In the beginning God. Being self existent, God chose both to create man in His own image, and to reveal Himself to man in His creation, through His Word, and finally in the person of Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son. Furthermore, by the blood of His covenant, and through the new birth, He has indwelt His children with His Holy Spirit and made them partakers of His divine nature. It thus behooves us, having entered into this covenant of grace, by faith, to seek to discover man’s responsibility before God; the Creator of all, the Redeemer of man, the Sustainer of life, and the Giver of eternal life; and to fulfill that responsibility. Having sought the mind of Christ through God’s revelation of Himself, and discovering that which can only be described as our duty to God and man, we now set forth these seven Biblical principles that we believe are necessary to the fulfillment of that duty, and as being prerequisite and foundational to the ministry of Hope for the Future, in which we have been called to serve.
Whereas God has created man according to His own will and for His own good pleasure that He might be glorified in him, it becomes inherent to this ministry that God is glorified in all that we do. We thus determine and hereby covenant together that every aspect of this ministry comes under the controlling principle that all that we do, be done unto the glory of God and that every decision is made in response to the question; Will God be glorified?
2. Word of God to be exalted: Knowing that the Bible is the Word of God and is the only basis for faith, doctrine, life and holiness, and that therein lies all wisdom, knowledge, and understanding that enable a man to seek to glorify his God, we thus determine and hereby covenant together that all that we do, in this ministry, will be based on the principles and precepts of the Bible. All preaching, teaching, counseling, praise, prayers, testimonies, rules, regulations, and activities must be rooted and grounded and have their basis in the Word of God, rightly divided and spiritually applied to the world in which we live and serve.
Whereas Jesus Christ loved the church and gave His life for it, purchased it with His blood, and because the church is the only organization expressly stated in the Bible to be the body of Christ of which He is the head, we thus determine and hereby covenant together that all ministries of Hope for the Future will aspire to lift up and strengthen the local church and that we will expressly program activities not to interfere with the normal Biblical functioning of the local church.
Because God so loved the world; and knowing that it is impossible for God to be glorified in the lost; and by the expressed command of our Lord Jesus Christ to preach the Gospel to every creature; we thus determine and hereby covenant together that we will endeavor, by all Biblical means, to win the lost to Christ and to see them discipled and added to the local church.
Believing that God is only truly glorified as the righteousness of Jesus Christ is manifested in His saints; we thus determine and hereby covenant together that in all activities that Hope for the Future organizes or participates in it will seek to edify the saints, exhorting them to grow in grace and truth, as new creatures in Christ; being conformed to His image, and bringing forth fruit unto the glory of God. To this end we will strive to provide an atmosphere in which there is liberty for the Holy Spirit to work, freedom for the child of God to grow, programs that promote Biblical discipleship, strong leadership to set a godly example, and discipline to lovingly correct and guard against error.
Being by nature a faith ministry, having been blessed by God both financially and materially, and understanding with due severity that to him that much is given, much is required; we thus determine and hereby covenant together to take all necessary measure to insure that all that the Lord provides for the ministry is responsibly used and cared for, developed to its fullest capacity; and to earnestly strive to be found faithful stewards of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Understanding that the Word of God discerns even to the motives of the heart and knowing that the Lord can only be glorified in those things done from a pure heart in love; we thus determine and do hereby covenant together to set aside all hopes and aspirations of personal wealth and position, joyfully accepting our role as unprofitable servants, desiring nothing more than to be known as servants of the Living God, who being constrained by the love of Jesus Christ saw their duty and did it.
Finally, knowing that no covenant between men can be any greater than the men themselves, be it known that, by faith, we have entered into this covenant together with the Lord Jesus Christ, that according to His will and with His help the ministry of Hope for the Future will be governed by these seven Biblical truths, and that every effort will be made to ensure that neither social, financial or other considerations for this ministry will ever give place to our desire to seek God with all our heart and all of our soul, and all of our might; and to see Him glorify Himself in all that we do, all that we say, all that we think, and all that we are. Unto Him be the glory. Amen.
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