Who Are You, Part Two

In the sidebar of this blog, you can find our well-worded and concise mission statement. This was developed more than 15 years ago to describe the essence of who and what we are as an organization. For many it is sufficient to say that the Rescue Mission is a faith-based organization. For others, it is helpful to know that we are a 501c3, non-profit; still others are encouraged to see us as a Protestant, non-denominational, evangelical, para-church ministry. Admittedly, these tags mean different things to different people. So, to encapsulate the essence of the Rescue Mission’s identity, we may be described in these ways:

We are a non-profit, tax exempt agency. This means that we do not manufacture a product. We sell nothing. We are structured to supply services, not products. As such, we are completely dependent upon outside support. We choose to limit that support to private donations. This means that we do not solicit or receive any government funding.

We are a faith based organization. We do not discriminate in the services we offer on the basis of religious affiliation, but we make no apology that we place great value on the spiritual component. Our worldview informs us that people are more than the physical entities with whom we interact; there is a deeper, spiritual part of humankind that cannot be ignored.

When it comes to our “faith base,” we are decidedly Christian. While we do not withhold services from those who identify themselves with other religions or no religious systems, we are not interested in creating an ecumenical atmosphere that appeals to all. Realizing that this may place us at odds with other faith traditions, we, nonetheless, will stay true to our Christian convictions. Likewise, there is no need to apologize for being labelled as “Christian.” Historically, Christians have been at the forefront of social change by promoting literacy, building hospitals, caring for orphans, etc. It is only recently that Christianity (and all religious belief, for that matter) has been viewed as harmful and dangerous, particularly by the “New Atheists.”

We stand in the stream of evangelical Protestantism. Protestantism is divided between evangelical and mainline. Evangelicals are more concerned with issues like personal conversion, a more literal understanding of Scripture, and the need to evangelize (see the distinction here). Mainline Protestants have a more “modernist” approach to things like Scripture, the need for personal conversion, and the claim that Jesus is the sole means of personal salvation.

This is part of the portrait of the Mission; this is part of who we are. There is more.