Posts by worldrelief
How Do You Measure What Happens Inside the Heart?
I will never forget the day I sat in the living room of a newly resettled Syrian refugee in the country of Jordan. Next to this young mother was her nine-year-old daughter who had joined her in fleeing the slaughter happening in their village amidst the Syrian civil war. They were now safe in Jordan, but hope still seemed lost.
The daughter had a life-threatening congenital heart defect, and there seemed no way of getting the medical care needed to treat her condition. Despair turned to joy, however, when the local Christian church in Jordan, aided by World Relief, came alongside this mother and provided both access and funding for a life-saving heart operation.
The gratitude I witnessed could not be captured by a number or expressed in human speech. It could only be fully taken in by looking into the eyes of a mother telling the story of rescue by the very people she had been taught to fear.
One of the great privileges of my role has been to sit in the homes of those we serve and hear in their voices the “measures” that could never be contained in a number. For over 75 years, World Relief has brought relief to suffering peoples around the world. Whether in disaster relief, global health, child development or our work among displaced people — we measure our progress to improve our services and to demonstrate the power of our work to those who so generously give to make it possible. Measuring the impact of our work matters. But how do you measure what happens inside the heart? How do you assign a number to gratitude, to growth, to the awakening of a soul?
I have often tried to imagine the joy inside the heart of a young girl in Rwanda when she is told that she too will now go to school! No longer are the uniforms, books and pencils for her brothers only. She too will learn and dream and expand her horizons. Her smile that beams with pride and expectation will make us cry for joy along with her, but the measurement of that joy will remain intangible.
And what of the person paralyzed from birth who has been kept out of sight due to family shame? Imagine what it is to have been hidden away, neglected and perhaps abused because you were seen as an embarrassment, or worse yet a curse. How do you measure what happens in a heart when, through the teachings of scripture and the support of a church congregation, parents begin to see the image of God in all their children, replacing exclusion with a warm embrace? Can you measure the gratitude, the sense of belonging and the love that finally courses through that child’s veins? What would it be like to now join the family and community as one worthy of “special honor” as taught by the scriptures?
There is an unspeakable beauty in the bright eyes of children who receive the nutrition their young bodies need, and who finally feel safe because the violence in their home has stopped, their parents now communicating with and valuing one another after participating in a Families for Life program. In the same way, only our eyes can capture the elegance and dignity of a woman formerly trapped by the fear of sexual violence now walking in confidence because her community, empowered by the church, rose up to say “No more!”
This is a story beyond words. One in which, household by household, the transformation of the body and soul brings harmony to homes, congregations and entire communities because the fullness of the good news of God’s love has been released.
How I wish you could sit in the dusty villages, crowded refugee camps and apartments of newly resettled refugees and hear the stories of change that your gifts have helped create. How I wish you could take in the power of your prayers, your gifts and your advocacy so that you would know the measure of your work — one that no number could ever convey.
Numbers do indeed tell one story, and a powerful one at that. But they cannot tell of joy, of awakening, of gratitude and of transformation.
Of course, this narrative is far from one-sided. Each day, we are blessed to also witness the mutual transformation that occurs as you engage in this kingdom work alongside us. Much of the beauty found in this story is that we also get to tell those we serve of your joy, your gratitude and your transformation through this work.
I think of George who once joined me in Rwanda. After watching pastors of different denominations working together in mutual love, and observing the healing and forgiveness after the genocide, he turned to me with tears in his eyes and said, “I have been in Christian ministry and philanthropy for forty years and I have never seen anything like this.”
Or of Rodney, whose view of refugees and other immigrants had grown cold and closed-off. He experienced transformation when a World Relief staff member spoke at his church. God answered his prayer for openness in a new and unexpected way. He began to see the Imago Dei found in each person who came to the U.S. and felt compelled to be a part of welcoming them as they rebuilt their lives in a new country. Today, Rodney is an active volunteer in Memphis.
These are the measures of the heart — measures that remain intangible to any numeric value we could ascribe to them; but that will, to me, forever signify the incredible work we’ve done together over the last 75 years. It has been a privilege and a blessing beyond measure.
Scott Arbeiter retired from World Relief in 2021 as president after serving the organization in various roles for more than two decades and is a former pastor of Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin.
World Relief Triad Receives Grant From Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust for Community Health Empowerment Project
August 10, 2021
CONTACT:
Audrey Garden
audrey.garden@pinkston.co
(571) 405-1606
HIGHPOINT, N.C. – World Relief Triad is pleased to announce that it has received a grant from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust. With this grant, World Relief Triad will fund the Newcomer Collaborative Health Fellowship Project to create systemic change in healthcare in the Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina.
“The goal of World Relief Triad’s Newcomer Collaborative Health Fellowship Project is to improve community health by working with both current refugee communities and existing healthcare provider networks to address the barriers and challenges newcomers may experience while navigating the healthcare system,” said Jarrell Johnson, World Relief Triad Health and Wellness Community Empowerment Coordinator.
The Newcomer Collaborative Health Fellowship Project will work to elevate and empower refugee and immigrant voices throughout the project. The project will hire five ambassadors to represent their respective communities and build relationships with World Relief Triad’s current network of providers. The ambassadors will also disseminate surveys to the refugee community, conduct interviews, and create material for education on topics like sensitivity training and how to navigate cultural, religious and linguistic barriers in the healthcare system.
Eight percent of North Carolina residents are immigrants, while another seven percent are native-born U.S. citizens with at least one immigrant parent. Refugees and other immigrants endure profound physical and psychological trauma after leaving home to flee violence and persecution. The World Relief Triad Health and Wellness staff and volunteers help refugee clients navigate the often difficult and confusing medical system as well as work to empower clients to become self-sufficient in managing their own health care.
Research shows that immigrant families often fear interactions with public agencies and go without needed health care and social services. The Newcomer Collaborative Health Fellowship Program will improve the health outcomes of local refugees by equipping healthcare providers to better engage refugees and by guiding refugees to better interact with healthcare providers.
“The Newcomer Collaborative Health Fellowship Project will establish an important bridge between medical and insurance providers and the refugee community, making sure that our systems are responsive to their needs and that refugees don’t fall through the cracks. Our community health ambassadors will help uplift and amplify the voices of leaders from within refugee communities to begin to address health disparities,” said Rob Cassell, World Relief Triad Executive Director.
For more information, please contact Jarrell Johnson at jjohnson@wr.org or visit https://worldrelief.org/triad/our-work/health-wellness/.
To download a PDF version of this press release, click here.
About World Relief
World Relief is a global Christian humanitarian organization that brings sustainable solutions to the world’s greatest problems – disasters, extreme poverty, violence, oppression, and mass displacement. For over 75 years, World Relief has partnered with churches and community leaders in the U.S. and abroad to bring hope, healing, and transformation to the most vulnerable. For 30 years, World Relief has welcomed refugees and immigrants to the Triad, starting in High Point and later expanding work into Winston-Salem.
About Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust
The Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust was established in 1947 and is now one of the largest private trusts in North Carolina. Our mission is to improve the health and quality of life of financially-disadvantaged residents in North Carolina. The Health Improvement in North Carolina program area supports community-wide health solutions across the state. The Local Impact in Forsyth County programs area fosters equitable and sustainable solutions to improve the quality of life in Forsyth County. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., serves as a sole trustee.
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Abe Ibrahim Helps Refugees Feel More at Home
Mbanzamihigo “Abe” Ibrahim is helping people feel at home. Born in a Tanzanian refugee camp and resettled in the U.S. at the age of 10, Abe is no stranger to feeling out of place.
A Burundian, Abe remembers his first days in the U.S. when, suddenly, everything from music to food to language was different. But after being welcomed and encouraged by World Relief Quad Cities in Illinois, Abe adapted to his new home while holding onto and celebrating his Burundian heritage. Today, Abe works as a caseworker at WR Quad Cities, helping others feel welcomed and embraced in their new community. Abe is passionate about inclusion, representation and walking alongside people as they rebuild their lives.
Abe shares how his role at WR Quad Cities helps him give back to his community in the video below.
*Update: Since this article was first published in 2021, Abe has moved on from his full-time position at World Relief.
Working for World Relief Quad Cities helped Abe achieve his dream of going to college and pursuing a career as a public speaker. In 2021, Abe was crowned Mr. Burundi America through the Mr. and Miss Burundi America pageant in Quad Cities. He took a year off from school and traveled back to Burundi to visit family, and he also got the chance to speak to local schools, where he distributed school supplies and encouraged kids to keep pursuing their dreams.
“They saw me, face to face, and saw how much is possible,” Abe said.
Today, Abe is back in the Quad Cities working and plans to go back to school and complete his Bachelor’s degree. He remains committed to helping refugees in Quad Cities and stays connected to World Relief, contracting part-time as an interpreter. Abe is grateful for his time as a caseworker, and we’re grateful for him too!
“If I never worked with the World Relief family,” Abe said, “I wouldn’t have developed that mindset to make an impact. It became more influential, see, like ‘hey, I can make a difference.’ …Now, there are certain things I can recognize and communicate, and I only have that knowledge because I was a caseworker. It helped me with my community, and it helped me think bigger.”
People like Abe are changing the world, and you can join them when you apply to work at World Relief! World Relief is growing our team to meet the increased needs of our world, and we’re looking for people like you to join us.
Kelly Hill serves as a Content Writer at World Relief. She previously served as Volunteer Services Manager at World Relief Triad in North Carolina before moving to Salt Lake City. With a background in International and Intercultural Communication, she is passionate about the power of story to connect people of diverse experiences.
World Relief Announces New Office in Western New York, Expands Services Available to Refugees in Region
July 27, 2021
CONTACT:
Lauren Carl
lauren.carl@pinkston.co
(703) 388-6734
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Today, World Relief announces a new office in Rochester, New York. The new office, named World Relief Western New York, will advance World Relief’s presence in the western New York region to best serve the refugee community.
World Relief Western New York is a continuation of the good work started by Refuge Rochester, a nonprofit launched in 2018 by Ken Pitcher to bridge the gap between Christians and their refugee neighbors. Refuge Rochester also acted as a platform for Christians participating in refugee ministry to connect with one another.
World Relief Western New York currently has two professional staff members: Ken Pitcher, Office Director, and Tiffany Wood, Program Director. The focus at present is on renovating the new office and developing programming for the fall, which will include World Relief Good Neighbor Teams and will likely have a focus on mental health and financial literacy courses. World Relief Western New York hopes to continue to expand its services in the years to come.
“The mission of educating the American church on the plight of refugees and on the Biblical mandate to welcome the stranger is close to our heart at World Relief Western New York,” said Pitcher. “We want to bring attention to the refugees in the western New York region and encourage the community to come alongside them as they navigate transitioning into a new country.”
Rochester, where the new office is located, first designated itself as a sanctuary city in 1986 and is still designated as such today. For decades, Rochester has resettled one percent of the refugees who enter the U.S. each year. Today, there still remains a significant need for services for immigrants from all walks of life. In the last 10 years, most refugees have come from Bhutan, Cuba, Burma, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Congo.
“Over 10,000 refugees have been resettled in Rochester since 2000 from over 35 different countries. World Relief Western New York’s mission is to empower the church to embrace local refugees as a way of welcoming Jesus,” said Tim Breene, CEO of World Relief. “Our staff and volunteers aim to cultivate meaningful and mutually transformative relationships between Americans and refugees in the community.”
Refuge Rochester’s transition into World Relief Western New York will broaden the structure of work previously being done by the organization and increase its capacity to serve the refugee community and educate the American church.
“World Relief Western New York welcomes the opportunity to grow and expand our capacity to reach and assist the most vulnerable members of our region,” said Wood.
World Relief Western New York hosted a virtual town hall on June 16 for churches, partners and interested volunteers to receive information about the transition and get to know the new staff. An in-person gala fundraiser is scheduled for September 30, 2021, which will be an evening filled with multicultural food and music, as well as stories from both refugees and American community members who have been impacted by their relationships with refugees.
“We’re looking forward to collaborating and enhancing the great work already being done in the resettlement community in Rochester and the broader Western New York region. We want to work together to help refugees,” said Wood.
To learn more about World Relief’s work in Western New York, visit worldrelief.org/western-ny.
To download a PDF version of this press release, click here.
About World Relief
World Relief is a global Christian humanitarian organization that brings sustainable solutions to the world’s greatest problems – disasters, extreme poverty, violence, oppression, and mass displacement. For over 75 years, we’ve partnered with churches and community leaders in the U.S. and abroad to bring hope, healing and transformation to the most vulnerable.
Learn more at worldrelief.org.
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World Relief urges Congress to act on immigration reform after judge blocks DACA, declaring it illegal
Image: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
by Michael Gryboski, Christian Post
A Christian humanitarian organization has denounced a recent ruling by a Texas federal judge that prohibits new applications from being filed for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, that protects some people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children from being deported.
After Challenging Season, World Relief Names New President
By Stefani McDade for Christianity Today
Myal Greene is optimistic about resuming robust refugee resettlement programs under the Biden administration.
World Relief Laments Impact of Court Decision Regarding DACA, Urges Congress to Act
July 16, 2021
CONTACT:
Lauren Carl
lauren.carl@pinkston.co
(703) 388-6734
BALTIMORE — Today, a federal judge in Texas issued a decision that puts the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in jeopardy. While Judge Andrew Hanen’s order will not immediately impact individuals who presently rely upon DACA, it does require the federal government to halt the approval of new DACA requests.
World Relief laments the immediate effects of this order on young people with pending new applications and those preparing to apply for DACA for the first time, as well as for the hundreds of thousands who, though not immediately impacted by the ruling, once again are facing an uncertain future. World Relief is reiterating its call upon Congress to finally pass legislation that would allow Dreamers — individuals who came to the U.S. as children and have no path to permanent legal status — the opportunity to apply for U.S. citizenship.
“Many Dreamers have lived under a cloud of uncertainty for most of their lives,” said World Relief President Scott Arbeiter. “This new decision is devastating for these resilient young people, and for their families, churches, communities and employers. Congress should not wait for further court decisions: they must act immediately to finally pass legislation that the significant majority of Americans. Including the majority of evangelical Christians, say they support.”
World Relief has been advocating for a permanent solution for Dreamers for many years. In 2018, the organization published a full-page ad in the Washington Post that highlighted the concerns of many of the nation’s most prominent evangelical leaders. Through immigration legal services programs in locations throughout the country, World Relief has filed more than 4,300 DACA applications.
“This decision is heartbreaking, but it could also create the pressure to finally persuade Congress that they need to act,” noted World Relief Senior Vice President for Policy and Advocacy Jenny Yang. “The House of Representatives has already passed a bipartisan bill that would resolve this situation once and for all, and I pray that the Senate will quickly debate and pass legislation in the coming days that can ultimately be sent to the president’s desk to be signed into law.”
To download a PDF version of this press release, click here.
About World Relief
World Relief is a global Christian humanitarian organization that brings sustainable solutions to the world’s greatest problems – disasters, extreme poverty, violence, oppression, and mass displacement. For over 75 years, we’ve partnered with churches and community leaders in the U.S. and abroad to bring hope, healing and transformation to the most vulnerable.
Learn more at worldrelief.org.
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World Relief DR Congo is Building Resilience from Ashes
The Eruption
On May 22nd in the town of Goma, DR Congo, Mount Nyiragongo lit up the sky with a red glow. Many of the 2 million residents recognized the signs and feared the worst — the towering volcano was once again active. By early evening, their fears were confirmed when the volcano began to spew lava.
With orders to evacuate, many residents gathered what belongings they could and fled toward neighboring Rwanda and other areas in DR Congo. While the lava flow stopped short of reaching Goma, it destroyed the homes and livelihoods of thousands of people in the surrounding area.
Our own World Relief Congo staff were among those temporarily displaced from their homes and workplaces. And yet, they continued to care for local communities.
Following the eruption, World Relief dispatched a field team to assess the scale of the disaster. Along with partner agencies, they found that close to 95,000 people in 20 villages have been directly impacted by the eruption including the complete destruction of 3,873 homes, 13 schools, seven churches and three health centers. More than 20,000 residents were displaced and over 30 people died.
A Neglected Crisis
For DR Congo, the recent eruption of Mount Nyiragongo is the latest in a decades-long struggle for stability. The nation faces ongoing conflict between multiple armed groups. Sexual and gender-based violence and trauma are commonplace. Frequent attacks on villages disrupt people’s ability to feed and provide for their families.
Food insecurity has been identified as a neglected humanitarian crisis in DR Congo. Natural disasters like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions put even greater strain on limited resources. The eruption of Mount Nyiragongo is expected to have long-lasting effects on health, livelihoods and stability in Eastern DR Congo. Farmland, which people in nearby villages rely on to feed their families, has become unusable, covered by hardened lava rock. World Relief is collaborating with local communities and aid agencies to respond to this disaster and find solutions for these ongoing crises.
A Vision for Change
World Relief has a strong legacy of this kind of collaborative work in the region. For almost 20 years, we have partnered with local churches and communities to facilitate healing and stability in DR Congo.
World Relief Congo staff member, Berger Bireo, shared, “It’s easy to be overwhelmed and discouraged by [DR Congo’s] conflict-ridden history. There are days when I myself struggle to see beyond these seemingly devastating challenges. Yet, I believe that God gave us the very instrument needed to establish peace in DRC: the Church.”
At World Relief, we believe that when the church is mobilized to achieve its full potential, it has the power to change our world. And we’ve seen it happening in DR Congo.
Churches and believers in DR Congo are uniting around their shared identity in Christ to care for the vulnerable in their communities. Last year, World Relief partnered with local churches to provide 400 farmers with training on improved agricultural techniques, assist 450 women with post-Sexual and Gender-based violence care and provide access for 375,535 people to community-based conflict resolution mechanisms through our village peace committees.
In partnership with the local Church, we are addressing holistic factors that can not only increase stability in communities entrenched in conflict, but also bring physical, emotional and spiritual healing to the nation. This work is bringing real, lasting change that will help DR Congo become more resilient in the face of natural disasters like the recent volcanic eruption.
Not Forgotten
Although DR Congo is home to one of today’s most neglected crises, God has not forgotten the people in the “Heart of Africa.” And, in the face of natural and man-made disasters, neither has World Relief.
Amanda Patterson, HDRU Program Office for DR Congo and South Sudan, shared, “We know that this event is just one more challenge that the Congolese people must overcome. The silver lining is that the global spotlight will once again shine on DR Congo. It is a country that gets so little attention, and yet in sheer numbers alone, DR Congo is the number one country facing the largest global hunger crisis.”
As Goma and the surrounding region recover from the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo, we remain committed to improving long-term peace and stability in DR Congo. We will continue working alongside local churches to help them realize their own resources and power, through the Spirit, to transform lives.
Source: https://www.wfp.org/countries/democratic-republic-congo
You and your church can join us in empowering local churches and creating lasting change in places like DR Congo by joining The Path.
Kelly Hill serves as a Content Writer at World Relief. She previously served as Volunteer Services Manager at World Relief Triad in North Carolina before moving to Salt Lake City. With a background in International and Intercultural Communication, she is passionate about the power of story to connect people of diverse experiences.
No Longer Alone: How Mothers in Rwanda are Working Together To Care for Children
Every day, parents around the world, make the difficult choice between staying home with young children or leaving them home alone in order to work and provide for their families. Eunice is one of these parents.
Eunice is a farmer and mother in Rwanda. For her and many women like her, farming is not only a way to earn income, but to also grow food to feed her family. When her children were infants, she could tie them to her back while she worked. But once they became toddlers, it was no longer safe for them to accompany her to the fields.
Like many other mothers in her community, Eunice had to make the difficult choice every day to leave her children home alone. For families in situations like Eunice’s, it’s routine for two- and three-year-olds to be left home alone or in the care of siblings who are just a few years older.
Unfortunately, this impossible choice between providing and being present can impede early childhood development. Young children thrive when they feel safe, receive responsive and playful parenting and are provided with early learning opportunities through play. But without these, children miss out on building an essential developmental foundation that will help them reach their full potential into adulthood.
For Eunice, she knew her situation was not ideal — she worried about her children every time she had to be away in the fields. She hoped they didn’t get hit by a car or abused because they were home alone.
Sadly, her fears were realized. She learned that her children were crying all day and that the food she left out for them was being eaten by older children who were sneaking into her home.
And yet, hope was on the way.
Thanks to support from people like you, a group of local pastors had been trained by World Relief and felt convicted about the need to work together to care for vulnerable people within their community. When they heard about the challenges Eunice and other families were facing, they decided to come together and discuss how they could help.
The pastors visited Eunice and invited her to a training held at a local church. There, church leaders helped Eunice and a group of other mothers work together and develop a plan to provide safe care for their children.
Collectively, the mothers had 20 children between them. They selected one woman’s home as the place where they would send their children to be cared for. Each day, four mothers stay behind with the children while the others go to the fields. The mothers rotate between these responsibilities, each covering childcare one day a week.
For the first time, Eunice and the other mothers knew their children would be safe.
In addition to solving their childcare problem at the training, the mothers received valuable lessons on child development and nutrition. Eunice’s children are now receiving quality childcare as well as balanced nutritious meals. She said she and the other mothers are rejoicing and their kids are happy again.
Currently, 17 Home-Based Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centers like Eunice’s are being piloted in World Relief’s Ngoma Church Empowerment Zone in Rwanda. One of the local pastors has been so impressed by the Centers already that he has written to government officials to share what the moms have been doing, urging them to implement similar systems in all rural communities.
The ECD Centers are meeting a pressing need and creating lasting, sustainable change for families, even in the most remote village. Not only do they bring peace-of-mind to mothers, but they provide children with the foundational care and learning opportunities they’ll need to reach their full potential long into the future.
Dana Pair currently serves as Program Officer at World Relief. Prior to joining World Relief, she worked in adolescent girls programming in the Portland, Oregon area. She is passionate about empowering women and girls to bring sustainable change to their communities.
Steve Moore, Board Chair, Sees a Bright Future for World Relief
As World Relief prepares to announce our new President and CEO, we thought you might like to learn more about some of the people who are playing a critical role in the transition process. Today, we are sharing an interview we conducted with Steve Moore who chairs World Relief’s Board of Directors. We hope you enjoy getting to know Steve as much as we enjoy having him as a part of our leadership team.
To start off, tell me a little bit about yourself. What would you like people to know about you?
Steve: I joined the World Relief board in 2006. That was at the beginning of a nine-year journey as the president and CEO of a network of mission agencies and other Great Commission-oriented universities, churches and training centers. I knew of World Relief, but didn’t have a real understanding of the scope and breadth of what the organization did, so it’s been a phenomenal experience for me to really get a deeper understanding of the organization and have the chance to interact with some really amazing people.
My passions include leadership development with a real focus on next-generation leaders and then also the great commission. In 2015, I really wanted to get back to my roots of engaging with next-generation leaders, so I stepped away from Missio Nexus, and started a new organization called nexleader. In addition to serving as president of nexleader, I’m also the president of Growing Leaders. My wife is a school teacher and we have four adult children that are scattered around the U.S. and Canada.
As the Board Chair, how would you describe what you do?
The work that the board does falls into four categories. The first is strategic formation. We don’t set the strategy for the organization, but we interact with the leadership team and affirm and provide input to the strategy.
The second is capital allocation. It’s our responsibility to approve the budget and that budget should be shaped and informed by the strategy.
The third is risk management. A part of that strategy conversation and the capital allocation process is discerning what appetite for risk do we have and what are the areas that we need to be paying attention to?
Then the fourth area is executive talent management. It’s our responsibility to hire the senior executives, provide support for them, conduct performance evaluations for them and make the appropriate investments in their talent development journey.
Give me your best elevator pitch for World Relief. What do you love to tell people about this organization?
Steve: This is how I love to explain World Relief to people. I say we are a “here” and “there” organization that is uniquely focused on working through the local church.
What I mean by “here” is the work we do with refugee resettlement and other immigrant-related services. “There” means the work we’re doing in a number of countries that revolve around the other technical programs that we implement through the local church.
I know there’s a lot of other groups who talk sincerely about their connection to the local church, but I think World Relief occupies a space that is very unique.
What has been the best part of your time on the board and what’s been the most challenging?
Steve: I think that the best part for me is the relationships with the other board members and our amazing staff. I have grown to love and respect these smart, godly, wise peers and I absolutely love the opportunity to sit in a room with them.
Every board meeting I am personally enriched and I go away with a new insight, which has really been amazing. On top of that, I have found a deep sense of fulfillment in the fact that, as board members, we get to make decisions and reflect on issues that are part of the amazing work World Relief is doing. I feel a deep sense of gratitude to God for the opportunity when I look at our annual report and I see the millions of people whose lives have been positively influenced by this. I know that we have a tiny little small part of it, but it’s a part of it. That’s incredibly rewarding for me.
In terms of the challenging side of it, clearly, the last four years were among the most difficult. It was bad enough to have the presidential determination number go down so low, but then the impact of that on the organization – having to close offices and lay off staff who were making such profound sacrifices and serving in such meaningful ways – was heart-wrenching.
What would you want to share with donors & churches about World Relief’s direction, strategic direction over the next five to ten years, and how the new President/CEO will impact this?
Steve: I think that we, by God’s grace, have emerged from this desert kind of season and it feels like an oasis has come up in the middle of this desert. At the Board level, the conversation that we’re having now is about scale, impact, and really building on the competencies that we’ve worked so hard to develop both here in the U.S. and in our international work. I’m extremely bullish about the opportunities that I think God is giving us in this next season.
This might not be the most helpful metaphor, but all of the ingredients for a really amazing meal are on the counter in front of us, and we’re about ready to mix those together. The appointment of the next leader is a really critical part of that.
I’m looking forward to the new president and CEO taking the ingredients that are right there, ready to be assembled and make something delicious.
Good things happen in those tough moments and in those dark places. What good things have you seen come out of the last four years, that intense time where it felt like a constant struggle?
Steve: On the board, I’ve been able to be part of a group that is willing to make some really hard choices but do it with a sense that we’re still safe in God’s hands. On top of that, I’ve watched some amazingly gifted, high-capacity World Relief staff members embrace those hard choices and affirm them, even when it meant they were going to have to leave the organization. That was beautiful in its own difficult way. I also feel like I’ve been able to watch a new group of leaders come behind those people and step up and rise to a really challenging set of circumstances. That’s been a really beautiful thing.
In the midst of all that, the combination of those hard choices and the setting aside of self-interest and the willingness of a new group to step up, it forged a level of cohesion and a strengthening of bonds that I think really helped us move into this new season. It’s that really difficult set of experiences that forged us through these fires to a point where we’re able to actually now begin to dream again.
Because we’re doing this interview close to the announcement of the new President/CEO, is there anything that you would like for our donors and partners to know about how that new leader is being set up for success?
Steve: Well, first, I feel like the process that we’ve gone through has been amazing. The commitment to diversity in every step of this process has been phenomenal. We’ve had passionate voices from the very beginning saying we need a diverse group of voices that are a part of this. On top of that, we made a commitment as a board to support this process in prayer. Walter Kim, the President of NAE, and I committed to meeting monthly to pray for the search team, the search process, the new leader and the organization. That has infused a sense of confidence in me that God is guiding us through this journey.
I feel like the next leader is going to be positioned well because we’ve had a really good, thorough process that’s been bathed in prayer.
You were talking about prayer. How would you like people to be praying for the organization during this transition, and even in the years to come?
Steve: Well, Walter and I are not just praying for God’s clear choice for the next leader but for this transition process to be rocket fuel in that person’s tank. I’m not really praying for a honeymoon period for this next leader. I’m really praying for an accelerated momentum kind of season.
We’re also praying for the next leader’s family to be able to make this transition in a way that is grace-filled. We want there to be no distractions to this new leader’s ability to move into this role.
We also are praying that the confirmation in this person’s heart that God has called them to this will be 10 times stronger than the first big crisis that they experience. So when that happens there will be no questions because the clarity of God’s call will be so real that there’s just no possible way they could doubt that. All their energy can be focused on, “Okay, God, I know you put me here. Therefore, I know you’re going to help us navigate this next crisis.”
In addition to that, we’re really praying for favor for that leader with all of the key World Relief stakeholders, the executive team, the office directors in the U.S. and around the world, the whole continuum of private-public funding relationships for favor from God.
Mary Milano serves as the Director of Fundraising Content at World Relief.
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