Masonry. Carpentry. Engineering. Plumbing. Design…
On the mission field, people with these construction skills not only keep ministries running, they help build the Kingdom of God.
Started in 1993, the ABWE Project Office has provided professional engineering and building expertise to ABWE’s missionaries and ministries around the world.
Currently, a team of 20 full-time missionaries oversee 44 construction projects in 21 countries, and have recruited and managed thousands of construction volunteers who have donated their time and skills over the past two decades.
From hospitals in Africa, to plane hangars in the Amazon jungle, to schools in war-torn regions, the project office stays busy easing the burden of logistics—helping missionaries navigate building codes, purchase land, and handle the intricacies of managing local contractors—so that ABWE ministries can continue to grow and thrive.
HELPING NEAR & FAR
FLORIDA, U.S.
When Hurricane Katrina hit, ABWE’s Project Office worked alongside volunteers to serve those impacted by the devastation. More recently, a project office team installed a new roof for a church in Florida in desparate need of repair. After years of supporting ABWE ministries, the church was surprised to find the mission providing them support as well.
Since the early 2000s, the project office has frequently sent teams around the world to help after deadly fires, earthquakes, tsunamis and other natural disasters—delivering practical assistance to those in need, and empowering local believers with opportunities to share the gospel.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
With the help of the project office, 20 work teams—or nearly 100 volunteers—traveled to Papua New Guinea to help create a mission base in the remote Simbai region. These teams were able to construct a carpentry workshop, a sawmill shed, and a generator house. They also built two missionary homes, remodeled a third, and built three church buildings.
As the Simbai mission outpost expanded its ministry, missionaries were able to focus on discipleship. As a result, there are now 20 churches in the area under national leadership.
What Missionaries Have to Say about the Project Office
“Most missionaries do not have any construction experience. Those of us who do often lack in other areas—like design, architectural drawings, administration, finances, and the volunteers needed to help with the actual construction. This makes having a project office invaluable to ministry.”
—Bill Tobias , ABWE Project Office missionary
“Knowing that many students were turned away [from an ABWE school] this year due to lack of capacity is enough to break your heart. But being a part of the solution of expanding this ministry brings endurance to carry on.”
—ABWE missionary serving in the Balkans
“By bringing professional insight to the planning and construction process, we’ve seen quality facilities completed and used for God’s Kingdom. By working alongside men from various tribes and tongues, we’ve built relationships and shared Christ’s truth…We’ve had the opportunity to live out Christ’s love to those we encounter on a daily basis.”
—Former career commercial construction project manager, serving with the ABWE Project Office
“Beyond the bricks and mortar, we have enjoyed the opportunities to interact with the people who are a part of the building. I have shared my faith with contractors, planting seeds along the way.”
—Tim Hunsicker, Assistant Director of the ABWE Project Office
In 2018, ABWE had 44 active projects in 21 countries. Here are a few of those projects.
7 Rivers Outreach
7 Rivers Outreach was created to bring help and hope to struggling areas in South Africa. In partnership with a local South African church built through the ABWE initiative, the “Blessing Durban Project”, four missionary families are transforming a community through a Zulu church plant and a 75-acre farm which provides micro-enterprise opportunities, training, and leadership development for Zulu pastors.
Plans for the current project include homes for orphans and vulnerable children, missionary housing, and more.
Hôpital Baptiste Biblique
Founded in 1985 in southern Togo, Hôpital Baptiste Biblique (HBB) currently provides care for nearly 20,000 patients a year.
In 2018 alone, staff at HBB:
• treated over 2,700 in-patients, and an additional 16,796 out-patients
• assisted in 241 births, 82 of which were c-sections
• administered over 40,000 lab tests
• performed nearly 3,000 radiology procedures
• performed 2,358 operating room procedures
• filled over 65,000 patient prescriptions
In addition to compassionate healthcare, HBB also runs a nursing school—a three-year program that trains local believers as nurses to serve at the hospital. It provides a stipend for each student to help them study full-time. Students serve daily in the hospital in addition to receiving traditional classroom training. Last year, the nursing school graduated 48 students.
More importantly, through compassionate, loving service, HBB has been making a kingdom impact. In 2018, the hospital team recorded more than 1,797 professions of faith.
Nicaragua Ministry Center
Not only does the Nicaragua Ministry Center empower pastors to start churches in their communities, it also invites communities in. More than 20,000 people from different walks of life have set foot inside the center’s gates to discover and experience God’s love through retreats, youth camps, trainings, and seminars.
More than 8,000 youth have heard the gospel from ABWE missionaries serving in Nicaragua, resulting in over 1,000 professions of faith. The center has also been instrumental in the training of more than 75 youth leaders in dozens of local churches. Its ministry arm, the Institute for Church Planters, has trained over 80 Nicaraguan pastors and their wives in how to plant and grow local churches, resulting in more than 50 churches plants throughout the country.
Choose Life Pregnancy Center
According to 2018 statistics, 25 percent of pregnancies in Ukraine end in abortion. At least 500 abortions are performed every day, mostly on young women aged 20 and younger. The Choose Life Pregnancy Center, first opened in 2014, seeks to offer hope to women in crisis pregnancy situations by providing:
• free pregnancy tests,
• individual counseling,
• parenting classes, and more
In 2017, the Ukraine team began searching for a permanent building for the center. God provided that building the following year, as well as the hands to help restore it through the ABWE Project Office. In June of 2018, Choose Life Pregnancy opened the doors of its new building.
Author: Naomi Harward | Original Posted at: https://abwe.org/blog/better-diy/
