Church Mobilization
We launched this initiative in Kenya and Zambia in 2022 by hosting nine Great Commandment Workshops, and followed up in 2023 with launching in Asia with five such events. In these initial launches, we commissioned 2,638 GO! Ambassadors who made a commitment to serve orphan children in their communities. In 2023, our GO! Ambassador Network has served as many as 13,558 orphan children. Today, this network encourages 3,325 Ambassadors to serve orphan children in their communities.
Our experience with the Great Commandment goes back many years in our ministry. In fact, you might say that we have been a Great Commandment ministry from our beginnings as we setout to serve orphan children.
Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses? Jesus replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments. -Matthew 22:36-40 (NLT)
As it is today, early on in the ministry we were doers of the Word, even though our experience had not fully equipped us to accomplish this work. We were able to move forward with confidence based on our faith. It is fairly easy to discern from the scriptures that His Church is to be about the work of loving our neighbors. The Church includes you. This should be a wake-up call for each of us. The very existence, nurturing, and care for the Church are important to Him.
So here we have the basis for our Great Commandment Movement; and for us it is specifically caring for the orphan child, and in the scripture, it is referred to as Pure Religion.
Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
-James 1:27 (NLT)
Great Commandment Workshop | Catalyst
The lack of movement on the part of the Church, specifically the people, starts with the awareness of the need. We are confident that if the people within the Church comprehend the scale and scope of the needs of orphan children in their community, and were confident about methods in which to help, they would be obedient to how the Father is directing us all to take action.
Early on in our ministry we realized that building awareness for the plight of orphans is an important part of what we do, but simply building awareness is not enough. This is one of the purposes of the Great Commandment Workshop —to build awareness for the plight of orphans but to also deploy ministry leaders to provide for their needs.
During these one-day events we disclose the number of orphans in their community and outline the pressing needs. We also discuss practical methods to address their biggest area of need. These discussions and teachings are provided by local church and ministry leadership for the most part. The Great Commandment Workshop is simply a catalyst as we build awareness for the plight of orphans, exchange ideas and examples of practical ways in which people can take action, and share what God says about this in the scripture. God does the rest as He directs us to move out in His power according to His purpose for us. It is nearly impossible for Spirit-filled men and women not to act, and in the process, we foster and encourage Church Mobilization to address the needs in their community.
Consider attending or co-hosting one of our Great Commandment Workshops and discover the why and how of serving the impoverished. The scriptural mandate will be discussed, as well as, practical ways to serve the impoverished with an emphasis on the orphan child. The objective is to deploy a group of individuals that are called into this work in each workshop, but his work in their community is to be in whatever way they feel most appropriate for the circumstance.
Great Commandment Qualifiers
There are no Great Commandment qualifiers or socio-economic exemptions. There are no Great Commandment qualifiers based on race, income, nationality, tribe, denomination, or any other identifying factor. No, as the faithful we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind, and to Love our neighbor as ourselves, regardless of our circumstances. The only difference is in how we might carry out this mandate. According to the scriptures we are His hands and feet, the salt of the earth, and we are to bring the Light to dark places.
The Body
We are the body, but we have different gifts. Each of us is uniquely created with a purpose. We may live in different locations. We may speak different languages. We each have different spheres of influence. There are various levels of educational experiences or achievements within our tribe. We each have varying degrees of financial resources.
Most of us will not attack the process of helping the poor in the same way, in the same place, at the same scale, at the same pace, or with the same knowledge, but we together make up the body of Christ and we each have a role to play.
Mandate
We all have this mandate to love our neighbor, and since love is an action, this means to serve others. It is a responsibility you might say. A demonstration of our faith that cannot be accomplished without the love of Jesus living through us.
God has given you something to work with; skills, influence, experiences, resources, and a vision. If you are not already involved in serving others, I would encourage you to put your hands to the work and see how the Father blesses you in the process.
What’s in Your Hand?
What is in your hand and what will you do with it? We all have some level of resource that is within our power use. Think about it. What is available to you right now to deploy for use in the Kingdom? This might require a change in your mindset. This consideration is not about what you don’t have, but what you do have to deploy to advance the Kingdom of God. It is time to take what is in your hand and take your first step. We are excited for your journey, whether this journey is with us at Global Orphan Relief, or whether you go in some other direction.
Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed.
Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows
- Isaiah 1:17 (NLT)
The deployment of the church to care for orphan children in 2024 will require an investment of $60,103 during the year and is projected to impact more than 17,000 orphan children.
Movement of FAITH | Voice of HOPE | Act of LOVE