Be an Ambassador for World Renew

If you have a heart for the poor, are passionate about helping others through acts of justice and mercy, and are an active member of your church, then World Renew has a great opportunity for you.

Earlier this month, World Renew launched its new and improved Ambassador program. The program is made up of men and women of varying ages in churches across the United States and Canada who have a heart for serving those in need.

Formerly known as World Renew “Champions”, these Ambassadors are equipped with information and resources about World Renew’s latest programs and agree to highlight these efforts within their congregation for prayer support and involvement.

“I feel in my heart that God gave me the gift of encouragement,” explained Carilyn Philbrook, a World Renew Ambassador at Trinity Christian Reformed Church in Richfield Springs, New York. 

“As an Ambassador I can encourage others to seek to serve God in more personal ways. I love to share World Renew’s news with my church family. Then, I leave all my heartfelt efforts and the results with God and He blesses all of my church family, as a result.”

Kellie Scholma, a World Renew Ambassador at Cottonwood Church in Jenison, Mich. agrees. “I know it takes a personal voice to encourage others to be involved in any ministry. I am glad that I can help everyone in our congregation, of all ages, understand more about justice and mercy. And that the ministry of World Renew can be trusted and supported, through financial gifts and by volunteering,” she said.

The Ambassador’s role can include posting news items in church newsletters, passing educational materials on to Sunday school coordinators or reminding deacons of upcoming offering dates.

"Being an Ambassador for World Renew doesn't necessarily take a lot of extra work," said Henrietta Hunse, the Ambassador in Covenant CRC in St. Catharines, Ontario.

"The deacons in my church have a long-standing history of being supporters of World Renew, and our administrative assistant is excellent about using resources that go into mail-slots or bulletins.

“My role as ambassador is primarily to give an extra nudge to the Sunday School coordinators or Worship planners when World Renew produces new resources that they might find helpful."

At the same time, Ambassadors are also free to be as creative about their World Renew promotion as they want to be.

Rachel Brink, an Ambassador in Holland, Mich., for example, encourages her church to make use of the annual gift catalog with their Sunday School, to support a World Renew staff member, and to participate in World Renew Disaster Response Services work teams.

“I do my best to keep World Renew in front of our congregation in a variety of ways,” she said. “I love it when other people catch the vision and get excited about what World Renew is doing. I know that God is using World Renew to transform lives and communities, and I feel privileged to play a small part in that work.”

Equipping churches to be part of World Renew’s ministry is hardly something new. World Renew began as an outreach of the church, enabling people in the pews to pool their resources in order to respond to poverty and disaster more than 50 years ago.

Today, that outreach continues with prayers, volunteers and financial gifts from churches supporting the vast array of World Renew programs.

“Churches in North America and around the world are foundational to what World Renew is all about,” explained Peter Bulthuis, World Renew’s associate director for church relations. 

“The Ambassador program builds off that firm foundation, and helps to keep churches and church members at the heart of what World Renew is doing.”

To keep people from becoming burnt-out, World Renew suggests that Ambassadors sign-up for a three year term. 

During that time, they can take advantage of a special “Ambassadors tour” to visit World Renew projects, are also asked to highlight two or three World Renew campaigns in their church each year.

At the end of their service, the Ambassadors can decide if they want to recommit for another three years or can suggest someone else to serve in their congregation. 

World Renew currently has over 50 Ambassadors in the US and Canada. To find out if there is a need for an Ambassador in your community, or to learn more about this opportunity, please contact Maria Oliveira in Canada or Renate Smits in the United States.