Oliver Family Core Values

We, the Oliver Family, believe in one Triune God consisting of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Father sent his Son to die on the cross for the forgiveness of sin and salvation of the elect. After His death on the cross, we believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and ascended to Heaven where He now sits at the right hand of the Father. After His ascension, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be a helper to all believers.

We believe that the Bible is the Holy Word of God, and that all scripture is God breathed (2 Timothy 3:16). We believe in the authority of the scriptures and are committed to doing regular family devotions, as well as personal study daily. We will hold one another accountable to this standard and build each other up in our struggles.

We, the parents, Justin and Alannah, believe in a complementarian marriage, where the husband and wife are equal in worth and value, but different in roles. We believe in being absolutely faithful to one another, body, mind and soul, and we are committed to having God as the centre of our marriage.

As the husband, Justin, has the role of the “head” (1 Corinthians 11:3). He should provide for his family (1 Timothy 5:8), love his wife as Christ loves the church (Ephesians 5:25), manage his household well (1 Timothy 3:4), lead and teach his wife and children to be Christ-like, and, with all dignity, teach his children to be submissive (1 Timothy 3:4). It is the calling of the husband to be self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, a teacher, sober-minded, gentle, meek and not a lover of money (1 Timothy 3:2-3).

As the wife, Alannah, has the role of the “helper” (Genesis 2:8); she is equal to her husband, but different. She should seek to dress modestly (1 Peter: 3:3), respect her husband, fear the Lord above her husband (Proverbs 31:30), be reverent in her behaviour (Titus 2:3) and teach what is good to her children (Titus 2:4). She should also be self-controlled, pure and homeward in her orientation (Titus 2:3-4).

We believe children are a blessing from the Lord. Godly children should be submissive to their parents (Ephesians 6:1), be pure and upright in their behaviour (Proverbs 20:11), love the Lord with all their heart, mind, soul and strength (Matthew 22:7) and bear the fruits of the spirit, with their life reflecting the beatitudes (Galatians 5:22-23, Matthew 5:3-12). We believe it is the responsibility of both parents to train up their children in the ways of the Lord (Proverbs 22:8).

As a family, we are committed to tithing 10% of our gross income to the church (Deuteronomy 14:22). We believe in the power and importance of prayer, and we will make all of our decisions prayerfully before the throne of God and in accordance with His Word. We deeply believe that lost people matter to God, and therefore, they matter to us.

Above all, we believe that God is the Head of our home and, as we die to our sinful nature daily, we seek to place Him first in everything we do. We realize that it is only by the grace of God that we are saved and we are humbled to be part of His chosen people.