Ministry is beautiful, fulfilling, and very difficult work. Every missionary makes sacrifices to serve those in spiritual and material need, from moving across the world to enduring difficult travel to remote villages to risking persecution. Most days, the work is characterized more by mundane faithfulness than miracles. Here are three of the values that unite and drive our missionaries to minister and persevere joyfully even in the mundane.
We believe in the value and dignity of all children
Being created in the image of God means that every child is infinitely valuable and worthy of our sacrificial love (Genesis 1:26-27). Our fallen world often treats children as lesser beings: burdens to be aborted, inconveniences to be abused or objects to be exploited.
This is not God’s way.
Time and again, God affirms the dignity of children. In the Old Testament, we read: “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!” (Psalm 127:3-5)
In the New Testament, Jesus says, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14).
Ultimately, Jesus died to save everyone, including children. If the God of the universe saw fit to lay down his life for them, then children deserve our sacrificial love as well.
We believe in the power of partnership
Reaching across the world with the gospel, medical care, education, nutrition and more is a sizeable task, and we can’t do it alone.
Fortunately, as Christians, we are “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God…being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:19-22). By collaborating with these brothers and sisters in Christ around the world, together we can see big differences in little lives.
Romans 12:3-8 teaches that we all have differing gifts in ministry, and we are exhorted to use them. From the stateside EFCA churches who faithfully sponsor GlobalFingerprints’ work to the national churches at our sites who are the hands and feet of Christ on the ground, this ministry is a testament to the power and beauty of the church.
We believe in the hope of transformed lives
We dedicate ourselves to serving vulnerable children because we know firsthand that Jesus changes lives. Regardless of the varied types of needs these children may have, there is one need they all have in common: the need for a salvific relationship with God.
Where the Holy Spirit dwells, so dwells love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). This means that the most important thing we can do to improve the quality of life for not just an individual but also a whole community is to share the lifesaving gospel of Christ.
Even as we labor diligently to alleviate present suffering, the Bible also calls us to have an eternal perspective. “For this light and momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen,” 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 explains. “For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
The most beautiful, lasting, and healing gift anyone can receive is the power of the gospel. We prioritize ministering to the spiritual needs of children because we want them to know that their lives can not only be transformed temporally but also eternally (2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 1:1-2).
We pray that the children we serve will recognize their God-given intrinsic value, our ministry partners will be blessed as we partner in this work and, most importantly, that the GlobalFingerprints children will come to a saving knowledge of God which they are excited to share with others.
If these values are close to your heart as well, join us today by sponsoring a child!