At World Renew, we believe that these are some of the goals that a shape the work of a global citizen as they serve God and His people. World Renew’s 1.2 million volunteers are committed to changing local ministry into global ministry.
HaEun Nam, was born in Korea, moved to Indonesia and then Malaysia, and will be going to Nicaragua in less than a month. HaEun is becoming a global citizen. With her passionate heart and assertive personality, HaEun wants to make a difference, whether it is at home or around the world.
Like many volunteers, HaEun has been learning leadership skills and the importance of diversity in her own community. Local volunteers are putting their love for missions and desire to help those in need to use to build God’s kingdom and becoming a global investment. This journey often begins when volunteers go through a volunteer experience that challenges them to think about new ways to invest their skills and gifts in the service of others. They then bring this experience back home and will often invest in their local community by trying to help change it for the better. Such a journey transforms local volunteers into global citizens.
Mary Dykstra, the Global Volunteer Coordinator at World Renew, sees volunteering as a powerful way to share God’s love with others. “I think that volunteering is part of our response to the gift that Christ gave us,” she says. “We live in a task oriented culture so volunteering provides an opportunity to do something, to make a contribution to something or someone bigger than ourselves.”
World Renew is committed to using time, energy, resources, and prayer, to empower local volunteers as they go out and serve. Through this support, we are not only empowering the people we serve, but we are also empowering each other. By coming alongside people in communities both near and far, we serve and give of ourselves, but often we may find that we receive much more than we have given.
Locally, World Renew’s Disaster Response Services (DRS) volunteers give of their time, talents, and financial resources to help North American communities recover quickly from recent disaster. While taking care of urgent needs, DRS volunteers keep in mind the long-term goals for the community.
Globally, World Renew’s Global Volunteer Program (GVP) volunteers focus on asset-based community development in international communities. Serving with proactive, compassionate hearts, GVP volunteers address major issues like illiteracy, hunger, child-mortality, and injustice.
“What happens in our church, our community and our country does affect what happens in other parts of the world,” said Mary Dykstra.
Churches are beginning to partner with churches in other countries. And because of the connections around the world, these partnerships show how the programs in one church can directly influence the work in the other church.
Emphasizing how important global citizens are, Dykstra explained how technology has allowed us to connect anywhere around the world within seconds. “We can no longer think of ourselves as isolated individuals…we are part of a global world of Christians.”
HaEun, a GVP volunteer, is ready to take on the challenge of becoming a global citizen. Many volunteers, like HaEun have a passion for missions but do not have the support to accomplish these dreams. They want to become a global citizen; to learn from experiences around the world and then take those ideas back home. They want to be a continued investment in their local communities and churches.
Together, we can become global citizens. We can do so by financially supporting the volunteers that are ready to take on the global citizen challenge. We can take the time to read their stories and hear about their experience and then giving them encouraging words. Or we can pray for each volunteer to show the love of Christ to their own community and to communities around the world. Together, our church can become the global church.