Stewarding God’s Creation

Ministries meeting environmental needs at the ground level.

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.

With Earth Day on April 22, this week’s Ministries Making a Difference highlights ministries caring for God’s creation—and for the neighbors who depend on it.

A Rocha

Photo, arocha.us

What does measuring tree diameter have to do with living out our faith? A Rocha USA recently joined the Good Faith podcast team at Wheaton College to highlight how students and faculty are treating environmental work as a Christian vocation. The students measured tree diameters to track campus carbon sequestration as part of Wheaton’s Tree Campus USA designation. A short film from the trip is expected soon.

A Rocha USA is a Christian conservation organization whose mission is “to live out God’s calling to care for creation and equip others to do likewise.” In the U.S., it combines community-based conservation projects (including work in Texas and Florida) with resources and programs designed to help individuals and churches connect faith with practical creation care.

Evangelical Environmental Network

Photo via EEN Facebook page

The Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN) will host its Summer of Action kickoff webinar May 28 for Christians wanting to participate in advocacy for God’s creation. EEN says its mission is to inspire, equip, educate, and mobilize evangelical Christians to love God and others by rediscovering the biblical mandate to care for creation and working toward a stable climate and a healthy, pollution-free world. EEN’s Summer of Action will help participants sharpen communication skills, engage locally, meet with policymakers, and take concrete steps on timely environmental issues.

Plant With Purpose

Photo, plantwithpurpose.org

This month, Plant With Purpose is inviting people to join more than 2,000 others in planting trees to fight poverty and deforestation. Its “Plant a Tree for $1” campaign funds locally led reforestation. The organization says it has planted more than 50 million trees over 35+ years through “Community Designed Restoration,” in which communities set the strategy and local farmers plant and care for the trees. The $1 cost covers preparation, nursery growth, planting, and monitoring.

The campaign also highlights agroforestry (planting trees on farmland) as a way to boost income for farming families. It lists nine partner countries, including Haiti, the Dominican Republic, DR Congo, Burundi, Tanzania, Malawi, Mexico, Ethiopia, and Thailand. MinistryWatch rates Plant With Purpose at 1 Star, with an A Transparency Grade and a Donor Confidence Score of 75 (Give With Confidence).

ECHO

Photo, echonet.org

Across West Africa, ECHO is training small-scale farmers to make and use bioliquid fertilizer—a low-cost, locally sourced input that can improve soil health and crop growth using materials farmers already have on hand. The approach is simpler than compost, adaptable to local conditions, and can be made from manure and nutrient-rich plant materials.

ECHO’s broader mission is to help farmers across Africa, Asia, and the Americas to “help themselves” by sharing sustainable plants, techniques, and technologies that strengthen food security and livelihoods over time. ECHO has a 2-Star rating and an A Transparency Grade in the MinistryWatch database, and a Donor Confidence Score of 75 (Give With Confidence).

Christian Relief Fund

Photo via Christian Relief Fund’s Facebook page

Imagine spending hours every day walking for water, only to find it contaminated. For many families, Christian Relief Fund (CRF) says this is reality. Through its water projects program, CRF drills wells that provide a sustainable, pure water source right in the heart of villages in need.

CRF says it has helped provide clean water to 1.5 million people, drilled 1,300 wells, and matched 18,000+ individual donations across Kenya and Haiti. Clean water, it says, helps children return to school, frees women to care for their homes, work, or study, improves community health through WaSH programs, supports local economic development, and opens doors for sharing the gospel through church planting. In the MinistryWatch database, CRF has a 3-Star rating, an A Transparency Grade, and a Donor Confidence Score of 97 (Give With Confidence).

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