Ethos and Practice of OM UK

As a mission based evangelical Christian organisation we are committed to establishing and maintaining a distinctive mission-based ethos and practice to fulfil the charitable objectives of OM UK and see the least reached know Jesus and be discipled.

The Ethos and Practice of OM UK stems primarily from our Statement of Faith and so, although separate documents, the Statement of Faith should be read alongside this document. Our Ethos and Practice also reflects our Guiding Values which are:

Imitating Jesus, Kingdom Transformation, A Biblically Just and Diverse Community, Strategic Innovation and Mutual Commitment.

Our ethos and practice also recognise the need to be consistent with the purposes and patterns of behaviour which accord with a traditional, faithful and historically consistent understanding of the Bible and the ethical implications of the evangelical Christian faith.

The Bible is the foundation for our beliefs and practices, and vital for identifying error.  This is why our Statement of Faith affirms “We believe that the Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments in their original texts, are fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, without error, and are the final authority for the Church”.

There are many areas where Christians may have a range of views and practices and, in this, they are not rejecting the authority of the Bible (for example, at times, conscience and circumstance may be relevant and lead to different practices).

But there are areas which go directly to our faith and our position on the authority of the Bible.  In these primary areas we would have the gravest concern (in particular where this is after error has been pointed out) about someone: maintaining contrary beliefs; behaving contrary to our beliefs; or condoning/promoting behaviour contrary to our beliefs.

In light of this, we affirm the following non-exhaustive examples of key beliefs, which flow from our Statement of Faith:

1. The sovereignty of the one true God, who is to be honoured, obeyed and glorified. We express our love for God regularly in loving others, in worship and in prayer both personally and corporately (Psalm 95:6; Ephesians 6:18; Colossians 1:15-20; 1 John 4:19-21).

2. The inspiration, authority and truth of the Bible which is to be engaged with regularly and which guides our life and work (Psalm 119; Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 5:17-19; 2 Timothy 3:16-17).

3. The necessity of personal repentance and faith, and of bearing witness to Christ in word and deed. We are to actively share the gospel and generously serve those in need (Matthew 25:35-36, 28:16-20; Acts 2:38; 1 Peter 3:15).

4. That new birth means we belong to God, that our true identity is found “in Christ” and that the Holy Spirit dwells in us. We recognise that we all fall short of God’s standard, the need for God’s grace and forgiveness, and the ongoing and empowering work of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:10, 3:14-19; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Peter 2:9).

5. The value and importance for the Christian life of participation in the local church. We frame local participation within the context of the church universal (Romans 12:3-21; Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Peter 4:10-11). For OM UK this includes wider partnership with other believers and Christian mission-based organisations mutually committed to seeing the least reached become believers and discipled.

6. The value and importance of prayer and discipleship. 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, to see His will done and His kingdom come. Through our prayers, we recognise our dependence on God and our need to listen to the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:16-20; John 8:31 38; Ephesians 6:18; 2 Timothy 2:2).

7. That human beings are fearfully and wonderfully made in God’s image and that our choices and actions are informed by a reverence for human life. That God loves and cares for all people in their physical, cultural and ethnic diversity. That the Bible calls us to love everyone and treat them with dignity, mercy, compassion, kindness, humility and justice (Genesis 12:3; Leviticus 19:15; Deuteronomy 16:19, 24:17; Psalm 139:13-16; Amos 5:24; Micah 6:8; John 15:12).

8. That our bodies are created by God, and following Jesus, we will share in a bodily resurrection. God created male (men/boys) and female (women/girls) as distinct .  Our sex is determined from conception, immutable and our bodies are essential to our nature and intrinsic to our identity. Both male and female have equal value, are made to glorify God and together reflect His image (Genesis 1:27, 2:23; Ephesians 5:21-33; 1 Corinthians 6:19, 15:35-58).

9. The value and importance of friendship, family and marriage. As Christians, we are friends of Jesus and children of God. As modelled by Jesus, outside of marriage God intends for people to live a single, chaste life. Marriage is a witness to the eternal love of Christ for His church and is intended to be a faithful, self-sacrificial and life-long covenant between one man and one woman, and is the place approved by God for sexual relations (Genesis 2:20-24; Malachi 2:13-16; Matthew 19:1-12; Mark 10:1-9; John 15:12-17; Romans 8:14-17; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 7:8-16; Ephesians 5:21-27; Revelation 19:6-7, 21:1-2).

10. That the Holy Spirit may lead us to live counter-culturally requiring us to be courageous, mission focused and take risks. Creativity and the Holy Spirit’s guidance may be needed to overcome challenges and solve problems.   (Joshua 1:9, John 16:33, Proverbs 20:24)

11. The value and importance of choices and actions that are informed by love for, and a concern to look after, the good creation that God has made and entrusted to us. In Christ, God is reconciling all things, on earth and in heaven, to Himself (Genesis 2:15; Psalm 8; Colossians 1:19-20; Revelation 21:1-2).

What this means in practice.

We would expect all those who represent OM to respect our beliefs and not seek to undermine them and our mission.  Some roles will have an Occupational Requirement to be a Christian fully aligned with our beliefs. Where the Occupational Requirement applies, those who reject the Bible’s teaching on the above points, as primary issues, reject our position on the authority of scripture and could not fulfil the Occupational Requirement.

Where the Occupational Requirement does not apply to an employed position, the postholder is not required to be in agreement with our beliefs.