Faith & Church

Our faith in Jesus Christ is core to who we are. As an expression of God’s unconditional love for all people, especially vulnerable children, we serve alongside the poor and oppressed. We hope to live as followers of Christ by being active, visible bearers of God’s love.

Relying on God’s grace and Spirit, we affirm the truth of the gospel and our hope in Christ through our character, speech, actions, and in the signs of God’s power at work in individual lives, in the communities where we work, and in all creation.

We partner with local churches, helping to strengthen local leadership and equipping them with resources and training to carry out our shared mission among the poor and oppressed. Our commitment is that when World Vision leaves communities, there will be thriving, engaged churches for sustained spiritual and physical transformation.

World Vision is an expression of the Church on special assignment to care for those who are poor and oppressed. Churches are our indispensable partners in God’s mission. We support, but are not a substitute for, the local church.

We are privileged to be welcomed into many communities where Christianity is a minority faith — or barely present at all. This gives us great opportunities to serve in the name of Christ where He is not known, and to bring credibility to the gospel where it is disregarded or disrespected.

Our calling is to serve those living in poverty, even where cultural, religious, or legal constraints are placed on the expression of Christian faith. We choose to serve wholeheartedly in these places, because the alternative — allowing children to suffer needlessly from hunger, poverty, and disease — is unacceptable. Jesus’ call took Him to the poor; we follow His example.

In our work among people of other world religions, we value our common humanity and common desire to care for and protect vulnerable children. By developing relationships with people of other faiths, we have found that suspicion, mistrust, and fear are replaced with trust, friendship, and mutual support.

We serve all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. We do not proselytize, and we pledge never to exploit vulnerability to obtain a profession of faith. We do not feed the hungry as a means to an end. We feed the hungry because God cares about people who are hungry, and He wants them to be fed (Psalm 145:13-17).

Insisting that people hear a certain message or affirm a specific belief as a prerequisite to receiving our assistance violates codes of conduct established for disaster, relief, and humanitarian groups of which we are a member. However, our hope is that our work and lives would contribute to people becoming followers of Christ.

In all ways appropriate for a local context, we seek to witness to Christ — through our deeds of love and mercy, the character and conduct of our staff, and through our words of testimony. As we demonstrate the unconditional love of God to others, we are ready to give the reason for the hope within us, but expect people to evaluate the truth of our message by our actions.

God created men and women in His image, giving each of us a free will. Therefore, we respect individuals — including their culture, faith, and beliefs. We respect the dignity and the right of all people to maintain and change their religious beliefs. We seek in every instance to be faithful ambassadors of the good news of Jesus through our actions (2 Corinthians 5:20) and hope that our lives will reflect God’s generous love for people, ultimately bringing glory and praise to Him.