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In order to ensure that it delivers a clear, consistent message, Bread for the World has developed printed norms of how to communicate the organization's religious identity. The organization has a voice, Beckman said, and it is important to keep that voice above individual preferences, which can vary from one representative to the other.

For many Christian organizations, marketing to the general public is only part of the communication to secular audiences. In lobbying government or partnering with secular agencies, organizations have to find a balance between using language that will be understood and being clear about who they are.

"We handle [speaking to secular audiences] the same way Paul did on Mars Hill (Acts 17)," said Serge Duss, director of public policy and government relations for World Vision. "When we talk to those in government, we talk about law and policy. When we meet with secular non-governmental organizations, we talk in the language that is suitable. We want the message to be understood. However, we are always up front with our position, we explain that it comes from Christ's call."

Bread for the World follows a similar approach. "Our function is to lobby Congress for hungry people, so legislation obviously doesn't say 'Jesus,'" said Beckman. "But Congress knows our identity and respects it because the work we do is ethically compelling to non-Christians. They know we do our job with might and do it well."

There are times even in governmental settings for personal testimony. When talking with Presidents Clinton and Bush and others in authority, Beckman has shared his faith by saying, "I am a preacher, and this is what I believe."

An organization's focus does not begin with external communication. How an entity presents itself is a reflection of a commitment to faith made individually and corporately within the organization.

Successful approaches to maintaining focus include active, passionate leadership; regular reassessment and internal awareness of the original mission; and staff commitment to core beliefs.

At Food for the Hungry, decisions are made by comparing individual activities to an organizational statement called the "Vision of a Community" (VOC) that unites the activities of eight fundraising offices and Food for the Hungry work in 40 countries. The statement reads: "The community and its people are advancing towards their God-given potential by being equipped to progress beyond their basic needs, and having a growing group of Christians loving one another, manifesting the fruit of the spirit, and reaching out to serve others."

The VOC also keeps the organization's foundation at the forefront of staff consciousness. Every employee is required to take a training course, which includes learning the tenets laid out in the VOC.

Approximately every two years, all employees take a discussion-heavy refresher course one morning a week for several weeks. Even board members go through parallel training, which enables them to lead with the same commitment.

At World Vision, a weekly chapel service is "probably the most important thing we do," Duss said. "We bear each others' burdens. We constantly affirm to each other to follow Christ where he wants us to go. We are all led here to do this work."

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April (Web-only) 2002, Vol. 46