Sex and Human Sexuality
Community Expectations, Guidelines, and Resources Regarding Sexuality
Indiana Wesleyan University grounds all scholarship and learning in our shared faith in Jesus Christ, our understanding of Biblical truth, and our shared commitment to the behavioral commitments of our church community, The Wesleyan Church. We acknowledge that God has created us as male and female beings who are responsible to God for our understanding and expression of our sexuality. We believe that human sexuality is an expression of God’s love. We affirm the goodness of sexuality, the importance of chastity and fidelity, and the centrality of the Christian sacrament of marriage. We affirm that God’s plan for marriage and sexual fulfillment can only be found within the context of marriage between one man and one woman.
All employees of Indiana Wesleyan University, all undergraduate students studying at the University’s residential campus, and all students living on the residential campus, therefore agree to abide by the Biblical standards of behavior articulated by The Wesleyan Church.1 With regard to sexuality and marriage this means that we agree to refrain from inappropriate sexual relationships outside of marriage between a man and a woman.
Toward Family: “To follow the teachings of the Scriptures regarding marriage and divorce. We affirm that sexual relationships outside of marriage and sexual relationships between persons of the same sex are immoral and sinful.” (Wesleyan Church Discipline, 2012, 265:5)
Human Sexuality: "The Wesleyan church maintains a biblical view of human sexuality which makes the sexual experience, within the framework of marriage, a gift of God to be enjoyed as communion of a man and woman, as well as for the purpose of procreation. Sexual relationships outside of marriage and sexual relationships between persons of the same sex are immoral and sinful. Yet we believe the grace of God sufficient to overcome both the practice of such activity and the inclination leading to its practice.” (Wesleyan Church Discipline, 2016, 410:5)
Marriage and Family: "We believe that every person is created in the image of God, that human sexuality reflects that image in terms of intimate love, communication, fellowship, subordination of the self to the larger whole, and fulfillment. God’s Word makes use of the marriage relationship as the supreme metaphor for His relationship with His covenant people and for revealing the truth that that relationship is of one God with one people. Therefore God’s plan for human sexuality is that it is to be expressed only in a monogamous lifelong relationship between one man and one woman within the framework of marriage. This is the only relationship which is divinely designed for the birth and rearing of children and is a covenant union made in the sight of God, taking priority over every other human relationship. We adhere to the teachings of Scripture regarding the sacredness of gender identity, sexual conduct, and marriage, and believe that sexual relationships outside of marriage and sexual relationships between persons of the same sex are immoral and sinful." (Wesleyan Church Discipline, 2016, 222.)
Forums for Prayer, Discernment, and Support
As a Christian university in the Wesleyan tradition, Indiana Wesleyan University calls all of its students, staff, and faculty to lives of faith, hope and God’s love. Our community is committed to supporting all of its members in the midst of their particular journey to live flourishing lives of holiness.
Therefore, in order to best fulfill our calling to nurture the development of our students we provide forums for discernment, guidance, support and prayer for those who are seeking to understand their sexuality and wish to learn better how to live lives of sexual purity.
One resource for creating space for prayer, discernment, and support is the Safe Zone Advocate program. Safe Zone Advocates are faculty and staff who have been carefully selected, trained, and equipped to engage and support students who are seeking to more fully understand their sexuality and its connection to faith and learning. Students who wish to talk with a Safe Zone Advocate can do so by emailing SZA@indwes.edu, an email account managed by the Executive Director of the Office of Intercultural Learning and Engagement.
