Biblical Worldview in Public Organizations
YMCA
In 1844, the YMCA which originally stood for Young Men’s Christian Association was founded in London, England by George Williams. He was a young man who was one of many who left the farm to find work in the city. At age 22 he and 11 friends organized the first YMCA as a place for Bible study and prayer for young men who wanted to get away from life on the streets. Later, Thomas Valentine Sullivan, a marine missionary, noticed a need to create a safe place for sailors and merchants like the Y. Using the same model as in England he started the first U.S. YMCA at the Old South Church in Boston on December 29, 1851.
The Y is for everyone, but especially children and teens in more than 10,000 neighborhoods across the U.S. This is the country’s leading nonprofit committed to helping communities to learn, grow and thrive for social change and personal growth. It is funded by partners and donors from many organizations and foundations such as AARP, Bank of America Charity Foundation, CVS, Livestrong, Howard Johnson, JC Penny Foundation, Walmart Foundation, and Wells Fargo just to name a few.
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As for a Biblical Worldview, I would say that they started that way, and still strive to meet the needs of neighborhoods and keep kids out of trouble, but I would not say it was a Biblical Worldview. It is more of a humanistic worldview because the focus is not God anymore, just the people. Their statement says, “Together we work to ensure that everyone, regardless of ability, age, cultural background, ethnicity, faith, gender, gender identity, ideology, income, national origin, race, or sexual orientation has the opportunity to reach their full potential with dignity. Our core values are caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility.”
Goodwill
Goodwill is a non-profit organization that was founded in the late 1800s in Boston by Edgar J. Helms, a Methodist minister, and social reformer. He came up with the Goodwill philosophy of “a hand up, not a hand-out” because he collected used household items and clothes from rich people and then hired other people to clean them and fix them up. The items were sold or given to the people who repaired them. Goodwill has continued for over 115 years as a provider of educational and workforce-related services for all people.
Goodwill does more than sell old clothes. It helps with financial literacy, non-traditional people who want to go back to school, construction programs, helps kids go to college, and even created a training facility for CVS. It has partners all over the world in 12 countries besides the US and Canada. People can donate or partner with sponsorships, exhibitors, or vendors. Partners include Walmart, Accenture, Bank of America, Intercontinental Hotel Groups, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
It is hard to tell from the website if this organization has a Biblical Worldview. However, it does serve billions of people and serves the community.
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army was founded in 1878 by William Booth. He believed that ministry was outside of the church where the people who needed to be saved were, so he left the traditional church and went to the streets to get criminals and prostitutes, thieves, and drunks saved. He called what he was doing “The Salvation Army” after he read a brochure about the Christian mission.
Today the Salvation Army serves all people and over 25 million people annually all over the world (130 countries). They seek to meet human needs without discrimination.
The Salvation Army seems to have a Biblical Worldview because the mission statement says that it is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church based on the Bible and is motivated by the love of God. The mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.
Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity was founded in 1976 by Linda and Millard Fuller who came up with the concept of working with volunteers to build affordable homes for those who needed them. The homes were built with no profit and no interest loans for the owners. The mission of Habitat for Humanity is to create a world with decent homes and it seeks to show the love of God practically by bringing people together to build homes, communities, and hope. Habitat for Humanity serves people from all communities, and all over the world, to help them build or improve a place they can call home. These homeowners help build their own homes with volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage. One thing is that Habitat for Humanity does not make it a condition to be a Christian in order to receive help.
Today Habitat for Humanity is in all 50 states, and 70 countries, and serves millions of people. This organization is funded by state-supported organizations for several states of which North Carolina is one. There are also ways for donors to give by one-time giving, monthly partnering, stock donations, in-kind funds, goods, cars, or other things needed to help build a home. They have a Biblical Worldview because the mission is to show the love of Christ in a practical way. Also, they are not trying to convert people, but just want to help them.
References
- Goodwill. (2019). Retrieved from: https://www.goodwill.org/
- Habitat for Humanity, (2019). Retrieved from: https://www.habitat.org/
- Salvation Army. (2019). Retrieved from: https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/
- YMCA. (2019). Retrieved from: https://www.ymca.net/
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