Core Values at Crestmont: Shaping our Culture – Defining our Character

The quality of our teaching and training at Crestmont is affected by our campus core values – our foundation, what we stand for.  Increasingly, schools and colleges are reinforcing the most important core values in their cultures by identifying and publicizing those unique values that clarify “who we are”, those values that guide our processes and influence how we teach and how we make decisions.   What are the values that underpin our college and prepare cadets for officership in the Salvation Army?

Over the last several months, conversations with cadets, staff, our Crestmont Council and faculty have produced lists of potential core values for consideration.  Additional review and screening by the College’s councils and committees resulted in the recent recommendation from the Executive Committee of the College to the Crestmont Council to adopt the following nine goals:

Love for God who loved us first…
Compassion and respect for others throughout the world…
Faithfulness to God and man…
Commitment to proclaiming Salvation and Holiness…
Responsibility to God and man…
Integrity of character and deed…
Servant Ministry to others including the poor and disenfranchised…
Kindness and humility…
Stewardship of resources…

One particularly helpful suggestion from the officer faculty was to wrap the campus core values into the three international mission categories: to love God and man; to preach the gospel, and to express a practical concern about the needs of humanity. The nine proposed core values were approved by the Crestmont Council at their February Council meeting and will be celebrated during the May 10-14, 2010, National Salvation Army Week.

These are the core values we use (or should be using) every day in all we do. These are constants and consistency markers in our ever-changing world. These are the values and Wesleyan theological principles we choose to use as benchmarks, guides and essential tenets. These are our lifelong commitments prefaced by our mission:

 To love god and man:
Love for God who loved us first… “This is love:  not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:10

Compassion and respect for others throughout the world… “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:39

Faithfulness to God and man…. “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Revelation 2:10

  To preach the gospel:
Commitment to proclaiming Salvation and Holiness… “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations.” Matthew 28:19

Responsibility to God and man… “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.” Romans 12:6-8

Integrity of character and deed…“In everything set them a good example by doing what is good.  In your teaching show integrity, seriousness. ” Titus 2:7

 To express a practical concern about the needs of humanity:
Servant Ministry to others, including the poor and disenfranchised… “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.” Matthew 7:12

Kindness and humility… “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

Stewardship of resources… “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. ” Psalm 24:1; “Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the first fruits of all your crops.” Proverbs 3:9

“Over the many years of educating and training officers, these powerful values have been at the core of our campus environment, undergirding and underpinning our efforts to perform our ministries and serve our cadets and our Army.”

 - Major Steve Smith, Training Principal, College for Officer Training at Crestmont

Click Here to download and print a PDF copy of the Core Values At Crestmont