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of global population lives below the international

poverty line

billion people lack improved sanitation

global vulnerable

employment

children die daily from poverty rated issues

Shortly after the fall of communism in Romania, images of children living in the deplorable condi-

tions of state orphanages began to flood news agencies around the world. The extreme conditions

of these children tethered to their cribs and lying in their own urine captured the heart of the West

like nothing before. Obviously handicapped children were simply cast aside often without experienc-

ing the touch of another human being. You could see in these small children’s faces the yearning

for a simple touch or acknowledgment that they existed. The plight of these children caused many

to rush to their aid.

In 1991 when I lived in Craiova, Romania I was invited by World Vision to visit one of the local

state orphanages. I took along with me a group of Romanians from our church to see the conditions

of these orphans, many of whom were brought by their parents because they could not afford to

care for them. I can remember thinking as we entered the building and smelling the stench of urine

that no one should have to live in such conditions. In spite of the new found freedom in the country,

many of the children continued to live in the same conditions as before.

We walked through the orphanage and child after child stood in their crib with outstretched arms

longing for attention. Others were curled up in a fetal position devoid of any emotion at all. The

clearly handicapped were tethered to the side of their soiled beds in fear that they would somehow

climb out. Occasionally we would hear the screaming of a nurse yelling at a child who could not

even understand what precipitated the anger. While we never saw children getting hit, the verbal

and emotional abuse was obvious.

in economic, social, environmental and spiritual good

Some of the cutest children I had ever seen stood before me and I could hardly contain my emo-

tions. I remember the pain I felt in my heart as I thought to myself that I couldn’t take seeing these

children in this condition. The emotional pain was so great that it was all I could do to suppress it

and stoically move from room to room until we left the orphanage. I vowed to myself that I would

never go into another orphanage because I simply could not take feeling like my stomach was about

to split when looking at the plight of those innocent children.

Our church in Craiova, however, became extremely involved. The young people began to visit

the orphanage on a weekly, if not daily, basis and they played with the children, held them and cared

for them. They gave them the human touch that so many had never experienced and it was life

changing as much for the young people as it was for the orphans. One of our church members

eventually went to work for World Vision and cared for the children as if they were his own. On

many occasions, he was instrumental in connecting an orphan with an adoptive parent and contin-

ued those relationships for years to come.

Admittedly, there was a sense of pride that I found in the fact that I was able to get our church

involve in the plight of these children. By passing the responsibility on to someone else I could go

about guarding my emotions and focusing on the spiritual aspects of why I was in Romania in the

first place. Over the years, however, I have learned that simply ignoring problems of social concern

does not make them go away. In fact, I have learned that there is great danger to my own Christian

life if I do not directly address such issues. In a very real sense, I have been on a twenty-year jour-

ney to learn about Christian social responsibility.

years combined experience in

cultural engagement

The formation of the Timothy Center for Sustainable Transformation is the culmination of years

of understanding not only the plight of the marginalized, but also the Christian responsibility for being

involved in raising the dignity and quality of life of those who are created in the image of God. That

responsibility begins with an awareness of social issues, it is held accountable to the whole gospel

and it acts as Jesus acted. We understand that our love for God and neighbor (Matt 22.36-40) and

desire to make disciples of all nations (Matt 28.18-20) act as book ends to a Christian faith that con-

siders the least of these (Matt 25.33-40).

When Jesus taught is disciple to care for the marginalized he communicated in such a manner

that he clearly identified himself with their conditions. In fact, he taught that the acts of kindness to-

ward these brothers and sister were indeed acts toward him leaving us the understanding that there

is something of Jesus in the marginalized. The concern for the least of these in Matthew 25 reminds

us that not only are Christians created in the image of God, but the marginalized are also co-image

bearers.

I look back now on my ten years in Romania and realize that the orphan I passed by, or the child

on the street begging for money, even the parent who was homeless, all bore the image of God. I

did not have the luxury simply to walk by and ignore my fellow co-image bearer, but I did. It has

been a difficult lesson that challenges me as we continue our work in Haiti, Nicaragua and Pine

Ridge Indian Reservations, three of the poorest regions of the Western Hemisphere. The Timothy

Center will not ignore the plight of the least of these and we hope that you will join us in making a

difference in the lives of people.

on identifying, training and developing entrepreneurial talent around the world

in the language of international business

ventures in South and Central America, the Caribbean, Central Europe and the United States

Our name reflects who we are. Timothy was the long time co-worker of the Apostle Paul who co-

authored many of the New Testament letters and travelled the Roman world establishing communi-

ties of Christ-followers while teaching them Christian social responsibility. Timothy exemplifies what

we mean by a social innovator. He equipped people to care for others, especially the vulnerable and

dispossessed. He taught the wealthy to seek their significance in doing good, not in collecting the

world's goods, which leads to ruin. He taught everyone to work diligently and honorably, with love

and humility and so to imitate Christ. He knew that wrangling about silly issues was not conducive to

social engagement. Instead, he encouraged and inspired people to be like Christ and it ultimately

cost him his life.

Christian in our practice

precedes every strategy and every creative direction

find us at www.thetimothycenter.org

hope for the marginalized . . .

business solutions for social innovation . . .

the quality of life for the impoverished . . .

in the human bottom line . . .