Across the globe, extreme poverty, natural disasters and mass displacement are on the rise, aggravated by a changing climate and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We’re currently facing the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time. 

And yet, there is hope.

At World Relief, we believe God has a plan to heal our broken world, and it begins with his church and his people. That’s people like you, moving together to create the lasting change God designed us to create. We believe that when the church is mobilized to achieve its full potential, it has the power to change our world. We believe this because:

1. The local church is God’s plan to reveal his mercy, compassion and truth to people around the world.

2. The local church is the largest social network on the planet and has the ability, authority and permanency to do far more than any government institution or non-profit organization could.

3. The local church is led by local, trusted community leaders — those with an inside voice and understanding that no outside organization can bring.

4. The local church has the influence and moral authority to shape behaviors rooted in biblical values of love, compassion and justice.

5. The local church offers the greatest hope of reconciliation between classes, tribes, ethnicities and political parties, unifying people under a common identity in Christ.

6. The local church can restore dignity and bring hope to the suffering, forgotten and marginalized by reaching out to the most vulnerable in its community and answering God’s call to love.

7. The local church is empowered by the Holy Spirit to do more than human wisdom and efforts could ever possibly accomplish alone.

Time and time again, we’ve witnessed the transformative impact that the church can have when it moves together. And it’s happening in communities all across the globe. Women, men and children, empowered by God’s Spirit, are rising up to meet the needs of the most vulnerable among them. 

In places like Rwanda, widows like Antoinette are rising out of poverty, starting businesses and installing running water into their homes (something that’s almost unheard of in her remote village) thanks to the support of a savings group run by her local church. 

“It’s true! I have tap water!” Antoinette said. “I used to be a person who couldn’t speak in public. I’ve become confident because of being part of a [savings] group and being among people.”

In the U.S., women like Buthainia, who had to flee her home country due to war, have found the support and encouragement they need to build a thriving life in the U.S., thanks to churches who are partnering with World Relief to welcome refugees. 

“You made us feel seen and you made us feel like we’re humans and we have an equal chance,” Buthainia said. “Because of that, we were able to believe in ourselves.”

And in Turkana, Kenya — a community that has been devastated by drought — women like Akiru are receiving the gift of sustenance and paying it forward to combat hunger and malnutrition for others in their community.

This is where our joy is today. Together, we are creating holistic, sustainable solutions that are transforming and uprooting communities from poverty and creating welcoming communities for refugees in the U.S.

As we face the ongoing and emerging challenges of 2022, we are reminded that no one of us can carry the world’s burdens on our own. But when we move together, anything is possible. Will you join us?