Since that very first meeting on the Baart’s patio in July of 2007, One Body One Hope has continued to evolve in ways that we could have never predicted. The child sponsorship program has doubled in size, Emmanuel continues to plant churches all over Liberia, and our supporters literally stretch around the globe--from the US and Canada to Australia, Laos, Spain, and beyond. As OBOH has matured and transformed, we’ve had our share of growing pains. But we’ve also experienced God’s faithfulness in surprising and wonderful ways.

One of the ways that we have experienced the Lord’s provision in the last year is in the addition of Ministry Teams. Our board spent nearly eighteen months vision-casting, planning, and praying over this next chapter in our history, and in September of 2013 we were blessed to finally launch the three separate teams that will help coordinate our ministry efforts. Each team consists of passionate, gifted people who are dedicated to helping us fulfill our goal of assisting our Liberian friends as we together continue to redevelop their communities and country through relationship. We couldn’t be more pleased with how things are going, and even as we work through the inevitable hiccups that have accompanied this shift, we consider ourselves blessed beyond measure to be working with these amazing people!

We’d like to introduce you to our Ministry Teams!

CAT (Christ Our Hope and Vine School System of Christ) Team

The CAT Team oversees the orphanage and school on the grounds of the Dumbar Farm Abide in the Vine Disciples’ Church campus. They coordinate the sponsorship programs, financial assistance, medical needs, the school, and groundskeeping/facility management. The team consists of: Brent De Jong (board member and co-chair), Julie Bajema (board member and co-chair), Katie Nice, Gina De Boer, Bethany Van Raalte, Evan De Groot, and Brian Van Der Vliet. The CAT Team is still looking for someone to fill the Transitions role, a very important position that will consider different ways to help the children at Christ Our Hope transition out of the orphanage and into adult life. If you’re interested in hearing more, please contact Julie Bajema at juliemvr@hotmail.com.

Prayer Team

We willingly acknowledge that our ministry is nothing without the support of our prayer warriors! We are so grateful to the prayer team for intentionally meeting and lifting up the needs of OBOH in prayer. In addition to meeting once a month, the team sends out weekly texts and email reminders of prayer requests and day-to-day needs. The prayer team consists of: Grant De Vries (board member and chair), Jana Van Der Vliet, Carla VandeZandschulp, Ryan De Kruyf, Matt Barbee, and Sita Riblet. The prayer team is looking for additional members! If you’d be interested in supporting our ministry in this way, please contact Grant De Vries at: grantdv@peoples-ebank.com

Media & Communications Team

The M&C team heads up all the public communication components of One Body One Hope. Blog, social media, website, mailings, newsletters, and more are handled by this group of designers, writers, and organizers. They are passionate about telling the story of OBOH and are trying to uncover the best way to communicate that vital information. The team consists of: Nicole Baart (board member and chair), Bekah Van Maanen, Megan Moeller, Todd Montsma, and Kate Brauning.