As a recently-converted Christian, Christopher Beth went on a mission trip to the Brazilian Amazon with his daughter in 2012. He had no inkling the trip would change his life.
Photo via social media @The Bucket Ministry from its Ghana project
“It broke me a bit,” Beth said of the mission trip. After seeing people drinking polluted river water, he researched the issue and learned there are at least 2 billion people in the world without access to safely managed drinking water.
As a result, he founded The Bucket Ministry — and 14 years later it is providing water filters to those in need of clean drinking water around the world.
“I thought it was about clean water,” Beth said, but he soon realized the filters opened doors to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with those receiving them.
In a Brazilian village, one man walked up holding a filter and asked why Beth was helping their village. Beth answered that it was because of the love of Jesus, prompting the man to ask, “Who is this Jesus?”
Beth then shared his testimony, after which the villager said he wanted Jesus as his friend too.
“The filters save lives physically, but they can also be used to preach the Gospel,” Beth said. He recognized the parallels between the filter’s work and God’s work in the lives of sinners — cleansing, redeeming, and renewing.
Beth thought they would continue their work in Brazil, but he said God opened doors for them to expand well beyond small villages in the Amazon.
In 2019, The Bucket Ministry became aware of the needs in Kibera, a large slum near Nairobi, Kenya. Beth considered the project monumental because it involved 81,000 homes and 408,000 people. Before that, the largest project The Bucket Ministry had completed cost about $10,000.
However, Beth felt if they could succeed in Kibera by using water filters to share the Gospel, the message would spread throughout Nairobi.
The water filters, manufactured by Sawyer in Tampa, Florida, can last up to 20 years if used once a day. They filter out parasites, bacteria, typhoid, cholera, and other harmful particulates. The filter is easy to use for a 5-year-old or 95-year-old, Beth said.
In October 2020, a donor called Beth and asked what he would do with a $1 million donation. Beth immediately knew: use it to minister in the Kibera slum. He knew the Kibera project would require about $5 million to complete, but $1 million would be a great start. The donor agreed and made the donation.
The Kibera project was completed in 2024, with 81,779 water filter distributions and 22,145 professions of faith. According to Beth, the community was transformed, with reports of decreased crime and domestic violence.
While the ministry’s next major project in the Nairobi area — about 20 minutes away in Kawangware — moves forward, Kenyan pastors and missionaries continue long-term follow-up work in Kibera.
The Bucket Ministry considers itself a parachurch ministry focused on helping the local church. Its work continues to include long-term follow-up on the operation of filters, shepherding home church leaders and teaching local churches how to engage in long-term discipleship.
Beth explained how The Bucket Ministry chooses its project locations. He said the ministry prays for the Lord’s leading, then vet each project by considering three major factors:
- Is God already working there through missionaries and other Christian presence?
- Are the people in need of clean drinking water?
- Is there an opportunity for the water filter to create an opening for the Gospel to be preached?
There are currently 10 active campaigns around the world and three “under construction,” according to The Bucket Ministry website. So far in 2026, the ministry has distributed over 28,000 water filters and enabled local Christian leaders to disciple over 145,000 families.
Access to MinistryWatch content is free. However, we hope you will support our work with your prayers and financial gifts. To make a donation, click here.
Since founding The Bucket Ministry, Beth has been committed to building trust with donors. He said his background in business helped him develop ways to measure how the ministry was using donor funds.
The group has developed a real-time GPS tracking system, called Mission Mapping, that records every interaction. The mapping software allows The Bucket Ministry to provide donors with a daily dashboard showing how many families have been helped through their donation.
“If someone was willing to give, we believed they deserved to know exactly what their generosity was accomplishing,” Beth said, adding that the transparency has helped build trust with donors.
He believes nonprofit ministries have an opportunity “not just to do meaningful work, but to bring people closer to that work.”
“[W]hen people can truly see and understand what their generosity is doing, something changes. It deepens their connection. It strengthens their trust. And it often inspires them to stay engaged for the long haul,” Beth said.
The Bucket Ministry is now led by CEO Chris Muckleroy. Beth serves on the board, and his bio identifies him as the ministry’s “Lead Storyteller.”
In the MinistryWatch database, The Bucket Ministry has an A Transparency Grade, a 1-Star Financial Efficiency Rating, and a Donor Confidence Score of 80, meaning donors can give with confidence.
TO OUR READERS: The mission of MinistryWatch is to help Christian donors become more faithful stewards of the resources God has entrusted to them. Do you know of a story that will help us fulfill our mission, or do you want to give us feedback about this or any other story? If so, please email us at info@ministrywatch.com.