ABOUT US
Mission
Children’s HopeChest believes that every orphan has the right to know God, experience the blessing of family, and have the opportunity to develop independent living skills.
History
Children’s HopeChest was founded in 1994 in response to the devastating need of orphans in Russia following the fall of the Iron Curtain. These children had serious basic needs – for clothing, food, medical and facilities – but more compelling was their need for love, human interaction and care, and future hope. In response, Children’s HopeChest developed a holistic approach which meets medical, physical, educational, emotional, and spiritual needs of orphaned children and youth, in fulfillment of our mission.
Strategy
Our unique model connects churches, organizations and passionate individuals with orphanages – and now orphan CarePoints – to provide consistent help, training, and discipleship. We have taken this successful model to serve orphans in Swaziland, and more recently in Ethiopia and Uganda. Children’s HopeChest now manages individual and church partnerships with over 70 locations worldwide and provides care to over 10,000 orphans.
Who We Partner With
We partner primarily with U.S. churches and Christian communities such as blogs, online groups, book clubs, and small groups. HopeChest believes in the power of one community of believers making a long-term, transformative impact on a community of orphans. Through our Connect Communities, we desire to forge new relationships amongst Christians who desire ministry opportunities with HopeChest, but lack a participating local community. HopeChest also welcomes the partnership of schools and businesses.
What We Believe
HopeChest was founded as and remains to this day an evangelical Christian organization. Our statement of faith affirms our core beliefs and doctrine. In practice, we believe strongly in putting faith into action as an expression of our faith in Jesus Christ. In the tradition of Matthew 25, we believe in demonstrating the power of the gospel by meeting earthly needs within a spiritual context and for an evangelical purpose. Our ministry is demonstrative, hands-on, and purposeful in our faith. We have been accused by some as too Christian, and by others as not Christian enough. It is our heart to incarnate the agape love of Jesus Christ to every orphan we minister to and, in doing so, bring them into wholeness in this world and eternal life for the world to come.
Governance and Financial Accountability
Children’s HopeChest is a member in good standing of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. In accordance with their standards and principles, we are governed by a nine-member board of directors. No staff members currently sit on the board. HopeChest’s board has the full fiduciary responsibility for the organization and takes active steps to safeguard our financial, spiritual, and programmatic integrity. Our current board members and their affiliations are posted here. Correspondence to the board may be addressed to our corporate office or sent to board@hopechest.org via e-mail. Each year, the board oversees our annual audit and preparation of our IRS Form-990 tax return. Those documents are posted online for your review as well.
Statement of Faith
The Bible, composed of the Old and New Testaments, is the Word of God, a divine, supernatural revelation.
There is one Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (1 Peter 1:2; Matthew 28:19). They are co-equal in power and glory, identical in their essential natures, attributes, and perfection, and are co-eternal (Genesis 1:2; John 17:5).
Jesus Christ "being the eternal son of God, became man" (John 1:14; Luke 1:35; Hebrews 2:17). Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, thus being True God and True Man.
Christ died upon the cross a vicarious substitutionary death, thereby making atonement for the sins of the world (John 1:29). He is the only Redeemer (Acts 4:12).
Christ arose from the dead. he ascended into Heaven. He is now the interceding High Priest, Intercessor, and Advocate for all believers (1 Corinthians 15:20; Hebrews 7:25).
Man, created in the image of God, fell into sin through the sin of the first Adam and thereby brought upon himself death, both physical and spiritual. All human beings share this guilt and inherit this sin-nature from the first Adam. In order to secure salvation and restoration, man must be born again. Salvation is by grace through faith in Christ "Who His own self bore our sins in His own body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24).
There is a personal devil, a being of great cunning who can exert vast power but only so far as God allows him to do so, and who shall ultimately be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone (1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 20:10; Ephesians 6:11).
The Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Godhead, indwells all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 6:19), baptizes them into the body of Christ, and seals them unto the day of redemption (Ephesians 1:13).
The Church is the body of Christ, a spiritual organism composed of all born-again persons in this present age. The primary mission of the Church is to witness concerning the Head, Jesus Christ, and to preach the gospel among all nations. The Church will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air prior to His appearing to set up His Kingdom (Ephesians 1:3-6, 22, 23).