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Our Daily Bread, Missions Board

Code of Ethics

Effective 1/1/97

Preamble

Those that have been called are chosen, and those that are chosen are anointed to help them get the job done that God has called them to. The primary purpose of the missionary is three fold, first as Jesus was sent to establish the Kingdom of God and destroy the works of the devil, so are we. Secondly, Jesus healed physically and spiritually and so can we as we carry the same anointing. Third, because of His authority He had command over heaven and earth, angels and demons. We are commanded to go in the name of His ministry, Our Daily Bread and given authority to use His name, we have the same ability, new born Christian or seasoned Christian, it comes to us by faith and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. We are called to serve others putting God first, others second, our families and ourselves last.

Then it is the purpose of the missionary to do their part to bring the body together in unity and purpose, by love. That we are to teach the truth of who we are in Christ, our position, anointing, the gifts and accountability, freeing people from the bondage of Satan. We through His power are to open the eyes of the blind, to set the captives free, revealing the truth of the covenant that we have, in Jesus.

The purpose of the missionary is rooted in a set of core values and Biblical fundamentals. All members of the body should embrace these core values, but in particular to the missionary. The foundation of the missionary's purpose and perspective being:

 

Purpose of the Missionaries Code of Ethics

Love and ethics are the core of the work of the missionary. The profession has an obligation to articulate values, ethical principles and ethical standards. The code of ethics set forth these values, principles and standards to help guide the missionaries conduct. The conduct is relevant to all believers, students, and missionaries regardless of their professional functions, the settings in which they work and live and the populations they serve.

 

The Missions Board Code of Ethics has six purposes:

 

  1. The code identifies core values on which the missionaries work is based.
  2. The code summarizes broad ethical principles that reflect the professions core values and establishes a set of specific ethical standards that should be used to guide the practice of missions work.
  3. The code is designed to help the missionary identify relevant considerations when obligation conflict or ethical uncertainties arise.
  4. The code provides ethical standards to which the general public can hold the missionary accountable.
  5. The code helps to standardize new missionaries to the field, in the work, values, ethical principles, and ethical standards.
  6. The code articulates standards that the missionary profession itself can use to asses whether missionaries have engaged in unethical conduct.

In short it is not the intent of this code to substitute for the work of the Holy Spirit, but so people can see that we are as ethical in all things in our private lives and as our professional lives as well. A code of ethics cannot guarantee ethical behavior, but it can give a standard that the public in general can understand.

 

Ethical Principles

 

The following broad ethical principles are based on the missionaries core values of service, social justice, worth of a person, importance of relationships, integrity and competence. These principles set forth ideals to which all people in missions work should aspire.

Service:

The missionaries' primary goal is to help others, reconciling them to Christ as they help a person meet their needs and help address problems. It is the work of the missionary to set aside personal ambition and to serve others. The missionary must draw from their knowledge, personal relationship with God, experience and skills as they reach out in the area that they are working. Addressing the problems that people have, whether those problems be physical, spiritual, or financial, the missionary supplied with the Word of God, will help them overcome in all situations.

Social Justice:

Isaiah 9:6 tells us that the government shall be on His shoulders. Jesus is the head of the body, and the shoulders are a part of the body. The government is on us, the body. We need to learn to be able to accept responsibility for the outcome of the world. We have been given all power and authority, but we must believe and stand in accountability to get the job done. God gave us the power to intercede for the lost, which is the world at large. It is the body that II Chronicles 7:14 is talking about as God is calling the believer to turn from their wicked ways. All things are possible through Christ and by walking in His anointing in faith, the world would be different. We have been given the power to end social problems and disease, if we believe, do the work and confess the power of God.

The Dignity and Worth of the Person through Christ:

Jesus shed His blood for all that we might believe and understand why He went through the things that He did. By understanding, unity and love bring the body together as one unite with many parts, taught and guided by the five fold gift ministry as outlined in Ephesians 4:11-16, we through Christ can lift each other up for the purpose in which He has called us to individually. Jesus paid a high price for us and we need to walk in faith and do what we have been called to do. The only way for there to be individual worth and dignity restoring the body to perfection is through the ministry that God has ordained. The body cannot come to perfection without the five-fold gift ministry.

Importance of relationships with each other and God:

God is at the center of all things if we turn our individual wills and desires over to Him. We must learn to submit to Him, because he knows what is best for us as individuals and as a body. It is by our focus on Jesus that we can learn to accept people for who they are and exhort them to go further. God accepts us unconditionally and we need to accept others. It is God who can change the minds of kings if we go to Him for our needs. When we judge others we are no longer working in the realm of love, but in the law, which can only condemn. When we release people to God we loose them from bondage and allow God to work in their lives.

Integrity:

The missionary needs to be trustworthy in all things, and even giving no appearance of evil in all things in our private and professional lives. The missionary should never lose focus of the vision that God has given them, the need to serve, and the values that Jesus has given us. We are judged by our appearance and we should live to the ethical standards and practice in a manner consistent with them. The missionary must act responsibly, honestly, and promote ethical practices on the part of the bodies that they are called to serve.

Competence:

It is the responsibility of the missionary to live a life of prayer, never forgetting there is always something more to learn and do.