Ideas Can’t Change the World… (Part 3)

This is part three is series about how to turn ideas into reality. Simply put, we do need great ideas, but those ideas must be paired with action to create change. Part one was about assessing a need and how to best meet it. Part two was about the importance of clarifying your mission and vision.

People matter! It is no secret that it takes great people to carry out any great idea. Once you’ve got clarity on your mission and vision, you need to build a team around you to carry it out. For most non-profit ventures, the building of a team starts with creating a board of directors. The reason is because you must declare at least three board members when becoming incorporated by your state or becoming tax exempt by the IRS. Also, for most non-profit startups, the board is going to do the work that hired staff members would do in for-profit venture.

I am forever grateful for the people who agreed to serve on my board at the start of CARE for AIDS. They were wise counselors, incredible prayer partners, and hard workers for the ministry. But, at the end of the day, all of them would have simply volunteered that help if their board spot could have been more strategically filled with someone with a higher capacity to give to the ministry. It has been an ongoing process to raise the bar and set higher expectations for our directors. Instead of filling spots with close friends or mentors who believe in me personally, I am looking for people who believe in CARE for AIDS so much that they are willing to put their resources and reputation on the line to see that the vision is carried out.

It has been interesting to hear the different philosophies on how to build and manage a successful board. If I had to boil it down, I really think there are really only two legitimate reasons to select someone to serve on a board of directors:

1. They can help fundraise. Whether it is through their own personal giving or the access to other funding sources, the person can help in securing the resources the organization needs. I was in denial about this for a while and refused to staff my board in such a way to help raise money. I felt as if it was my responsibility to raise money as the Executive Director while reserving them for higher level strategy decisions. I was naive to think that I did not need their help fundraising. If your board truly does believe in the cause, they need to be giving generously themselves and challenging others to do the same.

2. They provide a specific skill or expertise that the organization needs. This doesn’t mean that you select someone who has been to Africa one time before, so they are qualified to speak with authority on African culture. This is in reference to professional skills that would cost the organization significant money. For example, you may bring on a lawyer who can provide free legal counsel to the ministry and help in the IRS filing process. You might select an accountant who can provide financial services, help setup your systems, and file your tax returns.

In the process of staffing your board, don’t confuse a great volunteer or great mentor with a great board member. People will still give of their time and counsel without having a director position. Take the time to get the right people around you on your board. It will make your life so much easier and the organization will be stronger for it.

Have you served on a board before? What was required or expected of you? 

Letters of Encouragement

I believe that encouragement can be powerful and life changing. I have personally seen encouragement change the lives of CFA clients all over Kenya, clients who have lost hope and given up on life. Many Kenyans who have HIV have become isolated, lonely and outcast because of the stigma. Often friends and loved ones will leave when they find out that someone is HIV-positive. But there is hope for men and women with HIV. That hope often comes in the form of encouragement.

The Bible says in Isaiah 1:17, “Learn to do right. Seek justice, encourage the oppressed.” Encouragement is exactly what a group of young adults from Atlanta in the Cornerstone group wanted to do. They wrote individual letters to CFA clients in Kenya while Duncan and Cornel were in America last Fall. Some of the letters had scripture verses and some had personal messages of hope. Each letter was hand written with the love of Christ. These letters were brought over to Kenya, distributed among centers and handed out personally by staff. I witnessed several clients receiving and reading these cards and I can tell you that these letters had an incredible impact on those that received them. The clients were amazed to know that people were thinking and praying for them all the way back in America. Many could not believe that people on the other side of the world would want to communicate, think and even pray for them. For some, it was proof of God’s love.

In this video, you can hear some of the stories of individual clients, see a few of the families who were touched by the cards, and get an idea of the profound impact a few words of encouragement can make:

These are just a few testimonies of those who received cards. There were many more lives that were impacted and challenged to continue living life and seeking God. So for those of you who may be reading this and wondering what small thing you can do, let me tell you there is power in encouragement.

You can also see the video on our YouTube channel here

Seeing and Doing – Guest Post

The following is a guest post from Brooke Marsh of Brainerd Baptist Church in Chattanooga.  Brooke just returned last week from a trip to Kenya…

Have you ever eaten a yummy mash of potatoes, greens, corn, and onions grilled over a charcoal outdoor oven? Or helped peel potatoes, carrots and cut cabbage in a small, wooden home? Have you ever gotten to pray with someone exactly your age who is HIV+ and has left an abusive husband?  Have you ever met a woman who has lost her husband, lost a daughter to drowning, and has another daughter who has AIDS, and yet seen the joy of the Lord shining from her face and heard words of blessing and praise coming from her soft-spoken voice?

We did! A team from our church, Brainerd Baptist Church, just returned from a trip to Nairobi and Kisumu, Kenya with CARE for AIDS.  Our team included Chuck & Terri Bateman, Ashley Humble, Angie Albee, my 13-year-old daughter Heather Marsh, and me (Brooke Marsh).  We were privileged to be led by Duncan Kimani, Cornel Onyango, and Caleb Davison in an immersive tour of the work of CARE for AIDS in Kenya.  We emerged on the other end of our trip very impressed with the philosophy and implementation of the vision of CFA.

We got to see firsthand that CARE for AIDS partners closely with the local church to offer a center.  This center employs a Kenyan spiritual counselor and a medical counselor to guide clients who are HIV+ through a 9-month program of education and care.  In addition to learning how to take care of themselves physically, the clients are discipled spiritually. They are also “empowered” by seminars on how to start a business, farm, raise animals, and many other things that could help them take care of themselves and their families.

We saw that CFA (CARE for AIDS) is all about restoring relationships and community. When a client is diagnosed as “Positive”, they are rejected by their community, their family, and often lose their job as well.  Upon receiving the diagnosis, they are inclined to just curl up and wait to die.  CFA lets them know that there is hope – they can become healthier, grow in the Lord, have a meaningful work and life, raise their children, and restore the relationships with their family and community.  These lives are transformed by this program and the hope that it offers them.

We were so blessed by being able to go with the counselors to several homes.  We were welcomed into these clients’ homes and prayed with them.  We also visited several centers to see the work of counseling in action.  We got to pray with these precious people and surely we knew that the presence of the Lord was in that place!

We attended a graduation and saw the final product of 9 months of counseling and training. We saw graduates who were no longer afraid to admit that they were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and who were alive again, active in their families and communities, and ready to share the good news of their transformation (physically and spiritually) with others.

We got to share words of encouragement with the counselors and pastors who spend their days pouring out into the lives of the clients.  We encouraged them to sit at the feet of Jesus and drink of His Word and presence so that they will be full of Jesus and have something to continue to pour out into the lives of others.

My daughter and I departed from the group for a few days to visit family at Rift Valley Academy in Kijabe, Kenya (an awesome ministry too) so the rest of the team will have to share about the amazing work in Kisumu.

As in so many trips where you go to serve others, we received blessings that seemed so far above what we were able to give.  My daughter, Heather, got a glimpse of the world of poverty and suffering beyond what she had ever seen, but we still got to see the joy of Christ in the lives of these people and the hope that they were receiving from the CARE for AIDS program.  We are so thankful to have been able to go!