Yesterday, we published the winners of our annual Shining Light Awards, recognizing ministries who lead the way in accountability and transparency in the Christian ministry space. And with today being Giving Tuesday, we decided to dedicate this edition of Ministries Making a Difference to highlighting the work of a handful of those Shining Lights.
Out of more than 1,100 ministries in our database, only 24 have earned the highest ratings in the three categories we track—financial efficiency, financial accountability, and donor confidence. We believe these ministries deserve recognition and serve as an example to us all. As you pray over end-of-year giving, we hope you’ll consider these nonprofits.
Here today, we just highlight five of these Shining Lights, but for a complete list and fuller explanation, click here.
With that, here’s a closer look at these ministries who are making a difference:
Photo via social media @Kinship United
Kinship United, working in the Relief & Development sector, rescues and cares for “orphans and widows in war zones, refugee camps, and disaster areas around the world.” In Kenya, they are building a learning center for people in nearby tribal communities. And in various areas, they host a bakery outreach to train women in baking and business skills.
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Woman impacted by Bethesda’s Women’s Shelter / Video screenshot)
Bethesda Mission, a Christian Rescue Mission in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, runs men’s and women’s shelters and provides food, clothing, shelter and “life-changing counseling based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ” to the hungry and homeless in its community. It also runs state-of-the-art medical and dental clinics, a food bank that it says serves about 10 million pounds of food a year, and a community center that hosts a cyber school for children. On a more individualized level, Bethesda recently partnered with local CYS to collect donations for three children who tragically lost their mom.
Photo via social media @A Child’s Hope Int’l
A Child’s Hope International is a Shining Light in our Foreign Missions sector. The ministry works both domestically and internationally providing vulnerable children with food, clean water, and living hope. In November, churches partnered with A Child’s Hope to pack hundreds of thousands of meals for children in Eswatini, a country in southern Africa. In November, Impact Church in Michigan packed 517,000 meals, and Cincinnati volunteers packed 91,000 meals.
Spruce Lodge burned down in October / Photo via social media @Victory Bible Camp
Victory Ministries of Alaska hosts year-round bible camps in the beautiful Alaskan landscape with activities ranging from ice skating and snow tubing to water sports and horseback riding. One of the campuses faced an unexpected hardship in October when Spruce Lodge, the camp’s chapel, burned down. The ministry said the building was vacant during the fire, and no one was hurt. Victory Ministries is working to finish cleanup in the fall and rebuild in the spring. Despite that, the camp’s team is moving forward with winter camps, with varied retreats planned for ages 8-18 throughout December and January.
Video screenshot @Pastor Serve
Pastor Serve, working in the Christian Growth sector, is focused on equipping ministry leaders with the tools and support they need to thrive not just in ministry, but in life. The ministry has developed a wide range of resources, including “soul care” services, marriage and family support, counseling options, and training in handling conflict and crisis situations.