. We each individually live the “independent community member” goal we endorse. This is an honor and God-sized calling to offer His hope!
Reflect Grace and Truth:
In all things, as we follow our Savior, we will reflect the grace and truth; (John 1:14) more perfectly and warmly manifested in Jesus Christ. A great challenge He helps us become!
The following suggests some ways these standards should shape our lives:
Genuinely Living the Christian Life:
1. Pursue discipleship to Jesus Christ; 2 Peter 3:18 “…grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” *
2. Maintain a life visibly consistent with Biblical standards; Matthew 5:16 (In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.)
3. Maintain intentional fellowship with believers; Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another.…”
4. Practice good financial stewardship; Hebrews 13:5 “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”
5. Live free of bodily abuses such as sexual immorality, cohabitation or alcohol and drug abuse; I Corinthians 6:19-20 “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.”
6. Honor Biblical family responsibilities; Ephesians 5:33 “…Each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” (Note: We hold to the Biblical standard of marriage as the covenantal union of one man and woman; Matthew 19:4-5 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?” We will still serve all with Christ’s love, no matter sex or marital status/preference.)
7. Be open to counsel; 1 Thessalonians 5:12 “Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you.”
Living Workplace Christianity:
8. Embrace the Wyoming Rescue Mission statements of Faith, Mission, & Vision. For details, see scripture references in each document.
9. Commit to a wholehearted ministry perspective of the workplace, including to the salvation and spiritual welfare of mission guests and partners; 1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
10. Manifest a pliable spirit; Hebrews 13:17 “Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.”
11. Communicate constructively; Ephesians 4:29 “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
12. Resolve conflicts biblically and holding each other accountable; Matthew 18:15-17 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that “every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”
13. Value the image of God on diverse display through fellow staff regardless of age, ethnicity, race, or sex; Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Together we serve many different people struggling with homelessness and poverty of diverse backgrounds and experiences with the compassion and love of Christ.
14. Exercise and respect “Christian liberty” in areas where the Bible is not explicit but sacrificing “rights” for the sake of those “weaker in faith” where necessary; I Corinthians 10:23-24 “Everything is permissible – but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible – but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.”
*All scripture references are taken from the New International Version (NIV). This document cites only key verses for each subject.
