The document discusses several core Christian values that are important in Filipino culture, including Christian values, respect for elders, kindness towards neighbors, giving, being supportive and caring for family members. It provides examples of how these values are demonstrated in typical Filipino behaviors and traditions.

1. Filipinos have lots of good values that are worth to consider. I will share
with you the common values that are worth to keep.
Filipinos are known for their good values specially the typical Filipino people who are
loyal to their customs and traditions. I will try to share what I have seen and what I know
about the good values of Filipinos that are worth to keep. I would not say that Filipinos
are perfect when it comes to keeping good values but they will never forget this
wherever they maybe in the world much more if they grow up in the Philippines.
Christian Values. Philippines is a Christian country so most of the Filipino people are
Christians. Though Filipinos are composed of different religions but they always go
to church. Christianity and character building were taught in the schools whether in
public schools or in private. Children were taught how to pray in school and in the home.
Values of Respect to Elders. Children were taught by their parents to respect the
elders. You can seldom hear a kid calling older people by their names. Even if they are
not related by blood or the kids don’t know the person, they will respect them by calling,
kuya, ate, manang or manong, Auntie or uncle. How nice to hear kids paying respect to
older people. You can not see that in America. In here, little kids call the older ones by
their names but in the Philippines, that is never tolerated and that is a typical Filipino
values that is worth to keep.
Values of kindness to the neighbors. Most Filipinos are kind to their neighbors.
There are some who are not but the typical Filipinos are kind and helpful to their
neighbors. They can easily develop friendship to those who live around them. Once they
build their friendship, they will share whatever they have like food and other stuff. They
will take care of each other’s need without being asked. They are always there for their
neighbors. You can seldom find that in America. People here, don’t know their
neighbors by name. Only very few are close tot heir neighbors specially if neighbors are
transient? it’s hard to know everybody around you, that’s the American neighborhood.
Values of Giving. Most Filipinos are givers. They love to give gifts to friends and
relatives specially during birthdays and Christmas. Even if they don’t have enough
money but they will really save some of it to buy gifts for their loved ones. That’s the
thing I really admired from Filipinos. They have a heart to share what they have even if
it is not much but they would really give.

2. Values of being Supportive And Caring. Filipinos are very supportive with their
families. They love to gather together or even live together with their extended families
in order to support each other. The unmarried children usually will live with their parents
and help them financially. There are times that the married children will still support their
parents in many ways. Most of the children who are professionals will always give
financial support to their parents, siblings or other relatives who need support.
Most Filipinos will personally take care of their old folks when they are sick. They will
never take them to nursing homes because there is no such thing as that in the
Philippines. The will take care of their old parents and relatives in their own homes.
Christian Value: Value God
A core Christian value is having God first in our lives. This means continuously seeking His
righteousness and totally relying on Him. As humans we have the freedom of choice to
decide what is right and what is wrong, but if we value God we will look to Him for what is
right and wrong. Most of us have the resources and means to take care of ourselves, but if
we value God we will rely on Him to take care of our needs. We value God when we
acknowledge that He knows better than we do on what we need in our lives. See
our Biblical Series on God's Divine Nature for more commentary on the Christian value
of honoring God first in our lives.
See Scripture Commentary: Matthew 6:33 gives us the advice to seek God and value God
above all things.
Christian Value: Hope
Hope is a core Christian value. A Christian's hope is based on Jesus Christ's promises that
He can redeem mankind and provide mankind eternal life. The Christian value of hope
enables a Christian to be patient and persevere even though Jesus' promises of eternal life
are unseen and unrealized in this present time. See our Biblical Series on Hope and
Trust for more commentary on the Christian value of hope.
See Scripture Commentary: Romans 8:24 advises us to place our hope in God and not in
material things.
Christian Value: Righteousness
Righteousness is a core Christian value. When a Christian accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord
and Savior, he or she is now in right standing with God. They are a “new man”. A Christian
is now set-aside for God to be holy and righteous. Righteousness becomes more and more
precious as a Christian grows in his or her love of God. A Christian seeks to do God's will
and do what is right in God's eyes because he or she desires to strengthen their relationship
with God. See our Biblical Series on Righteousness for more commentary on the
Christian value of righteousness.

3. See Scripture Commentary: Ephesians 4:24 give us advice to value righteousness and
holiness.
Christian Value: Love
Love is a core Christian value. Christian love is called “agape” love which means unmerited
favor. Christians realize this type of love through God. Because of God's unmerited favor
and grace, He offers all of mankind eternal life through Jesus Christ. This is true love that
comes from God. Christians in turn value God's love and have a desire to provide this Godly
love of unmerited favor to others. See our Biblical Series on Love for more commentary
on the Christian value of love.
See Scripture Commentary: Jude 21 advises us to value Godly love.
Examples of other Christian Values which could also have been
included in this booklet: Creativity, Trust, Friendship, Hope, Humility,
Responsibility, Healing, Faith, Commitment, Grace, Acceptance, Awe
& Wonder, Simplicity, Unity, Patience, Understanding, Fellowship.
Reverence is the proper human response to what is holy and sacred. It is related to
awe and respect. It is this profound respect that is expressed in the Biblical phrase ‘the
fear of the Lord’. This is not fear in the sense of terror or abject grovelling but a
reverent acknowledgment of God’s greatness and our complete dependence. Such
reverence is the proper response to the mystery of life and death, or to the created
world in which we live.This profound respect for God is the spring from which true
worship flows.Although only God is truly worthy of reverence and worship, the Bible also
contains the related concept of ‘honouring’. We are asked to honour one another and
one of the ten commandments instructs us to honour our father and mother.
Wisdom is insight into the way life works: a proper understanding of the consequences
of our thoughts, words and actions and an awareness of the true value of things. It is
rooted in proper reverence for God who is the source of all life and all values.Although
related to education and knowledge, wisdom differs from cleverness. Wisdom may be
best described as discernment gained through life experience and distilled into guiding
principles. Sometimes, the word is used in the Bible to refer to the practical and
technical skills possessed by an experienced craftsperson or administrator.

4. In the book of Proverbs, Wisdom is sometimes personified and, at one point, is spoken
of as she who worked alongside God as a master craftsperson when God created the
world. The opposite of wisdom is foolishness, which is a wrong understanding of life.
Jesus tells the parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:13-21). Although this parable may
seem to be mainly about greed and obsession with money, at a deeper level it is about
putting our trust or faith in the wrong things. It’s about missing the point; it’s about being
a fool. The fool does not realize that his soul is ‘on loan’ from God, who can require it
back whenever he likes. The fool thinks that the aim of life is to ‘be happy’ and he
thinks that you can gain happiness by doing what you want and be gaining more and
more possessions. The wise person recognizes their own limitations, trusts in God and
understands that there is more to like than may be seen on the surface. The Bible often
points out that God’s wisdom is the reversal of ‘the wisdom of the world’. Christ’s
sacrificial life and his teaching about love and humility may appear foolish by the world’s
standards but, in reality, it expresses the Wisdom of God.
Thankfulness has always been at the centre of the life and worship of God’s people.
Thankfulness is directed towards God who gives and sustains life. Seeing the world as
God’s creation underpins the way we approach everything in life, seeing it as a gift and
not as a right. Thankfulness is important Thankfulness is a wholehearted response. It
stems from a consciousness of God’s gifts and blessings. It is a joyfulness that erupts
into praise. Paul frequently encourages us to ‘be thankful’ (Colossians 3:15), to ‘give
thanks in all circumstances’ (1 Thessalonians 5:18) and says that our lives should
‘overflow with thankfulness’ (Colossians 2:7).For Christians the greatest of all acts of
worship is simply called ‘thanksgiving’ - eucharistia in Greek - thanksgiving for the death
and resurrection of God’s Son and the way of forgiveness that is opened up.
Humility has a central place in Christ’s teaching. It is contrasted with pride, where
people ascribe to themselves the honour and glory which is God’s alone. Ultimately,
pride seeks to compete with God, whereas humility acknowledges that God is God and
that we should live in trusting dependence upon God.
The story of the Fall and the Tower of Babel are both about the potential of humanity to
overreach itself, to want to be like God. Thousands of years of human history
demonstrate the persistence and pernicious effects of this tendency.Jesus taught his
followers that if they wished to enter the Kingdom of Heaven they must be like children.
This is no sentimental picture of children, who are quite capable of arrogance and the
desire to see the whole world revolve round them. Jesus is challenging people to
become like those who have no legal or social standing, to become like servants.
Throughout his teaching, Jesus uses a series of images and examples to encourage his
disciples to ‘take the lower place’, or ‘to wash each other’s feet.’The words ‘humility’ and
‘humanity’ are directly linked, both being derived from ‘humus’ - the earth. God made
us from the earth and in being humble we ‘earth’ our view of ourselves in reality. When
compared to God we are nothing but that nothing is infinitely valuable to God who

5. shared human nature.The Christian doctrine of the Incarnation - the Son of God taking
human flesh - is presented by Paul as the supreme act of humility in which Christ
‘emptied himself’ and took the form of a slave (Philippians 2:5-11). The Christian
message insists that it is through identifying with Christ’s humble service and sacrifice
that we rediscover that other truth about ourselves - that we are sons and daughters of
God and made in God’s image.The Bible makes it clear that God is on the side of the
humble and against the proud. As Mary sings in the Magnificat: He has brought down
rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble (Luke 1:52).
In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax-collector, Jesus criticises those who are
‘confident in their own righteousness’ (Luke 18:9-14). He contrasts the
self-congratulatory prayer of the one with the penitent humility of the other and
concludes with the words: ‘Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who
humbles himself will be exalted.
Although the word refers to humans standing firm in the face of hardship, persecution or
scorn, it is important to note the constant assurance in the Bible that God’s love, mercy,
faithfulness and righteousness endure forever (e.g. Psalm 118, 136).
Emphasis upon endurance is common in the New Testament where it is linked with
patience and suffering. St Paul is certain that endurance is honed by suffering, is character
building and is characterised by love (Romans 5:3-4; I Corinthians 4:12 – 13). It is linked
with self-control, godliness (2 Peter 1:6) and steadfastness.
At its root, endurance is recognition that life is sometimes difficult and painful, and that it
is important not to give up in the face of adversity.
Jesus endured rejection, abuse and the cross, and his followers are warned that they may
well have to share that pain as persecution took hold. Discipleship is depicted as ‘taking
up the cross daily’ and following in Jesus’ footsteps (Luke 9:23).
Endurance and perseverance are only possible where there is hope and that hope is based
on the enduring nature of God’s love and faithfulness. Even Jesus, for all his strength and
ability to endure, looked to his disciples to help and sustain him by watching and praying
with him (Matthew 26).

6. Words relating to ‘servant’ and ‘service’ are central in Christian theology. Some of the
most important prophecies in Isaiah speak of the coming of the ‘Servant of the Lord’ and
his role as a ‘suffering servant.’ That is why Jesus said that he ‘came not to be served, but
to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’
Jesus washed the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper. This turned upside down the
normal relationship between master and disciple, leader and follower. In many ways, this
astonishing action symbolizes the essence of the Incarnation: God stooping to share the
human condition. Jesus is very clear about the meaning of his action: ‘Now that I, your
Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have
set you an example that you should do as I have done.’
The parable of the Good Samaritan shows we should serve those in need whoever they
are. Such service is not offered to gain some advantage for ourselves. ‘Going the extra
mile’ involves sacrifice, putting ourselves out for someone else’s benefit.
Serving God means serving others. It also means that we cannot serve other masters as
well - such as money. However, the Christian message is equally clear that service is not
all about restrictions. It is precisely in a life of service that we become most truly free.
‘Compassion’ and ‘sympathy’ have much in common and both are stronger in meaning
than simply ‘feeling sorry for’ someone.
The words have their roots in the idea of ‘suffering with’ someone, putting yourself in
someone else’s shoes and experiencing what they experience. This leads to a desire to
act, to do something. It is not patronizing. It is not about ‘doing good’ from a position of
strength or ‘remembering those less fortunate than ourselves’. Compassion requires an
act of imagination and humility to share in the lives of others. Notice the qualities that
Paul links together. He says ‘clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility,
gentleness and patience.’ (Colossians 3:12)
Jesus showed compassion towards the ‘harassed and helpless’ crowds (Matthew 9.36) and

7. his works of healing were always prompted by compassion for people’s suffering. He wept
at the death of Lazarus and was moved to act.
The father in the parable of the Prodigal Son is not just forgiving. He is described as being
filled with compassion. ‘But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was
filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed
him.’ (Luke 15:20) The father seems to understand everything that his son is feeling and
responds by giving him everything he needs: a whole-hearted welcome, acceptance and
love.
Christians have always had to wrestle with the problem of how a loving God could
allow there to be evil and suffering in the world. There is no simple answer to this but
we make the first step towards understanding when we grasp the idea that God the
Father is not passively observing the suffering of the world from the outside. God fully
identified with human suffering in the life and death of Jesus and continues to work to
transform the sufferings of the world through the work of the Holy Spirit
Trust is the very essence of faith; trust in the God who is trustworthy.
‘Trust in the Lord’ is a central theme in the Psalms. Time and time again, God is the
acknowledged as the source of all true security and strength. This is contrasted with trust
in chariots, horses, weapons, wealth or princes (Psalm 20:7; 118:8-9). We can easily think
of the modern day equivalents. Trust placed in the wrong things is close to idolatry.
Trust is essential to human life and lies at the heart of all relationships. Trust entails
vulnerability, putting yourself in others’ hands. We have to trust experts - pilots,
dentists, surgeons. Yet, within our society, there often seems to be mutual distrust
between people and those responsible for governing them.
Marriage is founded on trust and is a God-given framework in which human trust can be
developed. The wording of the Christian marriage vows sends out a strong message in a
society where the breakdown of trust is widespread.

8. Trust is central to civilised society, to living together in harmony, so it is to be valued
and honoured. With wisdom and discernment, we can relearn to trust. We can begin to
rebuild trust in our mistrustful society by being reliable ourselves, by not letting people
down. Similarly, when we work with others, if we are willing to let go of control ourselves
and trust in the abilities and integrity of others, everyone can be enriched. Jesus, after all,
entrusted his ongoing work to his disciples and ultimately to us.
The Hebrew term for peace, ‘shalom’, has a deep and complex meaning, encompassing
much more than simply the absence of hostility or war.
Shalom includes ideas of healing and health, wholeness and well-being. It means harmony,
stability and security within a community. It refers to relationships based on truth and
righteousness, where people flourish because they are nurtured.
The Biblical picture of the age to come is one of Shalom. ‘Swords will be beaten into
ploughshares’ … ‘the wolf shall live with the lamb… no-one shall hurt or destroy…’
(Isaiah 2:2-4; 11:1-9). Traditional enemies will live together contentedly and the people
will be governed with wisdom, understanding and justice.
In Jesus’ message, peace is an almost tangible element. It is his gift to his disciples. Paul
describes God as the God of peace, the Christian message is called the ’gospel of peace’
and peace is one of the ‘fruits of the Spirit’.
It seems that humankind has to learn and re-learn the message of peace. It does not
come easily or automatically. We constantly fall back into hostility and suspicion. Peter,
quoting the Psalms, says we must ‘seek peace and pursue it’ (1 Peter 3:11). Jesus blesses
those who are ‘peacemakers’ and calls them ‘sons of God’.
It is noteworthy how often the word peace is used in parallel with the word
‘righteousness’. Peace cannot come by simply wishing it to be the case. Peace is founded
on righteousness and justice.
Christians are called to share in Christ’s work of restoring wholeness. The Christian
vision in this respect is far-reaching and challenging: harmony between people, harmony

9. between people and God, and harmony between humans and the whole created order.
Forgiveness is fundamental to the character of God. Throughout the Bible, God is
described as slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin (Numbers 14:18).
Jesus was uncompromising in his command to forgive. Forgive, he said, ‘seventy times
seven’ (Matthew 18:21). In other words, forgive and keep on forgiving without limit.
Forgiveness was at the heart of everything he did and is at the heart of the Lord’s Prayer.
When Jesus declared a person’s sins to be forgiven, it often aroused the anger of those
who were less willing to forgive than he was and yet a prayer for the forgiveness of his
persecutors was on Jesus’ lips as he died. Christian preaching has always put forgiveness
at the centre.
We forgive because we are forgiven. Paul says: ‘Be compassionate and kind to one
another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.’ (Ephesians 4:32)
The parable of the Unjust Steward tells of a servant who was forgiven his large debt only
to be condemned because he refused to forgive a small debt owed to him.
Forgiveness cannot be given or received unless it is asked for, and the asking must be
genuine and from the heart. Too often ‘sorry’ is said very easily, implying: ‘All I need to do
is say I’m sorry and everything will be OK’. Real repentance demands that we take what
we have done wrong with the utmost seriousness and have a deep desire not to do it
again.
The whole sacrificial system in the Law of Moses was based on the principle that
forgiveness requires sacrifice. Animal sacrifices are no longer offered, but the truth
remains that forgiveness is costly to all involved. Once we understand that, forgiveness
can be truly liberating both for the person who is forgiven and for the person who
forgives.
Friendship is an undisputed value in our society, with children often spending more time

10. with their friends than with family. It is a key concept in the Christian framework, with
Jesus being criticised for being ‘the friend of sinners’ and eating with those whom society
rejected.
Sharing a meal with someone is an explicit sign of friendship and the word ‘companion’
literally means ‘one with whom you share bread.’
Jesus tells stories of the heavenly banquet to which all are invited. The barriers between
people are broken down in a loving community around God and Jesus had stern words to
say to those who refused to recognise that all are included in this community of
friendship.
The Bible has many sayings about friendship:
‘A friend loves at all times.’ (Proverbs 17:17)
Friends are not afraid to tell each other the truth and a friend’s loving criticism is worth
more than the empty compliments of someone who does not really care for you.
‘Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.’ (Proverbs 27:6)
The writer of Ecclesiastes puts it very simply: ‘if one falls down, a friend can lift him up’.
(Ecclesiastes 4:10)
The friendship of David and Jonathan is very strongly emphasised in the Bible, Abraham
is described as the friend of God (James 2:23) and Jesus explicitly calls his disciples not
servants but friends (John 15:14 - 15).
Trust, feeling comfortable in each other’s company, being able to share joys and
sorrows are all features of friendship and these are things of immense value. True
friendship enables each person to grow and ensures that the unique individuality of each
person is recognised. All this echoes the value placed by God on the preciousness of each
person.
Hymns like ‘What a friend we have in Jesus’ point to a relationship that is at the heart of
Christian believing. Knowing that God is our friend is to recover something of the
acceptance and close companionship that people of all ages need and crave.

11. When thinking about ‘justice’, some people think first about giving wrongdoers the
punishment they deserve. ‘Justice’ evokes ideas of ‘just deserts’, ’the punishment fitting the
crime’, ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’.
However, that would be a one-sided picture of justice. Justice also means giving all
people - particularly the poor and oppressed - what it is right and fair for them to have:
life, health, freedom and dignity. It is about acting out of a concern for what is right and
seeing right prevail. It is about social justice, especially for those who suffer most and are
least able to protect themselves.
In Exodus, the people are instructed to deal with everyone fairly and never to show
partiality to one group above another (Exodus 23:2,6).
The Bible emphasises that ‘The righteous care about justice for the poor’ (Proverbs 29:7).
Isaiah says: ‘Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless,
plead the case of the widow’ (Isaiah 1:17). Justice is the ‘plumb line’ by which society is
measured (Isaiah 29:17).
According to Amos, its presence in society should be constant and abundant:
‘Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!’ (Amos 5:24)
Throughout the Bible, it is emphasised that justice is immensely important to God. It is
fundamental to God’s character. ‘For the LORD is righteous, he loves justice; upright men
will see his face.’ (Psalm 11:7)
Justice is not about a culture which encourages everyone to insist on their own rights at
the expense of others. It is about a community that knows that everyone’s well-being is
bound up with that of everyone else.
A commitment to justice leads to fierce opposition to injustice in whatever form it may
be found. Justice is a pre-requisite of peace: without justice there can be no peace
The Christian understanding of hope illustrates how trivial our everyday use of the word
can be. We hope that it will not rain for the picnic, or that the car will start or that the

12. plumber will come tomorrow.
At a deeper level, hope is a universal human phenomenon. People hope for peace in time
of war; food in time of famine; justice in time of oppression. Where hope is lost there is
despair and disintegration. Hope generates energy and sustains people through difficult
times. For some people, hope is so strong that it inspires self-sacrifice to turn hope into
reality.
True hope is much more than a general idea that things will get better. It is more than a
belief in progress, which sees the world and people as getting better all the time, growing
away from violence, ignorance and confusion. There has, of course, been genuine
progress: in technology, in communications, in medical care and in the protection of
people’s rights through the law. Nevertheless, terror and oppression, death and disease,
greed and self-serving still govern the lives of millions. In the light of all this, belief in human progress
looks facile and deluding.
Christian hope is grounded in the character of God. Often, in the Psalms, the writer says
to God: ‘My hope is in you’. It is a hope rooted in the love and faithfulness of God. Hope
is not wishful thinking but a firm assurance that God can be relied upon. It does not
remove the need for ‘waiting upon the Lord’ but there is underlying confidence that God
is a ‘strong rock’ and one whose promises can be trusted. The writer to the Hebrews
describes the Christian hope as ‘an anchor for the soul, firm and secure’. Even when
experiencing exile, persecution, doubt or darkness, the Biblical writers trust in God’s
‘unfailing love’ and know that he will be true to his covenant promises. That is the basis of
their hope.
Hope is not always spontaneous or easy. There is work to be done. As well as trusting
God, we have to develop qualities of steadfastness in our own character.
Paul says: ‘We know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and
character, hope.’ (Romans 5:3-4)
Hope is coupled with faith and love as one of the three most enduring gifts of the Spirit
(1 Corinthians 13:13)

13. Belief in God as creator is not merely a belief about how everything began; it is the
perspective from which we are to view all life including our own.
It means that we place the highest value on this earth and see life as God’s gift.
Pre-technological societies lived in close dependence on the earth. The daily struggle
for food and shelter, at the mercy of natural forces and the changing seasons, led to a
profound respect for the environment. With technological mastery has come a different
attitude: one that sees the earth as there to be plundered and exploited.
Now we are reaping the whirlwind: with climate change, crises over access to water and
food, destruction of habitat and the rapid extinction of species. It is not clear whether
the earth can still renew itself or whether the damage has gone too far. It is also not clear
that there is the will to stop, to restore this ‘blue planet’, our only fragile home.
In Genesis, God gives humans certain rights over his creation. With these rights, come
responsibilities. We are stewards. A steward manages an estate on the owner’s behalf. We
have been given the earth to look after by God and to hold it in trust for future
generations. If the earth is to sustain our children and succeeding generations, this clearly
places limits on how we treat the earth.
There have always been elements in the Christian tradition to remind us of our
responsibilities and priorities. The Law of Moses made provision for a year’s ‘Sabbath rest’
for the land every seven years and Francis of Assisi addressed the sun, moon, earth, wind
and water as his mother, sisters and brothers.
Harvest and Rogation remind us of our dependence on the earth for our survival, and
lead us to thank God as the ultimate source of all the earth’s riches.
Although Genesis chapters 1 and 2 contain the most well-known accounts of Creation, it
should be remembered that there are extended presentations of the wisdom and majesty
of God the Creator in Job 38-41 and in Isaiah 40-45. Also, in the New Testament, Paul
explains how Christ was central to creation (Colossians 1:15-16) and that not only
humankind but all creation shares in the redemption and renewal that Christ achieved

14. (Romans 8:19-22). The New Testament comes to a close with a vision of a new heaven
and a new earth where, in imagery that recalls the Garden of Eden, all are nourished by
the spring of the water of life and all have access to the tree of life (Revelation 21).
Koinonia: fellowship
The use of the original Greek word emphasises the strength and importance of this
concept within the Christian faith.
Koinonia means ‘that which is in common’ and is often translated as ‘fellowship’ or
‘community’. Other translations might include ‘union’, ‘partnership’, or ‘being yoked
together’. A yoke is a shaped piece of wood that goes across the shoulders, often linking
two animals. By combining their strength, it helps work to be done and burdens to be
carried.
Koinonia expresses the quality of relationship within the Christian community. It is based
on fellowship with Jesus. Through him, Christians share the relationship that Jesus has
with God. In John 17, Jesus prays that all his followers may be ‘perfectly one’ as he and
the Father are one. Through him, Christians become sons and daughters of God and
therefore brothers and sisters of each other. They are all members of the same family.
A central element of being a family is interdependence: all are needed and valued and
each person is important to the whole. The same message is found in Paul’s image of the
Christian community as the body of Christ. Each member of the body shares the joys and
sufferings of the others and each depends upon every else.
The foundation of Christian koinonia is Christ’s self giving on the cross, the supreme
demonstration of his love for all. We love because he loved us first.
For the first Christians, this was expressed in a genuine common life with shared meals,
shared possessions and practical support for the poor. The Christian church today
continues to serve not only those within the Christian community but any who are in
need

15. Self-evaluation and school improvement
Schools that are outstanding or rapidly improving evaluate their own effectiveness accurately. They are
reflective communities. The cycle of self-review is deeply embedded and engages all stakeholders.
Progress accelerates where self-evaluation is insightful. It identifies where progress has been made and it also
identifies why. Improvement depends on leaders knowing how to capitalise on skills that already exist in the
school. They make brave decisions to empower colleagues and bring about change.
Christian values offer a unique vehicle for evaluating how well schools shape the attitudes of students to
their learning and to life in the wider community. Schools already recognise this potential but have been
uncertain about the techniques they might employ.
This new section of the website is written in response to the growing demand for a self-evaluation tool that
uses Christian values as a driver for school improvement.