There’s more
than one way to preach the Gospel.
While five-fold
ministers and missionary groups go to the nations, one ecumenical Christian
ministry dedicated to the cause of eliminating poverty housing is finding
success with a different approach.
Much like Jesus
met the physical and spiritual needs of the lost, Habitat for Humanity is
showing people the love of God by rehabbing, repairing and building new homes.
Habitat just announced that it has surpassed its 400,000th house
milestone, reaching more than 2 million people around the world since the ministry
launched in 1976.
“Over the last
34 years, Habitat for Humanity has steadily increased it scale and scope to
help more families in need of decent, affordable housing,” says Jonathan
Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International. “In 2005 we celebrated our
200,000th house. Now, five years later, we have more than doubled that number
thanks to the generous support of our volunteers and
sponsors. It is a significant milestone and very encouraging, but we realize
there is still much more work to be done.”
In fiscal year
2010, Habitat for Humanity served a record 74,960 families around the world
through a combination of new construction, rehabilitation and repairs. Habitat
also helped an additional 6,355 families establish legal rights to a house or
land, and provided more than 46,964 individuals with technical assistance
ranging from legal help to construction advice or training.
“Throughout our
history we have seen time and again that an affordable, safe and decent home is
the gateway to better health, greater family stability and improved educational
opportunities in every country where we work,” says Reckford. “We are
seeing great results from focusing not only on building individual houses, but
also on repairing and rehabbing homes and creating partnerships that emphasize
total community development.”
What other examples have you seen of ‘preaching’ the Gospel by meeting practical needs? Let me know in the comment box below.
