What's New at AHI: Our 3-Faceted Strategy
Did you miss one of the previous announcements?
Click the link to read Part 1.
If you have been with us since the beginning of this journey, you likely think of AHI as the ministry that works with women in Sierra Leone. And we still do work with women in Sierra Leone, through our local partner, Women of Hope Sierra Leone (WOHSL), but that is the work of WOHSL, and they are just one of our partners and programs!
Accessible Hope has a program strategy made up of 3 components, or approaches, as illustrated here. Let’s unpack each of these strategies a little bit.
Equip
The primary means by which we facilitate transformation among people with disabilities worldwide is by equipping the global Church. And when we say Church, we mean what Jesus means by His Church – US, the people of God, the body of Christ – believers around the world. The task of discipleship and inclusion of people with disabilities is too great for AHI to accomplish as an organization. It requires a MASSIVE organization to see the vision fulfilled. And that organization is the Body of Christ. This could be local churches in towns and villages and cities around the world. It could be small ministries, NGOs and non-profits. Or it could be individuals or groups of believers that have a heart for reaching the vulnerable with hope. AHI provides tools, resources, and training to equip these people and entities to see the need, align their thinking about disability with the Word of God, and reach out in appropriate ways to see people with disabilities fully included as valued members of their communities. (More on how we do this tomorrow!)
Empower
As organizations, churches, and ministries catch a vision for reaching the vulnerable unreached in their communities, AHI comes alongside these local groups to empower them to do what they are called to. It is not possible for AHI to walk alongside the 1 billion people with disabilities around the world, but we CAN walk alongside the small, locally-run ministries that are doing that. These ministries are our Global Hope Partners – indigenously-led organizations or ministries that are doing hands-on, wholistic discipleship and development among vulnerable populations affected by disability. Through a process of application and vetting, these ministries become Global Hope Partners, and AHI provides them with resources, training, tools, and financial assistance to see their impact grow among those they have been called to serve. Women of Hope Sierra Leone is one of these GHPs, and we currently have GHPs in Liberia and Burundi as well. As the Lord provides the means, we will continue to partner with more GHPs, reaching thousands of people with disabilities with tangible help and Gospel-centered hope.
Engage
There are thousands of ministries and mission organizations serving around the world. Often, when asked, these organizations admit that they do not serve many people with disabilities in their service area, but they often follow that with the words, “we just don’t see many people with disabilities where we work.” And therein lies the problem. People with disabilities are the hidden unseen. They are the least reached population with the Gospel worldwide, because they are hidden. Through our “Engage” strategy, AHI comes alongside other ministries and agencies with resources and strategic consulting, to help them create a strategic plan for inclusive service and Gospel reach, in whatever their area of expertise is around the world.
Through this triad of strategies, Accessible Hope is able to effect large-scale impact and change around the world through a relatively small-scale enterprise. While we have a significant need to grow, we know that the task of reaching 1 billion people with disabilities around the world is too large for one organization. But by equipping the global Body of Christ, empowering local ministries who have a heart for disabilities, and engaging larger organizations to see and reach the hidden unreached among them, we can effect massive impact together!