Our VISION
For our neighbors, rich and poor, to meet together; the Lord is the Maker of us all.
(derived from Proverbs 22:2)
Our MISSION
Motivated by the love of Christ and affirming the value of every person, Community Outreach Ministries exists to promote financial stability among our Polk County neighbors through asset-based resources and lasting relationships.
CORE VALUES
1. Christ-centered
We are informed by Jesus’ life, work, and teachings, seek to align ourselves with His Kingdom, and serve for His glory. Everything we do and say should flow out of our allegiance to Jesus the Messiah and reflect the values of His Kingdom. This allegiance takes priority over any earthly authority or power.
2. Dignity
Central to our work is a belief that all humans are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27) and have dignity. Similarly, every person has been given gifts and assets by God to use in the world. As co-laborers with Jesus, we are called to respect the dignity and worth of every person we encounter and view them as a neighbor in need of love, compassion, and grace. We reject stereotypes and serve with a humility that strives to reconcile humanity across dividing lines, such as socio-economic differences.
3. Compassion
We demonstrate patience with others, offer abundant grace, and do not give up on situations or people when it gets tough. This mirrors the “loyal love” (Hebrew: chesed) of God that is patient, steadfast, gracious, and just. However, this is not blind compassion, but wise compassion. Godly compassion is rooted in the other person’s value and dignity and not simply in what makes us feel good as a helper. It is guided by evidence, truth, and best practices.
4. Integrity
We seek to be honest, upstanding, and ethical in all we do. Whether with our finances, our interpersonal interactions, or the management of our programs, we pursue truth, openness, and righteousness. We serve a God who is “holy” and “righteous/just” (Deut. 32:3-4). As His disciples, we want to imitate God and His character. This includes abiding by legal and ethical requirements from the government or contractual partners, but goes above and beyond those requirements to a higher, godly standard of uprightness. This allows us to be reliable partners with our neighbors, volunteers, donors, and broader community.
5. Collaboration
In keeping with Paul’s vision of the Body of Christ in 1 Cor. 12 and the importance of humility, we recognize that we are not capable of solving every problem, or even solving the problem of poverty, by ourselves. Within COM, we seek to build teamwork and collaboration among staff, neighbors, and volunteers to pursue our mission. In the community, COM avoids a competitive spirit and instead strives to foster collaboration among churches, nonprofits, businesses, and other organizations in Polk County to promote the well-being of all our neighbors.
6. Stewardship
We refuse to waste talent, resources, or people in our work. Additionally, every gift and resource we possess ultimately belongs to God (Psalm 24:1). As members of His Kingdom, we are called to be good stewards of those assets and to use them to serve others as part of our Kingdom citizenship (1 Peter 4:10). We use funds and donations given to us wisely and efficiently for our mission. We honor our neighbors and volunteers and seek to empower them to use their gifts for God’s Kingdom. Additionally, we recognize the ultimate gift of all–-Creation-–and do our part to “cultivate and guard it” in keeping with Genesis 2:15. And lastly, this means we remain forward-thinking and never stop asking how we can improve, grow, and learn.
Our STRATEGY
In pursuing our mission, we see four primary areas that intersect with and flow from financial instability:
​
-
Lack of employment or money
-
Lack of access to food
-
Lack of safe or affordable housing
-
Social disconnection and broken relationships
​
Each of our programs is designed to address one or more of those areas.
​
At the same time, as a Christian organization, we believe healing ultimately comes through an encounter with Jesus and the Gospel, and that our job as Christians is to not fixate on the needs of our neighbors, but to help them identify, grow, and use their existing gifts and assets to build their stability and serve their own neighbors.
Our PRINCIPLES
OF HELPING
Compassion is a God-given trait intended to move us closer to God's heart through care for others. However, compassion is also like a fire. When fire is rightly directed and contained, it is incredibly helpful as it provides, light, warmth, and transformation. But when it rages outside of those boundaries and gets out of control, it is incredibly destructive.​
​
Likewise, compassion is immensely helpful and powerful when practiced rightly. However, unbridled compassion practiced without wisdom or boundaries can be just as destructive as a raging fire. If we are not careful, we can unintentionally do great damage both to those we are serving and to ourselves.
​
That is why we use the following principles to ensure we retain our compassion and retain the dignity and health of our neighbors.
-
Every human being is made in the image of God and has worth and value.
-
Every person is capable of and called to contribute to society.
-
Every person has strengths, skills, and assets that often have been overlooked or suppressed by society. We must call out these strengths and encourage our neighbors to use them in their solutions
-
We will not do for our neighbors what they can do for themselves
-
Systemic challenges are real and pose threats to stability and resilience. We will do our part to advocate and remove these barriers that our neighbors cannot remove on their own.
-
Our ultimate goal is to move our neighbors from Crisis to Stability to Resilience. We will not pursue perceived “solutions” that keep a person in chronic crisis instead of empowering them to move toward stability and resilience.
-
Successful poverty alleviation work will foster authentic communities for and with those in poverty.
-
Ultimately, true human flourishing can never be complete without the inner transformation that comes from experiencing and serving Jesus as King.