Rich Kao

Dr. Raymond Benson, Founder of Medical Ambassadors International (1980), now called Lifewind, had a dream to minister to the spiritual and physical needs of the poorest of the poor through medical clinics and evangelism.  Dr. Benson's founding philosophy was fivefold:

• The Gospel is first.
• The ministry is directed and performed by nationals.
• The integrated ministry of caring and sharing go hand in hand.
• Dr. Benson said, "We are to help people develop themselves; we are not there to impose our Western ways."
• Fundraising is done best by sharing compassionate human-interest stories of service and need. The Holy Spirit makes the "ask."

These are great principles to follow in planting churches among the unreached people groups of the world.  It's a holistic approach that is gospel-centered, visible, and transferable.

At 5 Stones Church, we are laying the foundations for a church planting arm called Canada Aid & Advancement (CAA).  The idea is to plant churches through the use of humanitarian aid platforms, or more specifically Community Development Tools.  In this clip, you'll see the 8 principles of Community Development pioneered by Lifewind which is based on a biblical, Christ-centered world view.  These strategies have already been used in nations all over the world in planting churches.

In this interview, Dan talks about things I've been saying for several years regarding non-profits, except with much more eloquence, -- how to view them, how they should operate, and how donors need to change their mindset. (Only quible: not sure his analysis of Puritans and Calvinism is accurate).  His articles over at Harvard Business are excellent.

Dr. Ralph Winter passed away last week at the age of 84.  He was truly a missionary giant and strategist, and I / we are living downstream from how God used Dr. Winter to deepen, expand and at times detonate new activities of the Great Commission.    For those that have never heard or know of Dr. Winter, take a moment to watch this tribute to him.

Ralph D. Winter Tribute from U.S. Center for World Mission on Vimeo.