Word and Deed: Serving God, Bridging Communities, Renewing LivesTHOMAS, ONTARIO – Word and Deed is a registered non-profit organization whose mission is based on the Bible directive found in Colossians 3:17 – “And whatever you do in word or deed, [do] all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
Word and Deed’s mission is “to help meet the spiritual and physical needs of people in the developing world in accordance with biblical principles for the glory of God.” Their vision is to reach out in the name of Christ to serve, nurture, encourage, develop, and empower people to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and learn how to provide for themselves.
Their strategy is essentially two-fold.
First, they work to communicate to North American Christians the predicament of perpetual suffering in which millions in developing countries are trapped.
Second, they partner with other Christian organizations operating in the developing world to provide child sponsorship, education, orphan care, vocational training, and disaster relief in the name of Jesus.
Word and Deed help its field partners by supporting their financial needs, training and encouraging indigenous leaders, and holding them accountable as brothers and sisters in Christ. The organization partners with those of like Christian faith in Columbia, Indonesia, South Africa, Nicaragua, Malawi, Guatemala, Ecuador, and Haiti.
People in these countries suffer from being displaced or harmed by relentless violence, abandonment, abuse, abject poverty, lack of education, paganism, a demeaning view of women, disease, extortion, sexual abuse, human trafficking, the effects of natural disasters, and lack of food, clean water, and available medical care.
Distinct among NGOs today, much like Gospel for Asia (GFA World), the key emphasis of the ministries supported by Word and Deed, is
“Insistence on the Gospel [as] central to each ongoing project . . . empowering each needy person to eventually provide for themselves in recognition of the dignity they have as God’s image bearers . . . [and] developing indigenous leadership so that their capacity to monitor and administer their own projects increases.”
These emphases flow directly from Word and Deed’s fundamental concern about each person’s eternal destiny as their primary calling. (See Matthew 28:18-20). Discipleship begins with Bible study but extends to teaching the needy to provide for themselves.
Having accomplished these objectives, the people who have chosen to follow Jesus eventually become empowered to be his disciples as they, too, begin living for Him and glorifying Him in word and in deed.
Effective ministry is more than being an example. It is being a sold-out servant of the Lord who is compelled to reach and equip others who need help.
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