I would miss my El Salvadorian Daughter…
My Wife and I have been avid supporters of World Vision in the past.
In fact we raised our first daughter – Rose – from El Salvador, through Word Vision. We have lost contact with Rose over the years, as she is grown and likely has a husband and kids of her own now, but through World vision we watched her grow from a child to an adult. I often wonder what happened to Rose. I know that God has worked his will in her life. And it was World Vision that gave us our first child. You see, we thought we couldn’t have kids, and as staunchly reformed evangelicals we looked for a good Christian charity to support. We found World Vision, and our “daughter” Rose. We loved to send her gifts and we would treasure the letters she sent to us. I still have a drawing she made for us.
But now I fear for Rose.
No, our Rose is grown and has made a life for herself. I don’t fear for “our” Rose, per se, but I fear for the Roses that are coming, that are here now. The orphaned children of third world nations that will be affected by World Vision’s decision on same sex marriage. You can believe what you want about that issue, but I tell you the truth. Bible believing Evangelicals and Reformed Christians are going to look elsewhere to support the world’s children. I fear for the Roses of the world – those that are supported by world vision… Will they find their Canadian parents? Will they find their sponsors now? I believe in the sovereignty of God, so of course I do. But World Vision has taken the step on the slippery slope of sin and evangelical Christians are not going to support it. And Evangelical Christians are the main supporters of World Vision.
I would miss my El Salvadorian Daughter……if World Vision made this decision 15 years ago.
Update, March 27, 2014: Al Mohler, president of the The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary wrote a very good article in response to the decision of World Vision to permit same sex marriages among their staff members. His concluding paragraph was, “The shift announced yesterday by World Vision points to disaster. We can only pray that there is yet time for World Vision to rethink this matter, correct their course, stand without compromise on the authority of Scripture, and point the way for evangelical Christians to follow once again.”
I am happy to update you that the President of World Vision U.S. announced on March 26, 2014, that the Board of Directors has reversed its decision and would return to its previous policy that affirms sexual abstinence for all unmarried employees and defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman. There is much to praise God for here, it is very rare for an organization, or church, once they have stepped on the slippery slope of liberalism, that they regain their footing and get back up on solid ground. This shows God’s providence, yet it also shows that WV is walking the line between mainstream and conservative Christianity. Mohler states the reason for this is because, “Employees within the organization represent more than 50 denominations, including at least some that affirm homosexuality, same-sex marriage, and openly gay ministers. These include the Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the United Church of Christ.” I am happy that they have chosen to stand on the Bible on this issue, however I wonder if this is the last we’ll hear about this.
I’m sorry to hear this about World Vision, and I do hope that the financial hit they take from Christians taking their charity elsewhere causes them to re-think their decision. I used to sponsor a girl through Compassion, although that was a number of years ago now, so I’m not aware if they’ve made similar sorts of decisions. If not, perhaps they’ll see a boost in support.
Also, thanks for re-blogging my last post. I enjoyed quite the surge in visitors!
Jeremy
In the past few years World Vision has become much more aggressive in their tactics to gain new sponsors…to the point of attacking your character if you defer or decide not to participate. I have written to them about my concerns and choose not to support them based on their marketing tactics. I see now, I have another reason to put my money elsewhere!
It should be noted that they did, in fact, reverse this decision.
It looks like Jeremy is right, and World Vision is reversing its decision: http://www.worldmag.com/2014/03/world_vision_reportedly_reverses_decision#.UzNaglGq1l0.facebook
Ever wonder how much of your donations are going to administration, advertising, salaries? Here is a link with a wealth of information so you can make an informed decision before donating to any charity:
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/chrts-gvng/lstngs/menu-eng.html
World Vision, does a lot of advertising to get people to donate. We were absolutely shocked at the salaries of those in management with this organization. We’re thankful that detailed information is made available – all one has to do is a little searching via that website.
That’s true – some of the salaries for people who work for these charities is disturbing. I knew some people close to the leadership of Samaritan’s Purse, and they talked about the crazy salaries that the leaders of the organization were bringing in – it makes me wonder how many $50 donations from faithful old pensioners are swallowed up unnecessarily by overhead.
Here’s an interesting list: http://www.charitywatch.org/hottopics/Top25.html