www.christianaid.org

Christian Aid is a unique ministry that sends funding to indigenous ministries overseas, instead of supporting foreign missionaries to other countries.  Based in Charlottesville, Virginia, Dr. Bob Finley is the founder and chairman of Christian Aid 

Dr. Finley saw firsthand the way various Communist leaders in the Far East were reaching out to the people with their ideology. It was 1948 and Dr. Finley was in China, preaching the gospel to crowds in excess of 15,000, fulfilling the missionary desire the Lord had placed in his heart. But as the battle between the Communist and Nationalist forces for control of this strategic land raged, he saw something that truly made an impact on his life. Dr. Finley saw that the native Christian leaders of each country—believers who spoke the language, knew the customs, and lived with the people they were trying to reach—were completely capable of evangelizing the lost and taking the gospel to their corners of the earth. He returned to America, determined to arouse the churches about the need for reform in foreign missions. Citing Acts 2:5-11 and 8:1-4, he said the best way to plant a Christian witness in closed countries was to reach people from foreign lands when they were away from home, then, when they return to serve Christ in their homelands, we must get behind them with financial assistance 

This ministry has a unique approach that makes funding go much further in the Great Commission. For example, $60,000 per year can support an American missionary family of four living in India, this same amount can provide support for 50 native Indian missionaries.  With relatively minimal support, native missionaries can immediately begin to evangelize their own countries, without the delay of language and cultural training. 

Are you interested in spreading the gospel to the nations? Are you up to the challenge of helping fulfill the great Commission? Then visit this ministry at www.christianaid.org to learn more.

Article Copyright 2004 by Michelle Blackmon