Almost everyone loves a good cup of Joe. But not every coffee company promotes love with each bean. The Atlanta–based Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee (LTHC) is not just in the business of producing high-quality java, but also using their brew to bring justice in the name of Christ to Rwanda, where they grow their beans. 

“God calls us to engage the good news of the gospel through both word and deed,“ owner Jonathan Golden says. “Eighty percent of the coffee Christians drink at home and at church exploits the people who grow it. We should choose to brew a coffee that matches the message we preach.”

Through a partnership with farmers affected by the Rwandan genocide of 1994, LTHC participates in “community trade”—paying above-market wages to workers—in an industry where exploitation is common practice in certain places. They also provide microfinance loans to Rwandans, and they build sustenance farms for the region’s malnourished orphans. All their beans are grown 100 percent naturally. For this company, coffee isn’t just a drink, it’s a symbol of community, healing and justice.  read more

Many Christian groups make it their business to try to cure spiritual blindness. But Eyes of Faith Optical in West Middlesex, Pa., seeks to address spiritual blindness by helping people with their physical eyesight first. 

The organization is the first faith-based company to be members of the Opticians Association of America. But their greatest accolade as a company is that they have pledged 10 percent of their gross revenue to children’s charities. They have also partnered with Restoring
vision.com to give one pair of free reading glasses to faith-
oriented mission groups for every pair sold through their partners. 

“There are so many people in developing countries that can’t work or read because they simply can’t see,” says co-founder Jim Schneider. “We can change many lives by giving the gift of sight with Eyes of Faith.” 

Say What?!

 “This tattoo symbolizes my lifelong commitment to Christ and to give back to the community.”

—Kyle Steven Bonenberger, lead pastor of City Church in Anaheim, Calif., who was among six congregants to have variations of the City church logo tattooed on their arms, shoulders or feet to celebrate the church’s one-year anniversary. the tattoos are an outward statement of their ongoing commitment to their community and church, which has had hundreds of salvations its first year. read more

Just three years ago this month Brock Mealer was trapped under an SUV in a horrific accident that left him paralyzed and took the lives of his father, David, and brother’s girlfriend, Hollis. Doctors gave the then-23-year-old sports fanatic a 1 percent chance to ever walk again. But during the University of Michigan’s football season opener this fall, Mealer beat the odds by walking—assisted only by canes—onto the field to lead the team alongside his brothers Blake (left) and offensive lineman Elliott (right). Before almost 100,000 fans he attributed his miraculous recovery to God by wearing a Wolverines-colored T-shirt that read, “Glory to God. 1 % .”  read more

In China, nearly 72 million people are denied access to work, education and community, not because of race or gender but because of a disability. Many deaf Chinese turn to deaf-led gangs to find love and acceptance. But Hearts and Hands, a ministry based in Kunming, Yunnan, in southwest China, is working to be advocates for the deaf. Through the ministry the hearing-impaired learn Chinese sign language, as well as how to read, write and learn a trade. They also learn about Christ.

“The deaf Chinese are very open to the gospel because any disability is considered a curse,” says Jane Ramsey, a deaf American who taught English in China for 25 years and joined the ministry in 2004. read more

Tim Thompson should be dead, but God had other plans for him. At only age 6, Thompson almost drowned in a frozen lake. His brother did die—while saving him—and Thompson resented God after this experience.

Aching for his brother’s company, Thompson tried to communicate with him in the afterlife, and got an answer. “I heard a voice coming against God. It sounded like my brother’s voice. We were able to spend time together again,” Thompson says. read more

For millions of orphaned children in Africa, blankets do more than warm their bodies—they give them hope, reminding them that someone in the world cares for them. 

What makes Operation Kid-to-Kid’s “God Loves Me” program even more special is that both the donors and recipients of the blankets are children. “Children learn best by doing, and so this gives them a tangible way to express their love and God’s love to other children,” says spokeswoman Shannon Velasquez.  read more