OUR VALUES

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Delivering a truly Christian listening service depends upon the exercise of our shared values, which we believe were lived and demonstrated by Jesus 

throughout his life and ministry:

• LISTENING WITH TRUST that God's Holy Spirit is present to us as we listen to our callers and that He will give us the words to help each one draw closer to Him.
  "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." (Matthew 18:20)

• LISTENING WITH THE PURPOSE OF PRAYER, seeking always to know how and when to encourage and support callers to come to Jesus in prayer.
  "...  your Father knows what you need before you ask him." (Matthew 6: 8)

• LISTENING WITH COMPASSION, knowing that Jesus suffers with our callers and that he wants them to be gently and lovingly cared for.
  "He will not break the crushed reed or snuff the faltering wick." (Matthew 12:20)

• LISTENING WITHOUT JUDGEMENT OR CONDEMNATION, because judgement is God's alone.
  "Do not judge and you will not be judged, because the judgements you give are the judgements you will get." (Matthew 7: 1-2)

• LISTENING WITH HUMILITY, because it is not our role to convert callers to our personal beliefs but to facilitate each caller coming to Jesus in a way that is unique to them.  We are only gatekeepers.
  "He who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the flock; the gatekeeper lets him in, the sheep hear his voice, one by one he calls his own sheep and leads them out."
  (John 10: 2-3)

• LISTENING WITHOUT ADVICE OR DIRECTION, because everyone has the right to make their own decisions and take responsibility for their own lives.  Only God knows what is right for them in their own particular situation.
  "But when the young man heard these words, he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth." (Matthew 19:22)

• LISTENING IN CONFIDENCE, because, if callers feel they are in a safe place where their privacy is respected, they are more likely to be open and honest about their situation and feelings.
  "A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret."
  (Proverbs 11: 13)

• LISTENING OUT FOR THE SAFEGUARDING NEEDS OF VULNERABLE ADULTS AND CHILDREN, because they have a right to be protected wherever possible.
  "In truth I tell you, in so far as you neglected to to do this to one of the least of these, you neglected to do it to me." (Matthew 25:45)