Our values

Everyone involved in The Salvation Army is encouraged to embody our mission and develop and improve how we express our values.

Our values and the behaviour that flows from them help us develop good relationships, contribute to a sense of wellbeing and help us integrate what we do with how we do it.

The basic standard of Christian behaviour, derived from our understanding of the character and action of God, is love. We need to continually be drawn back to understand how God is asking us to live and work together, so as to help us be faithful to our calling to be God’s people.

We need, together, to work our values out in our behaviour – so they are no longer aspirational but owned and held to.

Commissioners Anthony and Gillian Cotterill, Territorial Leaders

Our values, expressed as behavioural values and statements of intent, are:

Boldness — we will courageously and confidently seek to fulfil our five mission priorities: share the good news, seek justice and reconciliation, nurture disciples of Jesus, serve others without discrimination, care for creation;
Compassion — we will serve with the unconditional love and grace of God as the pattern for our behaviour, with a bias to the poor and marginalised;
Passion — we will bring our best selves, our God-given energies and our convictions to our work, service and learning, whether as officers, members, employees or volunteers;
Respect — we will welcome each person with the dignity of those created in the image of God, valuing their diversity, seeking to serve each other’s flourishing and transformation within God’s love;
Integrity — we will be honest and transparent in all our dealings with each other and those we serve, being open about our motives and agendas;
Mutual accountability — we will willingly and freely give full account for our actions to those we interact with and expect the same in return, recognising the link between individual responsibility and mutual accountability.

Showing what loving God and loving others means

‘Our identity, vision and God-given mission as disciples of Jesus Christ are shaped by the values of the Kingdom of God as we love God and love others and seek fullness of life for all in Jesus.

‘As part of this we want to affirm our Salvation Army values. We need, together, to work our values out in our behaviour – so they are no longer aspirational but owned and held to. They help us to underpin and put into action and show what loving God and loving others means. It starts with us and needs to be lived out in us.’

Commissioners Anthony and Gillian Cotterill, Territorial Leaders