At MinistryWatch, our mission is to help Christians become more faithful, generous, and effective stewards of the resources God has entrusted to them. It’s why we advocate for transparency, accountability, and efficiency in Christian ministries. Because of that, we cover a lot of stories we’d rather not have to — stories of waste, fraud, and abuse.
But that’s not the whole picture. This column exists to amplify ministries doing excellent work — to spotlight ministries making a difference in their own communities and around the world.
On August 22, the United Nations observed the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief. The observance recognizes people targeted because of their faith and the need to support victims and their families.
This week’s Ministries Making a Difference looks at organizations helping people rebuild after persecution — and one working farther upstream to reduce religious tensions before they become something worse.
International Christian Concern
When a mob of nearly 200 people surrounded Faizal’s home in Chhattisgarh, India, in February, they demanded he renounce Christianity. When he refused, the mob beat him and his family, tore down their house, and threw their belongings into the street. That night, International Christian Concern (ICC) says the family slept outside under a plastic sheet. An ICC worker later met with Faizal and helped provide materials to rebuild the family’s home.
The ministry also provides emergency assistance, livelihood support, advocacy, and other aid. International Christian Concern has a 4-Star Financial Efficiency Rating, an A Transparency Grade, and a Donor Confidence Score of 97 (Give With Confidence) in the MinistryWatch database.
Photo, persecution.org
Persecution Project Foundation
Honey woke in a hospital after artillery struck near her home in Khartoum, Sudan. One of her legs had been amputated. Two of her children were dead, and her husband never returned home. Pastor Musa and his assistant Emmanuel, in partnership with Persecution Project Foundation (PPF), later organized buses to evacuate vulnerable people from Khartoum. Honey and her surviving children made it onto one and now live in a camp in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains, home to the country’s largest Christian community.
PPF works through the local church to provide shelter, food, medical care, safe water, and other assistance to displaced families. This rainy season, the ministry says some roads have become impassable except by tractor as teams try to reach families facing shortages of basic necessities.
PPF has a 4-Star Financial Efficiency Rating, an A Transparency Grade, and a Donor Confidence Score of 87 (Give With Confidence) in the MinistryWatch database.
Photo, persecutionproject.org
ChinaAid
Pastor John Cao spent seven years in a Chinese prison after years of Christian humanitarian work along the China-Myanmar border. He completed his sentence and was released in 2024, but Chinese authorities have continued withholding his passport, preventing him from returning to his family in the United States. Now Cao has stage 4 prostate cancer that has spread to his bones and spine.
Earlier this month, ChinaAid joined a campaign urging Chinese authorities to allow him to return home. ChinaAid advocates for imprisoned Christians and other religious minorities in China through legal support, international advocacy, public awareness campaigns, and assistance to families affected by detention.
ChinaAid has a 5-Star Financial Efficiency Rating, a C Transparency Grade, and a Donor Confidence Score of 98 (Give With Confidence) in the MinistryWatch database.
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Photo, chinaaid.org
Global Christian Relief
After years of abuse and captivity by Boko Haram, Gladys rarely speaks and cannot care for herself or her son, Miracle, without help. Global Christian Relief found them living in a Nigerian camp for internally displaced people under the care of a local church ministry. Camp workers now provide Gladys with food, clothing, and other necessities and have arranged for people to watch over her and Miracle. She can remain in the camp indefinitely.
The ministry supports persecuted believers through emergency relief, trauma care, livelihood assistance, church rebuilding, and local partners serving displaced Christians.
Global Christian Relief has a C Transparency Grade and a Donor Confidence Score of 53 (Exercise Caution) in the MinistryWatch database. The ministry does not currently have a Financial Efficiency Rating.
Photo, globalchristianrelief.org
The Sanneh Institute
Most ministries in this roundup respond after religious violence has already caused harm. The Sanneh Institute is working farther upstream, trying to address religious tension before it becomes discrimination, conflict, or violence.
In Ghana’s senior high schools, students of different faiths often live and study together. But proximity does not always mean understanding. A survey by The Sanneh Institute found that 90% of students had friends from other faiths, while more than 80% of students and school authorities knew little or nothing about religions other than their own. One in three students also reported that their religious rights had sometimes been violated.
Through its Cross-Cultural Religious Literacy (CCRL) initiative, the Christian-led institute trains principals, administrators, chaplains, and other school leaders to handle practical questions involving worship, prayer, religious accommodation, and minority faiths. The goal is to give those responsible for shared spaces the tools to manage religious differences fairly before tensions harden into something more serious.
Photo, tsinet.org
Disclosure: The author serves as communications director for Love Your Neighbor Community, which has participated with The Sanneh Institute in religious-freedom events and works in the same Cross-Cultural Religious Literacy field.