| FOCE
Code of Ethics
As Christians
called by God, we seek to glorify Him in every area of our lives
both private and public (Matthew 5: 16; Romans 15: 5-11; 1 Peter
2: 9). As evangelists, we are called to a special ministry of working
together with the Lord in His pursuit and reclamation of those who
are lost in sin and are in rebellion against Him (Luke 19: 10; Acts
5: 28-32).
Our
Mandate
Our mandate
is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ so that people will be
persuaded to repent of their sin, put their trust in Jesus Christ,
and serve Him as their Lord in the fellowship of His Church (Matthew
28: 19-20; Acts 20: 20-21; 2 Corinthians 5: 15; Ephesians 2: 19-22).
Our
Motive
We are motivated
by our conviction that God has called us to be evangelists. The
personal conviction that we have this calling has been confirmed
by others (Acts 13: 2-3; I Timothy 4: 14). As a result, we are obliged
to practice our calling, employing fully the particular gifts with
which the Holy Spirit has endowed us, in fulfillment of our task
and responsibility (Romans 12: 6-8; I Corinthians 12: 4-7).
We will not
allow ourselves to be motivated by worldly or personal considerations
such as money, power or sexual gratification. Rather, it is our
sincere, earnest and intelligent response to Christ's love for sinners
and their salvation which shapes and directs our work. His love
for all mankind and our love for Him demand our total and unremitting
obedience (1Thessalonians 2: 3-6; 2 Corinthians 5: 14-21).
Our
Lives
We seek to
be filled with the Spirit and controlled by His power as we "do
the work of an evangelist" (Luke 4:4:49; John 20: 21-23; Acts
1: 8; 2 Timothy 4: 5). A life of prayer, Bible study and other spiritual
disciplines is essential if we are to be endued with power in our
ministry (Acts 4: 24-3: 13: 3; 2 Timothy 3:16-17).
We acknowledge
that our families are a gift given to us from God. We are determined
to be faithful in serving them and fulfilling our responsibilities
to them as we minister to others (John 19: 26-27; Ephesians 5:22--6:
4).
We seek to be accountable to others for our personal conduct and
the financial stewardship of our ministry, knowing the temptations
we face as ambassadors for Christ (1 Peter 2: 12; 4: 15).
As servants
of God, we acknowledge our obligation to lead lives of holiness
and moral purity (2 Corinthians 7: 1; Thessalonians 2: 10). We are
aware that we are expected to exemplify Christ to the Church and
to the world (1 Corinthian 11: 1; 1 John 3: 3; 4: 17). We also accept
the obligation to receive admonishment should our conduct deviate
from these ethical guidelines (Galatians 6: 1-2).
Our
Methods
-
We believe
that all people are created equal in the image of God (Genesis
1: 26-27; James 3: 9). Therefore, we believe that all people
are worthy of hearing the Gospel of the loving Lord Jesus Christ.
a. We must therefore go anywhere and endure any sacrifice to
communicate the Gospel (Acts 4: 18-20; 5: 40-42).
b. We must disavow any practice which would depersonalize people
and deprive them of their inherent value (cf.2 Corinthians 11:
20).
c. We must disavow coercion and manipulation of every kind (2
Corinthians 2: 17).
d. We must appeal to people to believe in Christ with their
minds, to yield to Him with their wills, and to love Him with
deep feeling (Luke 24: 32; Acts 2: 37-38; 10: 36-43).
e. We must be completely honest in reporting our statistics
(cf. 2 Corinthians 8: 20-21).
-
We are committed
to the role of the Church, both local and universal, recognizing
its mandate to make disciples of all nations and to nurture
them in the Christian life (Acts 13: 1-3; 15:6-31; Ephesians
4: 11-16). Therefore all our evangelistic efforts will include
the encouragement of those who respond to our message to identify
with a local congregation. Thus, we will seek to strengthen
the Church of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10: 24-25).
June, 1993 |
