RESPONSIBLE PARTICIPATION

Click the icon to download this Code of Good Practice as a .pdf for your ready reference.

1. Commitments

We expect participants to agree with our Statement of Faith, Vision, Values and Purpose, and our Constitution (operating bylaws).

• We recognise that to be effective, every community needs to built on shared understanding.
• Our core documents and this code of good practice provide that understanding for the MC community by outlining the expectations we believe will nurture healthy relationships and outcomes for the cause of God’s mission.
• From time to time these core documents may be updated by the MC’s Global Leadership Council. Should changes be made, MC participants will be notified.
• The MC is a community of many languages and we celebrate this. Each language represents a different way of knowing the world and experiencing God in the world, which we share joyously. We are working on translating all of our core documents and pages (like this one) into major language groups. We encourage the use of heart languages where possible and seek to provide interpreters and use interpretation technologies to help each language to be ‘heard’ and make a vital contribution in our gatherings.

2. Relationships

We expect participants to live and minister with a high degree of moral integrity and agree with our Statement on Diversity and Inclusion. When the MC community gathers, the following protocols apply…

•  The MC is a diverse global community of missions leaders from a wide variety of biblically-faithful Christ-following traditions. We respect, embrace and are committed to learning from different faith expressions and missions-oriented commitments related to those traditions.
• Participants should refrain from imposing the expectations of their faith tradition upon other participants.
• Individual participants are responsible for maintaining biblical standards of  honourable personal behaviour and integrity.
• Individual and organisational participants are responsible for holding high ethical standards, especially as regards financial transparency and accountability.
• In general, we do not use honorific titles (e.g. Dr, Bishop, Rev., Honourable, etc.) when relating interpersonally within the MC. We may, however, honour a contributor (e.g. a speaker, facilitator, author, etc.) by introducing them by their title if they have one.
• Some MC participants use age- or seniority-related familial titles interpersonally and we encourage this where appropriate (e.g. mama, papa, uncle, aunty, or other language equivalents).

3. Safety

We expect participants to act with Holy Spirit-enabled loving kindness, mercy and grace toward one another as siblings in-Christ and honour the spiritual, cultural and practical gifts we each bring into the community, formed in our respective contexts and experiences.

• We encourage vulnerability and we are committed to doing everything within our power to provide our participants with a safe, trustworthy environment.
• We will not be content with superficial tolerance of difference. Rather, we will seek the mutual transformation that arises from our inter-relationships as we invest in co-learning by listening to one another, dwelling in each other’s histories and griefs, and rejoicing with one another’s redemption stories and calling; seeking first to understand deeply before expecting to be understood.

4. Agendas

We expect participants to accept that their missions passion does not need to become others’ missions activity. Yet, we also commit to learning much from one another, as we grow in our respective calling.

• We embrace and promote a wide variety of activities in service of the mission of God, which we recognise as encompassing the whole-of-life.
• We recognise that missions (service that bears witness to the Kingdom of God beyond the direct influence of a local church) is distinct from local church ministry.
• We recognise missionaries as servants specifically commissioned and sent by a congregation to serve beyond its immediate reach.
• We hold all missions strategies and activities in tension as valid elements of our witness to the world, acknowledging that each individual only contributes in part to the whole of God’s mission.
• Participants who attend an MC gathering are not merely being “invited to the table”, but into the ‘kitchen’ where new possibilities for the strengthening of missions are developed.

5. Networking

We expect that relationships developed within the MC community will be widely reciprocal, for shared benefit (mutually edifying).

• Lifelong global friendships are made during MC participation. These connections form organically as the Lord knits hearts together.
• All participants are encouraged to represent and promote the perspectives of their organisation while participating in the MC.
• We encourage relationship development between leaders but do not permit the bulk collection of participants’ personal or contact information for the purposes of ministry promotion or gain.
• We will not provide participant information to third parties, including other MC participants.
• We especially encourage established missions leaders to proactively nurture connections with younger or emerging leaders as an investment in the future of missions.

6. Contribute

We expect participants to financially contribute to the viability of the MC. This is not a payment for services provided or tangible benefits received but a contribution toward our operations as we work for the wellbeing of the community.

• Subscribed participants will receive an invoice annually for payment. Failure to pay within three months will result in the cessation of participant approval and all related privileges.
• We reserve the right to make an additional appeal for financial assistance from time to time. For example, seeking sponsorship funds to enable under-resourced participants to attend an MC meeting or event.

7. Support

We expect participants to prayerfully support and positively promote the MC’s purpose and the wellbeing of each other in our global community.

• Please join our social media groups to remain apprised of quick MC updates  and items for prayer. We are on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
• Occasionally we will distribute special updates via our MC Connect email database. MC Connect Updates are freely available to all. Click here to subscribe to the list.
• When invited to do so, attending MC gatherings is a great way to support the MC and broaden your own understanding of God’s mission.
• There may also be opportunities for you to participate in a working group or project related to your area of missions interest. Your participation and contribution is deeply valued and we encourage you to volunteer if you are able.