By Peaceful Waters

Statement of Faith

Tenets emphasizing Christian beliefs:

  1. There is one God, who created and sustains everything that exists, and who continues to be active in human history.
  2. Humanity is the highest creation of God, but rebelled against its Creator, and is in need of forgiveness and reconciliation.
  3. God became incarnate in Jesus Christ, who died on the cross, who was raised bodily from the dead to reconcile human beings to their Creator, and who has promised to return personally in judgment to complete the establishment of His kingdom.
  4. God works in and through people in the person of the Holy Spirit.
  5. The character and purposes of God are revealed in the Bible, the Word of God, which is the basis for what Christians are to believe and how they are to live.
  6. Jesus Christ calls all Christians to be a caring community and a corporate witness to faith in Him.

Tenets emphasizing human relationships and responsibilities:

  1. Every individual is a person of worth, with basic human rights and essential human responsibilities.
  2. The uniqueness of each human being and the distinctiveness of social groups derive from factors such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, life philosophy, family, culture, and economic and social structures.
  3. Human beings are interdependent with each other and with their social and physical environments.
  4. Jesus Christ is Lord over all areas of life, including social, economic and political systems.

Tenets emphasizing vocation:

  1. A dynamic relationship exists between the Christian life and social work practice.
  2. Christians in social work ought not to be motivated by temporal wealth, power or security.
  3. Christians in social work ought to examine and evaluate all human ideologies and social work theories and methods as to their consistency with the Bible, their consciences, social laws, and professional codes of ethics.
  4. Christians in social work ought to work for the temporal and eternal well-being of all human beings, and for the redemption of human communities and social institutions.
  5. Christians in social work ought to support and submit themselves to the highest standards of professional education, practice, and ethics.
  6. Christians in social work ought to use the insights of their faith in helping people, and to treat everyone as Jesus Christ would have them treated.

Adopted from NACSW’s Historic Statement of Faith and Practice