Return to flip book view

JOURNEYING WITH GOD 5 6In 2023, we announced new organizational Mission and Vision statements. Careful time, thought, and prayerwent into their creation, and we wanted to share with you the intention behind some of the words chosen.These new Vision and Mission statements honor the history and values of Forward Edge, and at the sametime, provide clarity for what God has called Forward Edge to be today and in the future. PEOPLEOur vision for impact includes every person whoencounters Forward Edge. It includes the children inour programs, their families, our staff and board,our financial partners, and our volunteers onmission teams. CHILDRENDuring the late 2000s, God transitioned us to achild-focused relief and development organization.Empowering children is why we exist. TRANSFORM LIVESOur goal is that every child served by Forward Edgewould experience multiple facets and layers ofchange. This is external and internal; we want to seetheir opportunities and circumstances improve, aswell as their hopes, dreams, perspectives, priorities,self-esteem, and character. TRAPPED IN POVERTYOur God is one of justice (Isaiah 58) and He hasspecifically led us to serve children suffering frominherited material poverty – circumstances they didnot create nor can they overcome without help. CHRIST-CENTEREDJesus Christ has always been – and will always be –the reason we serve and at the heart of everythingwe do. Spiritual discipleship is a critical piece in allour programs. HOLISTIC CAREOur programs are holistic, empowering children tothrive in their mind, body and spirit. This may lookdifferent from program to program because theneeds are different, but the overall goal remains thesame: that children would grow healthier in everyaspect of living, so they can be empowered to stepinto God’s extraordinary purpose for their lives. THROUGH JESUS CHRISTIn our eyes, the source of all creation and humanflourishing is God, namely Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:15-20). AROUND THE WORLDOur vision is a worldwide one, with a goal toimpact many different cultures and countries,including our own. SPIRITUAL POVERTYAccording to the Bible, every human being isspiritually bankrupt, and it’s out of this truth that thegood news of the Gospel springs forth.MATERIAL POVERTYWe are not an organization only concerned withspiritual things because that’s not the example wesee in Jesus. He cared for physical needs, andbecause His vision for health includes the whole body(shalom), ours does too (Matt. 25:31-46; James 2:26). OVERCOMEPoverty will never be removed entirely (until Christ'sreturn), but that does not have to hinder joy andpurpose. Even if some form of lack remains, one canstill flourish. NEW MISSION & VISIONPAST ASSESSMENTSCREATE LASTING IMPACTVISIONis to see people around the worldovercome spiritual and material povertythrough Jesus Christ. MISSIONis to transform the lives of childrentrapped in poverty through Christ-centered, holistic care.Before starting a new community developmentproject, we gather community members tounderstand their needs through a process called the10-Seed Assessment. By consulting directly with thecommunity, we ensure our efforts genuinely benefitthem in ways we might not have anticipatedotherwise. Over the years, we've conducted theseassessments in most of our programs, and they'veyielded beautiful results!In 2015 and 2017, we gathered the community at ourOaxaca, Mexico program. They expressed concernsregarding the lack of safe water, secure housing, jobopportunities, and quality education. We've been ableto respond by constructing homes through OperationEnduring Homes (page 14), installing a water filtrationsystem in collaboration with our partners at MessiahUniversity (page 14), and establishing a privateChristian school on-site (page 13). Jobs have also beencreated through home construction and the school. In 2018, through an assessment in Central America, wediscovered a significant deficiency in ministering tothe families of the girls in our program. Since then,we've initiated a boys' program that has yieldedremarkable results in their lives. More than a hundredboys regularly participate in gatherings and camps,and many have responded to Christ, fundamentallyaltering the trajectory of their lives. Our 2017 assessment in Haiti revealed the need forexpanding educational support, which we promptlyimplemented. In 2018, our Cuba community expresseda dire need for fresh produce, as regulations wereoften resulting in extreme food scarcity. In 2023, weimplemented a farming project to begin supplying thecommunity with necessary resources (an example ofthis impact is on page 8). In 2023, we gathered our Uganda community andidentified the need for job training courses to addressunemployment, as well as the establishment of anearly education center, since none are available withinthe community. We eagerly anticipate addressingthese needs and many more by establishing acommunity center in the years to come. Stay tunedfor future updates on this significant project! Also in 2023, we hosted the community in Kenya anddiscovered a surprising result: the services ourprogram currently offers are already addressing thefelt needs of the community – we praise God for that!