Top

Central Vineyard’s partnership with Asia’s Hope has played a huge part in the church’s development. The church didn’t wait long after planting to start an orphan home in Cambodia. In fact, as pastor Jeff Cannell says, “We had a stable place for our orphans to live before we had a stable place for our church in Columbus to meet.”

Central Vineyard decided to “go deep, not wide,” and has heavily invested in a very small number or projects. Their orphan home in Cambodia plays a huge role in the church’s ministry. As a result, they “have God’s care for suffering people written into the church’s very DNA.”

ONE PASTOR’S STORY:

When we started supporting Asia’s Hope, we could have never dreamed the extent to which it would transform our entire church.

When we planted our church with 30 people in 2004, I was already aware of Asia’s Hope. John McCollum, Asia’s Hope’s Executive Director, was a member of our original planting team. Within the first few months of establishing our baby congregation, a significant number of our people were faithfully giving to the ministry, and were being blessed personally by their support of orphans in Cambodia and Thailand.

Central Vineyard Church of Columbus, Ohio was the first church to open an orphan home with Asia’s Hope under what would become our “church partnership” model. Since that time, Asia’s Hope has grown from 3 orphan homes to 20!As our church began to grow, I sensed that God was calling us to do something bigger, something more comprehensive. I didn’t just want to send money, I wanted to give people in the church the opportunity to have a real, lasting connection with a group of kids in Cambodia, and I wanted our whole church to participate through prayer, missions trips and through ongoing, long-term financial support.

I worked with John to establish a budget and timeframe, and he helped us develop a multi-stage plan that would culminate in the rescue of 25 orphaned kids. To be honest, I thought it would take months to raise awareness, build consensus and gather financial commitments, but on the very first Sunday, the church responded so enthusiastically that we had all the money we needed within the first 15 minutes of the service!

Since that time, nearly every member of our church has been blessed by the opportunity to pour out God’s love to our “sister community,” the Prek Eng 2 Orphan Home. We’ve laughed with our kids in Cambodia, partied with them, cried with them, and worshipped together with them. Every time we send people over to visit our staff and kids, they come back energized and excited about what God is doing through our church on the other side of the world. 

On my visits to our kids in Cambodia, I’ve been astounded at the transformation in their lives. God has used our church and Asia’s Hope to take these kids who had suffered so much -- kids who had no hope -- and turn them from battered refugees on the brink of disaster into a joyful, loving, Christian family. There is such a close relationship between our two communities -- one in Columbus and one in Phnom Penh -- they are truly a part of our family.

I believe that the church is sort of like a human resources department; it’s our responsibility to give people jobs in the kingdom of God, jobs where they can use their gifts to make an impact on the world. Asia’s Hope has been one of the chief mechanisms our church has used to motivate, mobilize and deploy people into meaningful ministry.

Asia’s Hope has made such an incredible difference in the way we tell the story of Jesus to our congregation, our kids and our community. It’s impossible for us to talk about God’s love for orphans in Cambodia without also proclaiming God’s offer of welcome and forgiveness to the least, the last and the lost in our own back yard.

Throughout the Bible, God proclaims his love for the orphan, the widow and the stranger. He commands his people to care for them, and promises them the resources to do so. I believe with my whole heart that God will bless any church that commits to partnering with him in the rescue and restoration of those whom he loves so dearly. He has certainly blessed ours. I encourage you to contact Asia’s Hope and see how your church can get involved today.

If you’re a pastor, and would like to contact Jeff and ask him about his partnership with Asia’s Hope, send him an email at jeff@centralvineyard.com and he’ll answer any questions you have.