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Our mission and values

Our values

Every organization must have two philosophical anchors that give direction to its work. First, it must have a mission statement, which defines the central task of the organization. Second, it must have a statement of values. Values are the key principle ideas which focus attention on how the organization will act. These key principle ideas must be in harmony with the mission of the organization so that it achieves its stated mission-goals.

The Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba works at many levels – it is active at the local level, the provincial level, the national level and the international level. The eight values statements listed below describe how the thirty-three Manitoba Mennonite Brethren churches will work together.

The eight value statements

• Wholeness. Jesus Christ, the head of the church, calls his people to wholeness. We are a people with a new centre, having been born of Spirit and water. We take direction from a new Source, the Holy Spirit, who leads us faithfully into truth. Since the Creator has made us whole, we also work for wholeness in the world. Our mission is two-fold: first, to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul and mind and our neighbour as ourselves; and second, to actively heed the Lord’s command to make disciples of all peoples.
• Integration. Faith always affects lifestyle. We believe “faith” and “life” belong together. In Christ, salvation and ethics come together. All vocations are made holy through Christian participation in them. We reject all distinctions that artificially divide vocations into secular and religious categories. As followers of Jesus, we practice our faith actively wherever we have our work and our life.
• Relevance. Relevance has two faces – it can be defined in two ways. First, in our context, we use the word to describe the appropriateness between the task at hand and the methodology we use to accomplish the task. And second, we also use the word to define and discern which tasks have continued value and support and which tasks ought to be concluded. Needs change, ministry opportunities change – we are committed to addressing needs in a way which helps solve the problem at hand.
• Transparency. Transparency means openness and truthfulness. We are committed to speaking the truth openly but with care. In all of our personal, business and board transactions we will be truthful and fair. Our “yes” will be “yes”, our “no” will be “no”.
• Leadership. We are committed to developing and nurturing leadership in the local church. We will actively support present leaders to enhance effectiveness in ministry. We are committed to engaging local congregations in calling out gifted persons for ministry. We are interested in developing programs that will support the local church in this process. We call on our congregations, schools and other institutions to help us craft policies that will make our dreams become a reality.
• Giftedness. God values each human being. Each human being is created in the image of God. Each Christian human being is part of two worlds: the kingdom of this world where we participate in societal/ community life and the Kingdom of God where we participate in a new community which has a new centre and values. Each person born into the kingdom of God has been given gifts through the sovereign will of God for exercise within the body of Christ and in society. We are committed to developing, enhancing and empowering each person so that God-given gifts and the dignity of each person is recognized.
• Flexibility. Flexibility is the ability to move quickly. The opposite of flexibility is rigidity. We are committed to building structures which can survive the fluctuations of forward/backward movement, but also to building structures which are able to react to changing patterns and needs. The idea of flexibility can be frightening – it is not an uncentredness which allows a “jumping-in/jumping-out” to happen, rather, it allows us to address changing needs without being boxed-in by outdated structures and traditions.
• Community. The church is a people called by God through Jesus Christ. The church, the body of Christ, is the visible sign that the Kingdom of God is present in the world. The church, the covenant community, gathers both locally and corporately to love and care for one another, to pray together, to share each other’s joys and burdens, and to fulfil the mission mandate in the world through accountability to one another.

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