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Bread for the World's leadership gives systematic attention to the organization's faith life. Board members see themselves as stewards of the mission. They choose candidates for leadership who have strong faith backgrounds. Three-year plans include goals of spiritual deepening as well as business objectives.

This leadership-directed mission is reinforced by a commitment to prayer and Scripture at all levels of staff. Beckman said that voluntary prayer meetings and Bible studies at Bread for the World keep the organization's faith alive. "The Christian mission comes from the top but goes both ways," Beckman said. "It is a very powerful religious experience being here because there's prayer going on all the time. People are coming here to be part of this."

Passionate leadership is what keeps Samaritans' Purse on track, said DeMoss. "There is always danger with succession," he said. "But it is almost foolproof that Samaritan's Purse will run this way. It all starts with Franklin and the board. Just being around it attracts employees who have the same passion. Someone who just has an interest in water purification in Africa won't be comfortable here.

At Samaritan's Purse, internal project reporting includes a ministry report that will list such items as the churches or partnerships involved in an activity, the number of those who committed themselves to Christ, and what local pastors said about the work. These reports are included in Samaritan Purse newsletters and annual reports.

"We wouldn't talk about blanket distribution without detailing the sharing of the gospel as well," DeMoss says. If reports show that evangelism on a specific activity is inhibited, the project will be re-evaluated.

At most of these organizations, the faithfulness to Christian values has produced a circular effect. The strong spiritual atmosphere attracts employees passionate about Christian mission, which in turn, increases the overall depth of conviction.

Commitment to the mission is necessary as a corporate climate, but also on the personal level. "How the biblical worldview stays with the organization is that the individual chooses to believe in it and expresses it," said Food for the Hungry's Houser. "What is required is a commitment that this corporate commitment is not just a tagline, but is truth. Because of its truth, it supersedes what we do."

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April (Web-only) 2002, Vol. 46