Faith-based organisations and churches are critical to sustaining Australia’s welfare sector. Christian-based charities, driven by people with a Christian heart and spirit, contribute to various services including hospitals, youth centres, prison ministry and natural disaster relief.
Without their involvement, these essential services would be unsustainable. Convoy of Hope is one such organisation that responds to natural disasters, as well as engaging in community outreaches to bring hope and healing to people.
Passion To Help Others
Joel and Julia A’Bell are the Oceania Regional Leaders of Convoy of Hope Australia. Joel recently joined us on 20Twenty to talk about his passion to help others, and the challenges faced by hurting people in an increasingly complex world.
Joel says the face of homelessness is changing rapidly at the moment. ‘I saw a couple in their late forties or fifties just last week,’ says Joel. ‘And I watched them at the beach as I was getting ready to jump in the surf. They were outside their van, showering in their underwear and getting ready to go to work. These are people who have jobs and kids who go to school, and they’ve got nowhere to sleep at night. It’s a new form of homelessness and it’s very sad.’
Partnering With The Local Church
As a faith-based organisation, Convoy of Hope is able to work through local churches all around the world. They are involved in natural disasters globally, and help provide food insecurity programs to help those who have lost everything.
‘I think if every Christian actually had their heart broken with the things that break God’s heart,’ says Joel, ‘we could be that mission at work, in the corridors, in the neighbourhood, wherever we are today.’
Feeding The Multitudes
Convoy of Hope continues to work with local churches, and they want to make it easier for every person to do a little bit, instead of a few people having to do everything. By working together, they believe that resources such as food hampers could go out to multitudes of people.
‘It comes down to local churches and seeing how passionate they are about doing this,’ says Joel. ‘We can have as many as there are cities and towns in Australia.’
‘If you are interested, let us know. We want to partner with you.’
Listen to Joel’s full interview on 20Twenty below:
