The Ethos of the Matthew Project: An Explanation

Our Values and Ethos

The Matthew Project is a value driven charity, seeking to make a real difference through compassion, innovation, integrity and excellent work practices.  No matter what people face, we refuse to compromise on hope.   We are an organisation that seeks to serve people in need.  We refuse to be an agency which exists to serve itself.  

We want people to feel cared for as they work for us and also excited about helping others. We seek to employ people who share these values and wish to share our vision of making a difference.  We value diversity and want all people to be treated with respect.  We have an Equal Opportunities Policy and always strive to ensure that our recruitment process is fair and rigorous. We are proud of our diverse workforce. Our values and aims are central to our work and ethos.  

The Matthew Project’s ethos and values were inspired by the compassion and acceptance Jesus showed to all people excluded from society.  The name ‘Matthew’ means ‘the gift of God’. This expressed the desire of the Matthew Project founders to demonstrate the love of God to all people through unconditional and genuine care.  This aspect of our ethos is important and inspires us still.  

We therefore expect all of our employees to respect our organisation’s values, culture and identity. We expect employees to work in a way which demonstrates commitment to the ethos and values of the Matthew Project and respects the faith which inspires these.  

In a Nutshell

o    We are a value driven organisation; we exist to serve others through compassion, innovation and effective interventions. Our values are derived from our Christian origins and modelled in the life of Jesus  

o    We show respect to all and value every individual, no matter what their beliefs  

o    We expect all our staff to be committed to our values and ethos  

o    People may choose to work for the Matthew Project for many different reasons. We expect workers and volunteers to subscribe to our values, vision and ethos in their work even though they may hold diverse beliefs or no specific belief system  

o    We share our values as an organisation through our actions, but we do not exert pressure on anyone to follow any particular faith  

o    If anyone wants to investigate a faith, we may put them in touch with an appropriate ‘chaplain’ or faith community  

o    We do not ignore the ‘spiritual’ dimension of life and if the client wishes to explore this, the worker will appropriately support them and facilitate this  

o    We have an explicit expression of Christian faith within the Matthew Project which is central to who we are. This may include prayer times or speaking about how Jesus treated others for example. With service users, outside agencies and our day to day interactions this faith is expressed mostly in implicit ways often through expression of our values. This may include showing patience, kindness, respect and going the extra mile. These core elements are shown by people of different beliefs and of no specific belief