Central Valley Justice Coalition is committed to partnering with the church and community to prevent human trafficking. We seek to prevent this exploitation of human rights through education, partnership and outreach.
As an organization, we have identified values that help to provide a framework for our mission. Rather than a restrictive formula, we believe that applying these values in decision-making is part of a holistic process that leads us to greater freedom.
Our Core Values:
Faith
Our work is an overflow of our faith, which informs everything we do (see our beliefs statement, updated version coming soon).
Equality
Inspired by God’s call to love and to seek justice for the oppressed, we serve all people without regard to religion, race, gender, gender identity, or any other factor.
Accountability
We are prepared to account for both our finances and activities as an organization, to accept responsibility for them, and to disclose results in a transparent manner.
Teamwork
We value a unified, team based approach to making decisions, accomplishing our mission, and navigating the complex issues of preventing human trafficking.
Holistic Change
We believe that the only way to bring about lasting change is with a holistic approach. We view each individual we work with as a whole person with many and varied needs and abilities. We aim to affect change in our culture, in our communities, and in ourselves.
What We Believe about What We Do:
Prayer
We believe prayer is the foundation of all we do and by engaging God’s heart through prayer, we are able to see real change occur in our community and in our world.
Partnership
We believe in partnership with God and each other, and in doing the work of the good news where there is oppression in the form of human trafficking and related forms of modern day slavery.
We partner in God’s work to seek justice and reconciliation so that the church and community can live fully in all we are called to be.
We engage with groups in the community, including law enforcement, NGO’s, churches, social clubs, and businesses. We recognize we cannot fight injustice well on our own, and call others to collaboration and unity as we all find our place in fighting for justice. We partner with any group, individual or organization seeking to address human trafficking through unified collaboration and a victim centered approach.
Prevention
We believe education is the first step in preventing and intervening in human trafficking.
We see many instances in which human trafficking is preventable, and strive to model and teach a way of life that keeps men, women, and children from being bought and sold as commodities.
Our Biblical Foundation
God tells us in Micah 6:8 what our proper and natural response is to be when we have experienced his goodness and love. “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you? But to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”
Jesus came to proclaim, in word and in action, the good news of the Kingdom of God! He was sent to reconcile all things to Himself, for the glory of God. All things include all people, creation, systems, communities, and every other created thing. In his ministry of reconciliation, things that were broken are made new, whole, and heal, and what they were made to be.
We join Jesus’ mission in Luke 4:18-19. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”
As Christ-followers we are committed to an orthodox understanding of our faith. We affirm the Nicene Creed, which can be summarized as follows:
- We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, of all that is, seen and unseen.
- We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.
- Through him, all things were made.
- For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man.
- For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried.
- On the third day, he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
- He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
- We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son, he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic (undivided Christian) and apostolic Church.
- We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
- We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.
