Our Christian Identity

Faith, hope and love drive everything we do to make change in the world.

All of us here at World Vision are connected in our desire to seek justice and to overcome poverty for all children, everywhere.

A story of faith: Jesus was known for spending time with those on the fringes of society, always seeing potential for change and transformation where others could not. His example motivates us to live and love at the edges and to find potential for transformation in the toughest situations.

A story of hope: Jesus presented a radically different view of how life, relationships and society could be. He said he came so that everyone might have a full life. This gives us a glimpse of how things could be and motivates us to work for justice for all. 

A story of love: We believe that love has the power to overcome all. The unconditional love Jesus demonstrated for the sick and the hungry, for children and widows, for prostitutes and foreigners, for friend and even for foe, sets the standard we aspire to today. Love drives us to serve all people in need today, regardless of race, gender, age, location, religion or social status.

FAQs

World Vision is a Christian organisation whose mission is to work with the poor and oppressed, to promote human development. Because our mission is to help the poorest of the poor we do not make a distinction between faiths. We help based on need, not faith or geography.

We pursue our mission through an integrated, holistic commitment to:

•    Transformational development that is community-based and sustainable, focused especially on the needs of       children
•    Emergency relief that assists people afflicted by conflict or disaster
•    Promotion of justice that seeks to change unjust structures affecting the poor among whom we work
•    Public awareness that leads to informed understanding, giving, involvement and prayer
•    Witness to Jesus Christ by life, deed, word and sign that encourages people to respond to the Gospel

World Vision believes that all people of faith should be able to worship in peace and security, and calls on all governments to protect their faith communities. We call on people of all faiths to rise above indifference, prejudice and hate. And we pray that, in solidarity, people will come to the aid of all innocent victims of abuse, war, hunger, disaster, terrorism, and disease.
World Vision affirms and defends the right of all Christian and faith-based organisations, including our own staff and World Vision itself, to witness through their lives, words and deeds.

Witness is not, however, the same thing as proselytism. World Vision defines proselytism as the use of aid as an inducement or source of coercion for religious conversion. World Vision believes that nobody should be coerced or manipulated into converting to Christianity – accepting Christ must be a free decision based on consideration and judgment. World Vision condemns proselytism and does not tolerate its practice by staff.

Christian witness is an essential and integral part of the mission of World Vision. Christian witness should never involve the use of pressure or inducement but equally it is unethical and inappropriate to hide that Christian teaching is the underlying motive for all of World Vision's work.
In some projects we co-operate with local church leadership. This must be appropriate in the context of the programme. The families in these communities are given an opportunity for Christian education appropriate to their own culture but it's their choice to participate.