[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_custom_heading text=”By Rebecca Horgan” font_container=”tag:h6|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1600971068306{margin-bottom: 22px !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”118480″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]10/15/2020 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) – In response to major incidents of persecution or widespread discrimination, we sometimes must shift our attention toward the community’s well-being, rather than focusing on specific individuals. For example, rather than providing a family with a food package, we step in to provide the community with a farm. Through ICC’s Restore: Lives and Communities fund, we come alongside communities that have been struck down, in order to help them get back on their feet.
When ISIS was defeated a few years ago, it was clear that communities throughout the Middle East would need assistance rebuilding the infrastructure that once held them together. We knew that, in order for Christians to feel safe returning, they would need to be able to access life’s basic necessities.
Therefore, one of our major initiatives in recent years has involved building wells throughout Iraq. In many parts of the country, access to clean water is either non-existent or unreliable. These wells, which are often located in community hubs such as schools, provide residents with reliable clean water to use for drinking, cooking, and cleaning.
Most recently, ICC utilized the Restore: Lives and Communities fund to support believers who were knocked down by COVID-19 and the resulting lockdowns. One group that we came alongside during this difficult time was church planters in India. Because of the lockdowns, these ministry leaders were cut off from the financial support of their congregations. As a result, they had a difficult time putting food on the table.
Therefore, ICC stepped in to provide hundreds of these church leaders and their families with food packages to sustain them while money is tight. One pastor expressed, “We are badly affected by the crises, but we are very encouraged spiritually while receiving the food package for God’s people, how God can open the doors for his servants. We learned to trust God more, and we have seen God’s faithfulness to His servants.”
If you would like to donate to support Christian communities in need or learn more about ICC’s Restore fund, please visit www.persecution.org or give us a call at 1-800-ICC-5441.
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