Members ascribe to a "Basis of Faith" and a "Basis of Co-operation and Fellowship", as well as agreeing to follow good practice in managing their charity. Details of each are given below.
Basis of Faith
As a network of evangelical agencies and churches, our constitution requires that all members ascribe to the following basis of faith.
Evangelical Christians accept the revelation of the triune God given in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments and confess the historic faith of the gospel therein set forth.
A. The sovereignty and grace of the triune God, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit in creation, providence, revelation, redemption and final judgement.
B. The divine inspiration and infallibility of the Old and New Testaments as originally given and their consequent entire trustworthiness and supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
C. The universal sinfulness and guilt of fallen human beings, making them subject to God's wrath and condemnation.
D. The substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ the incarnate Son of God as the sole and all-sufficient ground of redemption from the guilt and power of sin and from its eternal consequences.
E. The justification of the sinner solely by the grace of God through faith in Christ who was crucified and bodily raised from the dead.
F. The illuminating, regenerating, in-dwelling and sanctifying work of God the Holy Spirit
G. The priesthood of all believers, who form the universal Church, the Body of which Christ is the Head, and which is committed by His command to the proclamation of the Gospel throughout the world.
H. The expectation of the personal, visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ in power and glory.
Basis of Cooperation and Fellowship
As a network, we ask our members to accept the following basis for working together.
A. Autonomy of Members.
The autonomy of each member shall be respected. Members shall not be the subject of criticism or censure because of any other associations, national or international, in which they are involved, directly or indirectly, at home or overseas. Such relationships shall be deemed the private concern of each member.
B. Responsibilities of Members.
i. Members are expected to participate actively in the affairs of Global Connections as appropriate
ii. Members are expected to pay the appropriate contribution, which will be set annually by the Annual General Meeting. One years notice should be given if a member wishes to resign.
iii. Members are expected to maintain high standards of integrity in the areas of publicity, fund raising and accountancy, which will commend the cause of world mission as represented by Global Connections.
Guidelines for Charity Management
As a network, Global Connections cannot be held responsible for the financial management of it members. However, we ask our members to ascribe to the following guidelines for fund-raising and conduct of their affairs. Some of the criteria particularly apply to member agencies.
A. Core values
In all activities, members should be characterised by honesty, integrity and a validity of purpose, method and means, in harmony with Christian principles, as well as with a recognition of the laws of the lands in which it works.
B. Avoiding duplication and competition
Members should seek to avoid duplication of the work of other similarly constituted Christian agencies and churches. Further they should foster consultation and cooperation with others in the same and related areas of work. When approaching a church directly for support, member agencies should try to ascertain what are that church's existing commitments to other Christian agencies and projects so as to not be in competition.
C. Raising and using funds
In the raising and use of funds, members have obligations to donors, the Christian public and people with whom they work, to ensure that income is used solely to fulfil the declared objectives. This obligation includes:‑
Publishing clear statements on the proposed use of funds.
Having an annual audit (or independent examination) of the accounts in line with the Charities Act and if appropriate the Companies Act. These should be made available to donors and the general public upon reasonable request.
Having clear management systems and clear evidence that fund raising and disbursement authority is not vested exclusively in any one individual.
Ensuring that the expenditure on administrative overheads and publicity is kept to a level consistent with efficiency.
Providing simple understandable reports, charts and diagrams to show the public how funds has been used.
D. Good governance
The public should be informed about the manner in which the member is administered and controlled. The names of the governing body, which should meet with reasonable frequency and attendance, should be made known on request, along with some statement about their function and the degree to which they control the work of the member.
E. Appeals
Members should be sensitive to the sending out of unsolicited appeals and information. Each member should comply with the Data Protection Act and regard its mailing list as confidential. Members should not use the mailing list of other agencies or allow its own to be used by others, except in approved circumstances.
