In His final prayer for the future generations of disciples, people that would someday become members of the Kingdom, Jesus prayed, “…that all of them may be one.” And while most Christians would gladly acknowledge that they value “oneness” in the Kingdom, living and acting that out can sometimes be another story. It seems that the more we invest and sacrifice for something, the more tightly we want to hold it. Imagine how much more careful we are with a special family heirloom than something not-so-special from Walmart. The more precious something is to us, the more difficult it is for us to openly share.
It’s no wonder then, in the world of Christian ministry, that it’s hard for us to let go and to share with others. Despite this prayer for oneness from John 17, many people in ministry have individually given up jobs, houses, fields, relationships, etc., to seek God’s mission for their lives. They have spent endless hours in prayer, rallied support from their families and communities, and labored painstakingly to craft the vision, the mission, and the message of what God has called them to do. Most then rightly value this mission not only as something near and dear to the heart of God, but something that belongs to them as well. It’s hard to work together…it makes sense…it’s hard to let go.
But at World Orphans, we don’t think that lets us off the hook. We believe God has called us to something higher than being defined by our individual missions. We believe that how we do our work can communicate more of the gospel than what we do. And so, in Cambodia, as World Orphans strives to do the work of God with the values of the Kingdom, we are excited to enter a partnership with a local organization named Children in Families (CIF). The goal of this partnership is to provide a better platform for serving the needs of children, families, and churches in Cambodia through collaboration. In this joint project, CIF will focus its resources on the clinical and administrative needs of the children, and World Orphans will seek to work through churches to help provide for the relational and spiritual needs of the children and families.
We believe that working together, collaboratively, with open hands and hearts, faithfully seeking to honor God through our partnerships, brings glory to Him and help to His people.