Silk Road Mission’s Core Values can be separated into two sections: Our focus and our love.

Core Values: Our Focus

People = We value individual people first and foremost. Our ministry is to people so that they may know God. Our missionaries are people and deserve the care and concern due an image bearer of God. Even our enemies are people and will be prayed for fervently.

All decisions we make must first be evaluated in how they will affect the people involved. Every hard decision that must be made will take this into account. (Philippians 2:1-11)

Process = After people, we care deeply about the logistics of ministry. How we share the Gospel is just as important as why and where. In everything we do, we seek to be good stewards of our time and resources. This means efficient and timely processes as well as thinking through ministry decisions logically.

If we have seen to it that the people involved in an issue are taken care of then we can move on to solve the problem as systematically and efficiently as possible. (Proverbs 15:24)

Perception = We will face many issues in ministry. If we honor our people and enact wise processes then that hopefully will lead to a positive perception by both the church and the world. We want to be careful that we do not do anything that would disqualify us from ministry or from preaching the Gospel. The world will hate us by virtue of being followers of Jesus Christ. However, we need not give them other reasons to do so.

If such a situation arises where our perception with others will be marred because of doing the right thing then we gladly stand for what is right in the sight of God and man. We will never choose our reputation and perception over taking care of people or living wisely. (John 15:18-25)

Core Values: Our Love

And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:28-31)

We LOVE the eternal Triune God. To Him and Him alone do we turn our worship. There are four ways in which we LOVE Him…

Heart: We are emotional creatures made in the image of God. Our emotions are not to be rejected nor are they to be the center of our world. In Christ, our weeping turns to laughter and our mourning to joy. We submit our emotions to the rule and headship of the Lord God. We will teach others to do this as well.

Soul: We are spiritual creatures indwelled with God’s Holy Spirit. Following Christ is a deeply spiritual experience. Prayer is to be the lifeblood of any believer in Jesus Christ. We cannot follow Him if we do not commune with Him. An ongoing ethic of prayer and confession will mark our lives and the lives of those we teach.

Mind: We are intellectual creatures that seek to know God. This leads to a lifelong quest to read and understand His Word deeply. As followers of Jesus, we hang on His every Word. This takes the form of a deep and wide love of The Bible. It is the final authority on all matters of life and holiness. We will work hard to implant a love of God’s Word in the minds of those to whom we minister.

Strength: We are physical creatures with bodies made by our Father, The Lord. These temples in which the Spirit of God resides serve as members of the Body of Christ. We seek to honor God with our service. We flee from sexual sin as it corrupts not only the heart but the body as well. We willingly offer our bodies up as living sacrifices to God while we take the Gospel to the nations. We will admonish those to whom we preach to do the same.

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. (Col. 3:23-24)