Fides serves the Christian church in the global movement against corruption.
“Fides” in Latin refers to faith, trust and integrity (as in bona fides). Faith and integrity are central to our purpose and mission. Fides exists to mobilize, facilitate and support the engagement of the church in promoting a culture of public integrity. By working with church leaders and communities, we seek to complement other reforms and contributions, faith-led or otherwise, to reduce corruption.
Fighting corruption demands culture change, not just institutional change. With supportive values of public integrity, societies will be able to sustainably reduce corruption. We believe that the church has a great potential to be a catalyst for this culture change. Especially in Christian-majority societies, Christian leaders and communities can shift entire countries’ ethical foundations to include a higher value for public integrity, trust, and action for the common good. This, however, will need to start with changes within the church itself.
1 We want the Church to be aware and educated about the cost of corruption, the cultural and biblical perspectives of corruption, and how the church can address corruption. In response, we write, speak, and publish materials that teach about the nature, pervasiveness, effects and causes of corruption, as well as provide a biblical perspective on the church’s role in promoting public integrity and fighting corruption within and beyond its walls.
2 We want the Church to be deeply engaged in modeling and promoting public integrity to reduce corruption in their communities. In response, we provide churches and Christian organizations with: (a) Online and on-site training and discipleship programs, tailored to the needs of our partners; (b) research tools and technical assistance to identify needs and define strategies and action plans; (c) technical assistance for the design and implementation of external transparency and integrity projects; and (d) technical assistance for internal policies and procedures on transparency and integrity.
3 We want coordinated efforts that magnify, accelerate and sustain the church’s redemptive impact toward the permanent reduction of corruption. In response, we share our knowledge and experience with other organizations by facilitating the implementation of projects in the field, and by supporting a growing network of Christians organizations also in the fight against corruption.