Interfaith Council Guidelines

Description: Florida State University Panama City’s (FSUPC) Interfaith Council (IFC) is a voluntary association of faith-based organizations that have interests in providing religious services, resources and information for the students at FSUPC.

Mission: The mission of the IFC is to offer, through member faith-based organizations, a variety of programs for encouragement, fellowship, spiritual formation, networking and personal support for students while they are enrolled at FSUPC. The IFC is open to faith-based organizations of all faiths so that we may better serve students and to encourage them in their spiritual journey.

  1. Definition and Purpose:
    1. The IFC exists to support the spiritual guidance, growth, and moral development of the FSUPC Campus. Furthermore, our mission is to incorporate a variety of beliefs on the theological spectrum and interconnect them rather than solely recruiting for personal ministries.
    2. IFC purposes to develop students in the following areas:
      1. Openly Embrace Spirituality: Openly pursue spirituality wholeness in mind, body, and soul, while gaining awareness of different worship styles and faith traditions.
      2. Service: To provide service opportunities potentially regarding justice and morality in key issues in our society on campus, address community needs in which the campus resides, and provide spiritual solidity while being scholars.
      3. Leadership – To provide an opportunity for students to put their ideas to action, and practice how to lead and make a difference in the world around them. It will provide guidance and foster leadership inside and outside the faith-based organizations.
      4. Worship – Support gatherings of the student community to share faith, learn how to be a disciple of their own faith, and to encourage the acceptance of individuality.
      5. Diversity/Inclusion: To value the understanding of individual differences and human diversity in all its forms while encouraging inclusiveness and respect.
  2. Code of Ethics and Membership:
    1. Code of Ethics: FSUPC requires each member faith-based organization to subscribe to a Code of Ethics which includes the following:
      1. To respect the values of all people, regardless of faith-based background. We affirm the right of every person to retain his/her own belief system, to privacy, to be left alone, to survey other belief options, and to make their own decisions in freedom.
      2. To foster an atmosphere of faith tolerance within the FSUPC community. We disown behaviors which seek to promote one faith by publicly demeaning another.
      3. To defend the human dignity and freedom of all people. We disagree with coercive techniques of manipulative appeals intended to bypass one's right to critical thinking.
    2. Membership:
      1. Membership is open to the following:
        1. Churches and other faith-based organizations.
        2. Advisors from faith communities as requested by the IFC.
      2. Application of Ministries for Membership: new campus ministries seeking membership in the IFC will be expected to comply with the following guidelines.
        1. Subscribe to the “Definition and Purpose of Interfaith Council” as stated above (see Section I).
        2. Agree to follow the Code of Ethics contained herein (Section IIA).
        3. Follow the application procedure specified below.
      3. The procedure for acceptance of a new ministry into the IFC is as follows: The sponsoring faith-based organization submits to the IFC an application for membership which describes the sponsoring organization, its governance structure, and its pledge to comply with the guidelines stated above.
    3. Conditions of Membership in the IFC
      The IFC may withdraw an organization’s membership any time for failure to comply with one or more of the Code of Ethics for Membership. The procedure for withdrawal of membership in the IFC is as follows:
      1. Specific complaints against the particular person or organization are submitted to the IFC.
      2. The IFC may act on the complaint by:
        1. Finding the person or organization not to be in violation of the Code of Ethics;
        2. Finding the person or organization to be in violation of the Code of Ethics and placing it on probation for a specified period; or
        3. Finding the person or organization to be in violation of the Code of Ethics and withdrawing membership in the IFC.
      3. Re-application for membership in the IFC following the procedures outlined above will be required for reinstatement.
      4. Faith-based organizations who register annually with the IFC will be listed on the FSUPC Student Affairs “Interfaith Council” website and social media. Specific information about each registered organization will be available.
    4. Accountability
      Participating faith-based organizations shall be under accountability to their own sponsoring agency, IFC members, staff, faculty, and the University as a whole.
  3. Space Utilization
    When using space on the FSU PC campus, members will submit Facility Use Requests (FUR) via FSU Panama City’s Campus Life Coordinator no later than 2 weeks in advance. There is no guarantee that the requested space will be available but every effort will be made to accommodate the IFC member.