GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS
Stories of God’s power displayed in the Church
This is a collection of stories from the Truth Centered Transformation (TCT) program. Those of us who are involved with TCT have been changed as we have witnessed God’s love, power, and faithfulness in ways we never could have imagined. The stories our partners in Asia and Africa share encourage us, inspire us, stretch our faith, and destroy the boxes we tend to put God in.
We hope these amazing stories will inspire you as they have us.
*names have been changed for privacy and security
These stories aren’t really about RW and what we’ve done.
They are about GOD and what HE’S doing.
Reconciled World Founders Journey
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21
Poverty is complex. It didn’t take Reconciled World’s founder, Anna Ho, long to learn that. As a young development worker, she was involved in doing all the usual development programs—vocational training, micro-enterprise loans, school building. However, the results weren’t exactly breathtaking. A few people were helped, but it was far from the transformation she dreamed of.
In 1999 Anna attended a conference where her understanding of poverty—its causes and solutions—was turned on its head. Three ideas stood out: (1) Beliefs are powerful, they determine our behavior. To see lives changed we need to help people have a biblical worldview. (2) We need to challenge the church to do small actions to show God’s love to their community, and (3) God cares about every area of life. Every part of our life should be lived for God’s glory.
As Anna tells it, she was skeptical, but after four years of wrestling with it, she was determined to find out if these ideas could truly create transformation. So in 2004 she decided to develop a model that would test what would happen if you taught a biblical worldview to extremely poor churches and encouraged them to love their neighbors through small actions. Would they and their communities really be able to move out of poverty? Or after doing all they could, would they still need an outside organization to help?
She wanted to start with a small, easily-managed experiment. She wrote some curriculum (now called Module 1) based on these ideas, found a trainer, and asked her to find 10 churches who were willing to participate. After four months with no contact, the trainer turned up again and proudly announced that she had found partners in the poorest areas—food was scarce, there were no latrines or wells, and very few people could read or write. Furthermore, she had already trained pastors and leaders at 160 churches, and they were ready for more! Not quite the small experiment Anna imagined.
Within nine months God expanded that number to 60 trainers working with 600 churches. The experiment now felt frighteningly real. With only 10 churches, Anna was confident that she could provide resources when they ran out. With 600 churches in some of the most sensitive parts of the country, it was clear she couldn’t fund big projects. With the government constantly watching her, she had no way to visit and advise. Either God’s truth was going to be enough, or it was all going to fail spectacularly.
Each year Anna and her husband wrote two trainings for the churches—addressing common cultural lies and challenging the churches to do Acts of Love. Churches responded by doing things like helping people in their fields, repairing a broken water system, and cleaning up litter. Trainers shared amazing stories (some are in this book) of how God used these Acts of Love.
Despite reading reports of the churches doing larger and larger projects—building wells and houses and roads—Anna still doubted that whole communities could be transformed. Then one day, while at a quarterly leadership meeting, one of the area leaders started her report, “In my area, all the communities have been transformed.”
Anna claims, “My initial desire (in case you were wondering just how little faith I had) was to assure her that it was impossible. After all, transformation takes a long, long time and probably will not really happen until Jesus returns. Fortunately, I managed to swallow my doubts long enough to ask for details.”
The leader shared how everyone in her area now had enough to eat, stable houses, latrines, wells and vegetable gardens. All children went to school and most people attended church. The people were passionate about God. They had strong marriages, were no longer chronically sick, and could treat most common illnesses. Since there were no more needs in their community, the church served surrounding communities.
Since then God has lifted more than 500 communities out of poverty. These communities continue to flourish, years after the program ended, as churches continue to serve. Many churches and organizations in other countries have seen their transformation and are inspired to follow their example. It’s certainly not because of a program, or anything we could have done. It is simply this: God is faithful, powerful, and true to His word. As His people walk in obedience, He heals our brokenness and gives us life to the full.
The Miraculous Harvest
Almost everyone in the rural villages where we work is in crippling debt. As farmers, all of their income for the year comes at harvest time. Once the food and money from harvest runs out, they borrow money to survive. When harvest comes again, they must pay off those loans, plus exorbitant interest, which eats into their already meager income and leads to borrowing even more the next year.
In year three of the TCT program, we bring a training module focused on biblical stewardship of money, where we challenge the students to try to get out of debt. In one region a number of churches had completed this training and had committed to do all they could to get out of debt. They made plans with the goal of being debt-free in the next five years.
That year the country had a terrible drought. When the Christians went to their fields, they discovered that all their tapioca plants were withered and brown. They met together to discuss what to do. In the past, when the crops died, these farmers had taken huge loans to get them through the year. Yet they had committed to the Lord to get out of debt. It seemed there was no hope of honoring that commitment now. At each of the churches, the farmers gathered to fast and pray, asking God what to do.
Finally it came time to harvest the crops. Even though the tapioca appeared to be dead, they decided to dig it up anyway to see if anything could be salvaged. As they dug up the plants, they were shocked to discover that each field had two to three times the normal amount of tapioca!
Furthermore, because of the drought, in every other area nearby the crops had all died. As a result, the price for tapioca that year more than doubled. The farmers in the areas where the churches had prayed earned four to six times their normal income. God had responded to their obedience with miraculous, abundant provision! As a result, they were all able to get out of debt in just one year instead of the five years that they had expected.
Discovering God Given Resources
And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Ephesians 2:22
In one area, two decades of violent conflict forced many people to abandon their villages and live in camps near the main town. Years passed. When the violence finally stopped and people were able to move back, there was little for them to return to.
Although people rebuilt their homes, they lacked many other basics. There was no church building. On Sundays, everyone gathered for church under the largest mango tree in the village. When it rained during the church service, everyone had to scatter. “We were waiting for someone to come build a church for us,” they said.
After learning through the TCT program about all the resources God has given us, the people started to think about what they had. They realized that God had given them soil, rich with clay, that could be used to make bricks. For years they had waited for someone to come build them a church building, when they actually had the resources for it right under their feet! With some water, soil, and their own hard work, the people in one village were able to make 5,000 bricks in just three days and built their church.
God alone brings
TRANSFORMATION
An Orphan Finds Love
Lei was a violent man who often attacked people—including police and government officials—for no apparent reason. The community lived in fear of him.
After studying TCT Module 1, the small church in Lei’s community decided they would build a home for orphans. A few days after they finished the project, Lei showed up at the church. Understandably nervous, the church leaders let him in. Lei shared that he himself had been orphaned as a child and had struggled to survive. He was surprised to see that the church cared for orphans enough to build a house for them. He asked to be included in their work and to learn more about the love they showed. They shared more about Christianity, and Lei surrendered his life to Christ.
Lei quickly went from being known as a violent disruption in the community to a loving community member. People were amazed at Lei’s transformation. They said, “If God can transform this man, He is a truly powerful God, and we want to follow Him.” Ninety-eight people came to know Jesus in Lei’s community. And the government officials were so happy the abuse was under control that they gave permission for the church to have a building. Today, Lei continues to be involved in the church and is always one of the first to volunteer to do Acts of Love.
Building Supplies from Heaven
In rural villages, “houses” are often one room with mud walls and a palm leaf roof. Some are pieced together with scavenged scraps. As you can imagine, over time they become more and more unstable. In one TCT community, there were 35 families living in such houses. After learning of God’s concern for every area of life, the church decided to build stable homes for each family. Over time, with the church members pooling their own resources and providing the labor, they built quite a few houses. However, after completing the 17th house they realized they had no resources left to build the remaining 18 houses.
Rather than giving up on the task they had set out to complete, the church members decided to get together to pray and fast for one night to ask God to help them finish the project. The next morning, as they were leaving the church, large trucks filled with building materials pulled up outside the church and started dumping their loads.
Confused, the church members rushed to tell the truck drivers that they had the wrong location. No one had ordered any building materials and no one there was able to pay for everything they were dropping off. The truck drivers quickly retorted that the materials were the church’s responsibility now, and if they didn’t want the materials there they would have to move them themselves. Further discussion revealed that the materials were surplus from a nearby warehouse and they were being disposed of to make space for new materials. When the church leaders asked the truck drivers why they had dumped the materials there, in front of the church, the drivers simply replied, “We were tired of driving, and just felt like dumping the materials so we could get back to the warehouse.”
The materials miraculously turned out to be enough to finish the rest of the houses for the community. Furthermore, when the local government officials saw how diligently the church used the resources, they started to partner with other churches in the district, providing housing materials for hundreds of houses!
A Life Transformed By Love
Noi was a gang leader known for abuse and drunkenness. The people living in the community were afraid of him, as he was known to have violent outbursts at anyone who upset him in any way—big or small. As the church studied TCT, they learned about God’s command to love our neighbors. They prayed about who to help, and felt God put Noi on their hearts. Initially, they were scared. What would happen? Would he attack them?
Because they wanted to obey God, they looked for a way to help Noi. With harvest just around the corner, the church decided to serve his family by helping harvest their crop of tapioca. While Noi was out of town, the church leaders helped his wife harvest, dry, and carry the tapioca to a secure place near her home. Twenty-two people volunteered for three days, and, along with the wife, were able to finish harvesting and packing all the crops before her husband returned.
When Noi returned home, he was very surprised to see all the tapioca harvested, and he asked his wife who helped her and the children. Initially, his wife was afraid to tell him. She feared he would attack the church leaders. However, after some time, she confessed that it had been people from the church. Noi immediately marched off to the pastor’s house. When he saw him coming, the pastor quickly gathered the deacons, fearing the worst. Noi came in and started weeping, surprising everyone.
“What’s wrong?” they asked.
“I have never known love,” Noi replied. “I am a top gang leader, but now I want to be a Christian. I want to know the God who loves.”
The church leaders assured him that he could become a Christian, but he would have to give up alcohol and his lead position in the gang. He asked for time to think and consulted with his friends in the gang, who all tried to persuade him not to become a Christian. But in the end, the power of God’s love won out, and he gave his life to Christ. He then became a powerful evangelist amongst the gang members. In just a few short weeks, God used Noi and his testimony to reach 27 new people for Christ. By the grace of God and the faithful obedience of one church, a life that was once lost had been found, renewed and restored.
A Good Night’s Sleep
In one community, many women were rising at 1:00 AM to start their daily routines. Before breakfast, they would collect firewood, fetch water, and prepare food for their families. After breakfast, they would work for hours in the field and take care of other household duties. Each evening, the women would return to their homes exhausted from a long day’s work, with little energy to relax and enjoy time with their families.
After attending TCT’s marriage and family training, a few church leaders decided they wanted to start showing love to their wives by serving them. Though initially embarrassed by the idea, the men wanted to obey God in all areas of their lives, including serving their wives. After much debate, they decided to rise before anyone else to avoid the embarrassment of others knowing they were helping their wives. The men awoke with their wives at 4 a.m. to help with the preparations of the day, allowing their wives three extra hours of sleep. The result was amazing! The women, feeling more rested and valued by their husbands, were able to put more time and energy into their families. This, in turn, created much happier and more peaceful households. Family members began spending more time together and the families grew stronger and healthier.
The community quickly noticed something had changed in these families, and they started to investigate. It didn’t take them long to find out the men had been waking at 4 a.m., allowing their wives extra sleep. Instead of laughing at the men, they too started to change! Now, when the sun rises at 4 a.m., so do the families in this community, inspired by a few men of the church who desired to serve their wives. The families in the community are now much happier and healthier. It’s amazing what a bit of extra sleep can do!
And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to Himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to Him.
2 Corinthians 5:18
From Poverty to Abundance
One community’s journey
In 2005, Tai Ping was a typical rural village. The people were rice farmers, but there was never enough. Without roads to their fields, each family only harvested what they could carry over rugged hiking trails. There were no latrines. People rarely washed. Few children went to school. Domestic violence was the norm, even among church leaders. The people were sick, hungry, and illiterate.
The Christians in Tai Ping trusted Christ as their Savior, but had no knowledge of His plan for their lives. Ruled by the fatalism of their culture, they thought, “Sickness is normal, poverty is inevitable.” They knew of many needs in their community, but said, “We’re too poor to help. What’s the point when nothing can change?”
Then the church began studying TCT. They learned that Jesus has lordship over every area of life, that God had given them resources and abilities, and that He wanted them to show His love to others.
Using their own resources, the church began harvesting fields for the sick and giving food to widows and orphans. People became more receptive to the Gospel as they saw these Acts of Love.
As the church prayed, God showed them to build roads to their fields. Because the church now had a good reputation in the community, more than a hundred people volunteered to help. Using hand tools, they cut back the jungle and leveled the hiking trail into a road that was over a mile long. Over time, they built five more roads.
The roads enabled farmers to transport their crops with handcarts. They could harvest more, so their incomes increased. Eventually, they were able to buy motorbikes, which made it possible to transport their rice to the main roads, where it sold at a higher price.
Throughout this time, TCT training continued. The church learned that their bodies were given to them by God to take care of, and that it was not God’s plan for His people to be continually sick. The church incorporated the lessons on hygiene and treating common illnesses into their small groups.
As the church members applied the health lessons to their lives, their neighbors saw the benefits and began to do the same. Soon, everyone had and used a latrine, practiced good hygiene, and kept their homes clean. Every household began gardening and eating vegetables. Sickness became rare. Children no longer died from diarrhea. Because they could treat common illnesses at home, debt from hospital bills decreased.
The church continued serving—digging wells and building houses. They saw each project as an act of worship and service to God, and always prayed about what they should do next. In 2008, they felt called to build a bridge.
Because the church had a reputation of serving, the government provided steel. Many church members gave money. But it wasn’t enough. They decided to start the bridge anyway. Each day people brought money or supplies, so there was just enough to keep building. Finally the bridge was complete.
In 2009, a typhoon swept the bridge away. The church built a temporary bridge. Two months later, another typhoon washed this bridge away. Again the church rebuilt, this time on donated land in a safer area. The government was so impressed that they broadcast a news story across the country about the church who kept loving their community.
The church began to pray about building a school, but God said, “Wait.” Soon after, the government announced it would build a school for the community as a reward for all their hard work. Now, children in Tai Ping graduate high school and some attend university—an achievement that no one could have imagined in 2005.
Meanwhile, the church received a TCT training about marriage. When they heard scripture’s teaching that husbands must love their wives, one leader responded, “I’ve never loved my wife. It was an arranged marriage. I don’t even like her.” But because he wanted to obey God, he started treating his wife well. Their relationship improved quickly. When others in the church saw how happy the couple became, they began to show their wives kindness. Wives responded with love and respect, and parents began to show affection to their children.
Over time, the church itself was transformed. By 2010, 90 percent of the community (about 700 people) professed faith in Christ, attended church, and tithed regularly. The church continues to pray, plan, and do Acts of Love to this day. But now their focus is on surrounding villages, as there are no longer any needs in Tai Ping.
TCT provided no physical assistance of any kind to Tai Ping, yet the community transformed out of poverty. What we provided was wholistic discipleship. Biblical truth provided the critical why of making a change. Skills in things like agriculture and hygiene provided the how. As the people of Tai Ping learned to walk in obedience in every area of life, God lifted them out of poverty.
Then if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14