Creating real change in the lives of individuals, families, and communities is not just about economics. In fact, money and opportunity alone will not lead to the type of transformation that World Renew seeks worldwide. Corrupt leadership, mistreatment of women, exploitation of the vulnerable, squandering of resources and other atrocities can and will continue to occur if relationships between people, God and creation are not renewed by God’s awe-inspiring love and justice.
“I believe in the gospel’s power to change lives,” said Albert Dizon, World Renew’s Project Director in South Sudan who has seen God’s love effect reconciliation between warring individuals, including tribes with a decades-long history of conflict. “Without the gospel woven into our projects, our impact could be hollow if not palliative.”
That’s why World Renew incorporates seven biblical values into all of its programs around the world:
- Biblical justice
- Restoration/reconciliation
- Gratitude
- Stewardship
- Integrity/trust
- Inclusiveness/appreciation
- Responsiveness
While programs are available to all community members regardless of their religious background, and while there is no requirement for participants to convert to Christianity, the inclusion of biblical values is an integral part of World Renew’s training.
“The dialogue included in World Renew’s community programs encourages a connection of people’s faith to their development and testifies to our own Christian faith and worldview that has been consistent for the past five decades,” explains World Renew Canada Director, Ida Kaastra Mutoigo.
Consider a country in West Africa*. In this predominantly Muslim country, community leaders are skeptical that aid organizations will try to force their followers into the Christian faith. Through the slow and careful work of World Renew’s local partners, this attitude is changing.
Several years ago, as World Renew staff member Jan Disselkoen was making a presentation to several Muslim leaders, they asked her to explain what World Renew was all about.
“I went through the values that undergird our work,” she said. “When I got to the part about gratitude, I started to explain that the reason that we do everything we do is our deep-felt gratitude for all that God has done for us. I didn’t really think about it. I just said that God gave us the gift of his Son, and we are just so profoundly grateful that it affects our whole lives. We can’t help but want to share His love with others.”
After the words came out of her mouth, Jan was concerned that she might have just closed the door on ministry opportunities.
“I was worried that I said too much and that they’d think I was proselytizing,” she said. “Instead, they became so alive. They said that what they appreciate about World Renew more than other organizations they work with is that we acknowledge God. Secular organizations just talked to them about improving their physical situations, but we understood how important the spiritual side is for lasting change to happen.”
Today, World Renew is working in several communities in that country through local church partners. The defensive barriers towards Christianity are being removed and the witness of Christ’s church has been strengthened.
“Without the gospel woven into our projects, our impact could be hollow if not palliative.”
Similar success stories have taken place around the world. In a South Asian country*, for example, thanks to a community process that includes lessons on biblical values, groups of men and women from Hindu, Muslim, and Christian backgrounds are now working together towards common goals such as health clinics, revolving loan funds, and adult literacy.
“Because we are working together, we have gained leadership skills and our relationships at home, with each other, and with other community members are better,” they recently told World Renew. “We want to see our community as a peaceful community, where we will be living values-based, healthy, justice-filled lives.”
And in Guatemala, farmers are using a Biblical view of stewardship to improve their farming.
“Since childhood, I have been a farmer and have planted corn, black beans and chilies,” said Luis Alfredo Juc a resident of San Antonio La Pinada Village. “To prepare the ground I used to burn all the weeds and also use herbicides. Every year, my crop was smaller so I began to use more and more chemical fertilizer until I burned my whole plot.”
While chemical fertilizers can boost production when used appropriately, their overuse can be harmful. Luis was unsure how he’d be able to support his family on this overused and burned plot. Then he received training from World Renew and its local partner.
“They used the Bible to convince farmers that God wants us to care for the land and produce crops. I had thought God had cursed me by giving me land so bad, but I learned that God wanted me to succeed. I learned that it was my responsibility to care for what God had given me and to care for all of God’s earth. I began to use organic farming methods and diversify my crops. My harvest is now triple what it was five years ago. I am teaching my children that caring for the earth is a way of being a good Christian,” he said.
Perhaps the greatest place where World Renew’s values are taking root, however, is with its 76 partner organizations around the world. Wherever possible, World Renew joins with local churches and church-based organizations in the communities it serves. It then trains and equips these partners to carry on ministry even after World Renew has moved on. A key piece of this training includes using biblical stories and lessons to teach church leaders about poverty and how to respond to it.
In Malawi, for example, World Renew recently used the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead to talk about resource mobilization with representatives from four different Christian denominations.
“The Bible tells us how Jesus led a procession of mourners to the tomb of Lazarus. Jesus asked some of them to roll away the stone and then commanded Lazarus to arise from the dead,” said World Renew’s Nancy Kimani Hinga. “Could Jesus have commanded the stone to roll away by itself?”
Jesus could have moved the stone, but instead, he chose to use the people around him to solve this problem. As World Renew staff applied this Bible story, they drew a parallel to how the solutions to community problems are in our midst.
“Just like Jesus chose to use the people to roll the stone blocking the tomb, we can use our resources to roll away the stones in our communities,” said Nancy. “Lazarus had been dead for four days and yet the Lord brought him back to life. In the same way, there are many things that are seemingly dead in our communities that are awaiting us to roll the stone away from the tombs where they have been buried. These could be broken down wells that produce unclean water, a poor road that prevents government services from reaching a community and excess produce from reaching the markets, etc.”
The trainers then asked the community participants which “stones” existed in their communities that needed to be rolled away to realize the potential of “Lazaruses” that appeared dead but could be brought back to life.
“Experience has shown that once the eyes of local churches and communities are opened to the issues around them and their own potential to work towards a solution, they become an unstoppable force for change,” said Nancy.
These are just a few of the hundreds – if not thousands – of examples that World Renew has seen over the past 50 years of true change taking place thanks to values formation.
“World Renew teaches people that poverty stems from the broken relationships with God and each other that started with the Fall. It is only by healing these relationships and restoring a foundation of biblical values, that change can occur,” explained Andrew Ryskamp, World Renew US Director. “That’s just what we’ve seen happening all over the world.”
* Country names have been withheld due to security concerns in the region
World Renew’s Core Values
Rooted deeply in our faith are the values that drive and shape World Renew’s organization. The following values are based on and motivated by Christ’s love and the biblical mandate to “do justice and love mercy” (Mic. 6:8).
Biblical Justice: Everyone is an image-bearer of God. We abhor injustice, so we strive to uphold the dignity and worth of all, upholding the rights of all persons and their communities along with the personal gifts and natural resources God has given them. World Renew seeks to understand and address the structural root causes of poverty, including unjust power relationships based on gender, ethnicity, and religion. We engage our constituency in dialogue on these issues and encourage them to advocate accordingly.
Restoration/Reconciliation: The world belongs to God. We want God’s rule to prevail and God’s will to be done. God desires that all people live in wholeness and dignity. Our actions are guided by a desire to bring reconciliation to all areas of life: restoring relationships with God, with neighbors, and with the physical creation and promoting psychological healing. The implication of this value is that World Renew will seek to mitigate conflicts, to build peace, and to improve equality in relationships between men and women.
Our involvement in ministry is a reflection of our gratitude to God for his gift to us in the person of Jesus Christ. As a result we prayerfully recognize our dependence on God. We are grateful recipients of God’s mercy and respond with compassion to those in need with an urgency that strives to reflect God’s passion for the lost and hurting.
Gratitude: Our involvement in ministry is a reflection of our gratitude to God for his gift to us in the person of Jesus Christ. As a result we prayerfully recognize our dependence on God. We are grateful recipients of God’s mercy and respond with compassion to those in need with an urgency that strives to reflect God’s passion for the lost and hurting.
Stewardship: We seek to respect and restore God’s creation. We work to fulfill the potential of people and communities in need. We strive to be cost-effective in our programs.
Integrity/Trust: We want to build a culture that is respected for its integrity. Teams and collaborative partnerships are built on trust.
Inclusiveness/Appreciation: Including program participants in planning programs that address all forms of poverty is the very basis of empowerment. Building individual, family, community, and organizational capacity is done on the basis of including as many participants as possible in the process. World Renew seeks to include people who might be excluded because of their marginal status in the community because of their religion, ethnicity, gender, age, or disability.
Responsiveness: Innovation and continual learning are normative in World Renew to ensure timely, appropriate, and proactive development interventions.
