A Tale of Two Realities | Joe Knittig, CEO
Hello, GO Project Family. We’re praying for you, your families, and your businesses; that God will fill you full of His supernatural courage and grace in this difficult hour.
Here is a ministry update…
Let’s start with context. From a public health perspective, we are in the midst of “flattening the curve” of COVID-19 by shutting down schools, businesses, and the everyday flow of community. From a child welfare perspective, the pre-existing virus of fatherlessness and family breakdown is about to surge like we’ve never experienced before among our most vulnerable neighbors.
Here is a short article that touches on what’s coming (soon).
This isn’t just an American challenge. COVID-19 and the fear plague that’s gripping our nation is gripping our world, including the poorest nations and their most vulnerable children – who have no public safety nets under them. Haiti is in the midst of a shutdown. As is India. Lebanon. Etc… These are countries with failing economies, 70% plus unemployment rates, and poor healthcare infrastructure for the poor.
In this context, we face a tale of two concurrent realities at The Global Orphan Project.
On the one hand, we’re concerned. In a matter of two quick weeks, we face God-sized challenges that we’ve never faced before, similar to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The children, families, and churches that we get to serve in the United States and around the world need our steadfast backing now more than ever, yet giving in the United States will likely drop – and perhaps significantly so. Our Fair Trade apparel enterprise in Haiti and KC is on pause, because of COVID-19 related order cancellations and a mandatory shutdown of factories in Haiti. We’re fighting like heck to care for kids, undergird workers, and keep our full team intact in the process.
On the other hand, we’re confident. In the same two weeks, perhaps the biggest ministry breakthrough that we’ve ever experienced is popping by the minute. In partnership with several others and in close collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, we are developing a CarePortal micro-platform specifically for COVID-19 emergency needs. We have designed the micro-platform to quickly scale nationally, mobilizing thousands of local churches to meet three bullseye needs:
- “Adopt” an Emergency Worker;
- Alleviate Food/Essentials Insecurity; and
- Stabilize Housing Insecurity.
We believe that through the Church, TOGETHER, there will be an overwhelming counter-surge of care. We have prepared a CarePortal platform and our team in expectation of such an imminent movement.
Both are happening at the same time: a fight to keep going, and an opportunity to keep growing – all for the most vulnerable children and families.
So what path do we choose? Both. We are taking prudent measures internally to stretch cash for kids and keep our team intact; and we are going on offense for kids and families, meeting the moment of the coming counter-surge of care by a unified Church on the move. We are moving forward with days bathed in prayer and decisions borne of faith and facts.
Next week at a day and time TBD, I will provide an additional update via Facebook Live. Stay tuned for that. I hope you can join me.
As we close, let me encourage you…
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35-39.
I assure you, friends, God is offense, not defense. The finest hour of the Church – a great and active care fast as in Isaiah 58 – is at hand. Stand firm on God’s promises. And let’s sacrificially and unconditionally love our hurting neighbors very well.
We will talk with you soon…
Gratefully yours,
Joe Knittig
CEO
