Our Vision
The Short Answer
To help broken people move toward health and wholeness in their:
- Relationship with God
- Self-image
- Mental health
- Relationships with others
- Physical health
- Self-reliance
- Care of their environment
The Longer Answer
The best way to describe what we intend to achieve through our organization is “Shalom.” It is an Old Testament word that is often translated as “peace.” To the Western mind, we think of peace as synonymous with a lack of conflict. But that understanding falls short of the Biblical meaning of shalom.
Shalom means, “Completeness” or “Wholeness.” It can be used to describe the process of restoring something that is broken or bringing order out of disorder. Restoring balance. It is a place of health.
Shalom is what we desire, not only for ourselves but for those whom we serve. It can be applied to all areas of our lives: our relationships with God, others, and ourselves. To our physical and mental health. Our finances and self-reliance. And our environment.
We recognize that having shalom in these various areas of our lives begins with having shalom with our Creator and Heavenly Father. We are all broken in some way. Some of us have been hurt and damaged by people who chose to exploit, neglect, or exclude us when we were powerless to protect ourselves. Some of us made a rash decision to say or do something that had lasting, negative consequences, and we can’t take it back. For others, we found ourselves overwhelmed by impossible circumstances, and we broke under the pressure. And all of us tend to be selfish, and we harm those around us because we think of ourselves first.
Whatever the reasons, we all desperately need to be restored by our Heavenly Father. Without his restoration, we remain broken. And our world becomes lonely and dark as we struggle to find unconditional love and acceptance from people who, just like us, are broken and in need of his restoration.
Only when we allow God to heal our brokenness, only then will we have the capacity and ability to shift our focus from ourselves to those around us. When we personally experience God’s love and forgiveness, we begin to heal and become whole. The more we allow God to work in us, the more we reflect his character of love and forgiveness to those around us who are broken and hurting. This is the process by which God brings about shalom in all areas of our lives, as well as the world at large.
Shalom is what we desire for all humanity.