Food for the Hungry NOTE: Flysheet 50# Eames palisades gold In His name the nations will put their hope. – M ATTHEW 12:21 NOTE: Flysheet 50# Eames palisades gold A Reason for Hope he images, statistics and voices of poverty in our world can leave even the most optimistic among us stunned. Wars leading to death and displaced people; Tdiseases that become pandemics; disasters that take thousands at a time—our natural desire is to flee, both physically and mentally, from being touched by these numbing realities. Yet, our God did not flee. The Lord of the universe could have kept His distance. But He was moved to compassion and entered in. He entered our world physically and spiritually to provide salvation and transformation in a world that is not the way it is supposed to be. Those who follow Jesus know how a corrupt, impoverished situation can be touched by perfect, healing grace, because the hand of God has grasped our own lives. He saw us in hunger and thirst and gave us the bread of life and streams of living water. And He invited us to be His partners in transformation for this world. Yes, the world is not the way it is supposed to be—yet because of God’s goodness, we can be moved into compassionate action. Indeed, it is that same compassion that has moved, and continues to move, in our own lives. We can move forward with hope saying “thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” A MESSAge of Hope or nearly 40 years, God’s people around the world have walked together to bring hope to the hurting through the work of Food for the Hungry. Four continents, more than 30 countries, and more than F1,200 communities are touched annually by a biblically-based approach to fighting poverty that does not simply address the physical realm.Through God’s power and grace, Food for the Hungry works for transformation that addresses head and heart, body and soul—all of which God created and redeems through His Son. It is inspiring to remember that Food for the Hungry’s ministry started with one man who saw others in desperation and became a modern leader in the transformative work of Christ-centered compassion. Today, in partnership with local churches, leaders and families, Food for the Hungry walks roads that lead to some of the most desperate situations imaginable. In partnership for transformation, Food for the Hungry seeks to address multi-faceted issues relating to poverty and show that hope is possible. Consider the legacy of this work today: More than 150,000 Millions of people Hundreds of thousands As the HIV/AIDS crisis children have been have been met in their of people have been in Africa has reached encouraged to reach moments of dire need trained in agriculture epidemic proportions, their God-given and given relief in the and/or granted micro- nearly 1.5 million young potential through child form of food, water, loans, in order to provide people have been given development programs shelter, medicine and means for sustainable life-saving teaching focused on spiritual, much more. livelihood with dignity. through abstinence-based educational and prevention programs. physical nurture. Tens of thousands of As global food prices Mirroring Jesus’ words, churches, pastors and have escalated, Food for millions are seeing the Christian leaders have the Hungry has been at compassion of Christ’s gained biblical worldview the forefront, providing followers and praising training, equipping them training and supplies for our father in Heaven as Christ’s disciples to increased food production (M ATTHEW 5:16). equip others. and food aid, as well as vouchers for shorter-term needs on three continents. Food for the Hungry is not just another humanitarian organization. Foundational to this work is the understanding that the needs of the whole person— physical and spiritual—are inseparably intertwined. We were created by God to be whole and, in Christ Jesus, the whole of life is being redeemed. We must reflect God’s care for all of life as we seek to serve the most vulnerable in our world today. And we must consider deep causes of poverty, not only symptoms. Food For t He Hu Ngry addre ss eS... Spiritual NeedS emotioNal NeedS The Gospel message is woven and integrated, in Food for the Hungry demonstrates the love of word and deed, through all of Food for the Hungry’s Christ through counsel and friendship. We help local work, in a culturally appropriate way. We especially church members see how they can reach out with love seek to walk with the local church, in partnership, and support for their neighbors. Food for the Hungry to serve the poor in their communities. staff can regularly be found visiting local homes to support parents in childrearing and help them work HealtH NeedS for the good of their families. Food for the Hungry addresses chronic health problems through sanitation, preventative care, ecoNomic NeedS and engaging people with messages about the Led by biblical teaching on caring for and developing way their Creator designed life to be lived. God’s creation, we facilitate projects for sustainable development including: agriculture, animal husbandry, micro-enterprise and education. Food for the Hungry is at a unique and pivotal time in the life of our mission: to walk with churches, leaders and families to overcome all forms of human poverty by living in healthy relationship with God and His creation. The number of individual lives impacted annually through Food for the Hungry has grown from 1.4 million to 2 million worldwide. Food for the Hungry’s vision of extending God’s Kingdom has served to multiply both efforts and impact. The ministry’s outreach has grown in diversity and deepened in expertise—all to make a decisive statement about who God is and declare the identity of our risen Savior. Time and again, we have been privileged to contextualize this ministry in a manner that is appropriate for each situation and powerful in its declaration of Jesus’ heart of ministry. Both among evangelical organizations and on the world governmental level, decision-makers are taking note of this mission and seeking counsel from Food for the Hungry’s leadership. This counsel is influencing the face of U.S. foreign aid policy, informing congressional decisions and simply shining the light of Christ’s love among people in high and low places around the world. However, Food for the Hungry must grow in its ministry and organizational capacity in order to steward and support this vital outreach, especially as we look to future global needs. We desire to move forward, again in this new day, to align with our Lord’s mission of hope in a world of need. Food for the Hungry • Forward with Hope • A Campaign and a Calling Remembering the ministry’s time-tested method of seeking appropriate resources to address needs which are identified by qualified leaders, Food for the Hungry is embarking on a $15 million capital campaign to address pressing global needs, both for today and tomorrow. Through three capacity-building initiatives we seek to: • Intensify our readiness for emergency relief and disaster response, • Lead a biblical response to the global health crisis of HIV/AIDS, • Strengthen the foundation of current field work in order to keep pace with growth and expand into new fields. With the unanimous support of the Board of Directors and international ministry leadership, the above initiatives have been identified as integral to enabling the future capacity and impact of this ministry. By God’s grace, through $7.5 million in current gifts and $7.5 million in deferred giving, these initiatives will propel Food for the Hungry to catalytic growth and leadership in answering God’s call to end physical and spiritual hungers worldwide. While the needs are real and daunting, God’s people have been called into partnership with Him to care for the “least of these.” The world’s status quo is not an option, so we must go forward with hope. – – new image FORWARD WITh HELP Relief Readiness $1,4 00,000 hose who live in poverty around the world exist close to “the edge.” Even a seemingly small crisis can be catastrophic. Because the poor live a day-to-day existence, only ongoing tragedy awaits when food, shelter Tand means of livelihood are suddenly taken away. Integral in Food for the Hungry’s mission, is extending a timely and compassionate response to the poor around the world, who suffer multiple man-made and natural disasters each year. We seek to reflect God’s sheltering love, providing “shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain” (Isaiah 4:6). As Scripture shows, this is the way Christ’s body is to live in this world, reflecting and communicating God’s character. Food for the Hungry • Forward with Hope • A Campaign and a Calling – – The Face oF DisasTer response Our passion to advance the reputation and knowledge of the Lord Jesus calls us to address two critical factors that limit us today in disaster response: • Relief work is too heavily dependent on post-disaster fundraising, fueled by media coverage. Therefore, staff must rely on incremental planning as dollars committed to any particular disaster can change daily, with little ability to predict levels of funding. • Slower response time significantly decreases Food for the Hungry’s ability to attract greater funding through USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance and other international agencies.