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The HOPE worldwide and Benevolence Committee, Jan. 2010 Report (covering late 2009, early 2010)
By Mark Templer (Chairman) and John Causey (Vice-Chairman)

“’Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?’   The expert in the law replied, ‘The one who had mercy on him.’  Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise.’” –Luke 10:36-37.

The members of the International Churches of Christ around the world are living out this Scripture more and more.  More than 100 congregations in the United States have become HOPE worldwide Chapters, with volunteers serving the poor and needy in their local communities, as well as giving to help the poor around the world.  At the ICMC in Chicago this past July over 2,100 volunteer disciples amazed the community of Englewood, one of the toughest in the Midwest, by serving and giving in the Lots of Change Day.  During their eight hours of service, police were amazed that not a single crime was reported in the community—unprecedented for that location.  God is working through the saints!

The brothers and sisters on the HOPE worldwide and Benevolence Committee have supported this service and giving, continuing to meet together on a monthly basis, in addition to having extensive individual phone calls, emails and fellowship meetings between members.  In the past year we have seen God bless our work in a powerful way, with the help of your prayers.  We have had many valuable suggestions from Committee members and others.  We treasure two-way communication between the churches and HOPE worldwide, and we welcome the comments and suggestions of church leaders and all disciples.

Disaster Response

The disaster response plan drafted by the committee as a result of the Manila, Philippines flooding in late 2009 unfortunately has been put into action twice in the last six months.  The January 12 earthquake devastated an already hurting nation—the people of Haiti.  A number of disciples in Port-Au-Prince died; many lost their homes and possessions.   The churches have rallied in an incredible way to help our suffering brothers and sisters, and HOPE worldwide has been right at the center of the relief effort.  A joint HOPE worldwide-ICOC relief team led by Dr. Mark Ottenweller and Evangelist Stanley Dumornay (Montreal (formerly NYC)) went to Haiti to assist the saints and assess the situation.  They slept on the ground and risked their lives to encourage the courageous brothers and sisters and friends there.  Several subsequent visits by HOPE worldwide-ICOC teams have led to regular, daily support for over 500 people in Haiti, including most of the disciples.  HOPE worldwide is providing shelter, food, water, medical care, and most importantly, hope, to hundreds of people.  Vocational training programs are helping people rebuild their lives.  HOPE worldwide’s staff worked double-time to not only assist the saints, but to mobilize support from the world to do long-term rehabilitation for those devastated by the earthquake.  Over $1 million has been donated by churches, individual disciples and friends to support this noble effort, and the Committee was glad to help.  DToday.tv helped with its first ever live broadcast fundraiser.

The Pakistan floods in July have affected millions, and again the Committee has helped to guide efforts by churches to help the victims, with congregations in Europe taking the lead.

Benevolence

We have created an online “Benevolence and Bereavement Toolkit” for churches and their members:
Benevolence and Bereavement Toolkit

There also is a “CHURCH RESOURCES” page commissioned by the committee on the HOPE worldwide website.  Click here for the Church Resources page.

Meetings, International Membership

The Committee has met very consistently and has representation from all over the US, with 12-18 people in attendance on typical calls.  We added several international members, but we still need more—contact mark_templer@hopeww.org if you live outside the US and are interested in joining.  The Committee will use the occasion of the Miami International Leadership Conference to reconstitute and restructure the committee to make it more focused and effective in the future.

Spiritual Activities

The Committee has also helped commission HOPE worldwide to encourage more united spiritual activities by its employees, by starting out 2010 with a multi-nation, 7-day 24-hour prayer chain from January 1-7, 2010.  There were nearly 30 prayer requests from around the world, and most prayer slots were covered by disciples from more than one country at the same time.  Employees and friends again fasted on March 21, 2010, as a second “Remember the Poor” Sunday where churches taught about the scriptural basis for helping the poor, as well as sharing about the work of HOPE worldwide.  Materials for sermons, midweek classes, and even children’s classes were prepared, as well as videos about HOPE worldwide’s work (especially the effort after the flood in the Philippines), and one featuring powerful scriptural teaching and sharing by Dr. Gary Jacques of HOPE worldwide, VP for Global Programs and former Evangelist of the Nashville church and Director of the Sihanouk Hospital Center of HOPE in Cambodia.

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF GIVING FUNDRAISER  The International Day of Giving (IDG) was a great success, and the Committee has commissioned materials for an even more successful 2010 International Day of Giving on November 21, 2010.  This year there will be a “kick-off” plan to launch fundraising on October 31 for churches that want to participate.  Over 100 congregations have indicated an interest in joining IDG this year!  Please pray and spread the word so that the event can be a great success.

In these dark and turbulent economic and political times, disciples are showing their hearts by serving others, even in times of deep personal crisis and need.  We pray for God’s blessing to come on all the saints, who have served Christ with noble hearts.

Church Giving

Giving from the churches to HOPE worldwide stabilized in 2010.  A total of $349,602 was given to the global needs fund (unrestricted giving) in the first 7 months of the year, which is slightly ahead of the 2010 budgeted plan for church giving.  The organization has stabilized at lower levels of funding, but everyone is very, very stretched trying to meet all the needs.  Please pray for the finances of HOPE worldwide, that God will provide the organization with what it needs to be the hands of Jesus touching a hurting world.

Coordinators and Church Leaders have been requested by the Committee and the Delegates to spread the word and contact churches in their regions to facilitate working together to achieve the goal of HOPE worldwide. The Committee is very thankful to the churches and all the saints for their tireless efforts on behalf of the poor.  HOPE worldwide has been regularly featured in regional conferences and leadership gatherings.  We pray that together we can achieve even greater things in the coming year.  We need your help, and we need your prayers.

For the HOPE worldwide and Benevolence Committee,

Mark Templer and John Causey (Chairman and Vice-Chairman)

Region HOPE worldwide Benev. Committee Members

ACR

Walter Evans

FLORIDA

John Brush

HEARTLAND

Gregg Marutzky/Charlie Sawyer

MID-SOUTH

 

MW

Darren Gauthier

NE

Doug Arthur

NW

Lynne Green

NY

Sheridan Wright

SE

JP Tynes

SW

John Causey/Robert Carrillo

TEXAS

Herve Fleurant/Bill Hooper

OVERSEAS

Darick Wong/Mark Templer/Kouichi Miyakawa

OTHER churches

Antonio Boyd