This page highlights pictures from projects supported by Acts of Grace within the most recent five years.
Photos are listed in alphabetical order by charity name. Click on the charity's name to be redirected to its website. Click on the Grant Description link to learn more about each grant. These pictures are used with the express permission of the organization that provided them and are not to be reproduced for any other purpose.
Dormitories for the Shipibo Bible Institute (Peru)
Grant Year: 2022
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Shipibo Bible Institute was founded in 1999 by Shipibo church leaders to help their own people know more about God and the Word of God in their own language and context. Many of these people have not yet been reached by the Gospel and those who have been do not have a trained pastor who can faithfully teach the Word and shepherd them. The Shipibo are an oral society and mostly illiterate. The Shipibo Bible Institute trains men in the method of storytelling to teach Bible and theology. Instruction is done in the Shipibo language wherever possible and in Spanish if necessary. Students attending the Shipibo Bible Institute participate in 3 on-site instructional sessions per year for 1 month each.
Pictured here: The campus of Shipibo Bible Institute near Nuevo Paraíso, Peru in the Amazon rainforest.
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To accommodate these month-long learning sessions, Shipibo Bible Institute provides accommodations for students and teachers. However, Shipibo Bible Institute has grown to a point that it has exceeded its accommodation capacity of its 2 existing dormitories. Students and instructors are using the dining area/ instructional space as sleeping areas, which requires re-arranging the entire space several times daily. Some students stay in town with family or willing community members. As Shipibo Bible Institute continues to grow, more sleeping space is necessary to accommodate more students and instructors. Additional on-site accommodations will also facilitate studying and informal learning in the evenings.
Pictured here: Students participate in a class at the Shipibo Bible Institute. This dining and instructional space is also currently serving as sleeping space for some students.
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The 2 new dormitories will use the same layout as the two existing dormitories but will be larger so that Shipibo Bible Institute can accommodate 36 people in total. Adding 2 more dormitories will maximize the number of students that can be taught at one time.
The dining and instructional multi-purpose space will also be updated to include doors, window screens and window rebar. These renovations will assist with managing pests (insects, etc.), maximize the use of this space and increase the security of the building in between learning sessions.
These construction projects will support the extension of the Gospel and the strengthening of the Shipibo church by facilitating more men being trained and equipped to reach the lost and shepherd the flock.
Pictured here: The nearly completed new dormitories at Shipibo Bible Institute.
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The effects of disaster, disease, illiteracy and Voodoo are crippling in Haiti. Many people are without hope, but there’s a spiritual openness like never before. Every day, Radio 4VEH broadcasts Christ-centered programs on AM/FM radio, local television, digital, online and social media to hundreds of thousands of people across Haiti and beyond. Maintenance of five radio towers is urgently needed to continue to reach, teach and serve the people of Haiti with the Gospel.
Pictured here: The Radio 4VEH Station Building in Haiti.
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The receiving tower of the Studio-to-Transmission Link (STL) receives programs sent from the Morne Rouge studio site to the Petite Anse transmission site five miles away. Without it, there would be no broadcasts, and hundreds of thousands of people would be without their daily lifeline of help and hope. Deteriorated beyond repair, the tower is a safety hazard to staff and community and needs to be replaced urgently.
Pictured here: The old, rusting STL Tower (left) next to the new tower (right) before antennas were moved over to the new tower.
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Replacing the STL Tower will help 4VEH maintain the infrastructure needed to send the Gospel out across Haiti, helping people in cities and isolated rural areas to find eternal hope in Jesus, grow as disciples and live out their faith right where they are.
Pictured here: A woman receives a solar-powered radio fix-tuned to 4VEH through the Resounding Hope Program, in partnership with Galcom International.
Discipleship-Mission Directors Training (Asia)
Grant Year: 2019
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This project consists of three (3) Directors Trainings, one in each of three countries in Asia. The majority of the population in these countries are either Hindu, Muslim or Buddhist, with professing Christians comprising only a small percentage of the population. God’s great love compels us to share His Gospel with the nations. Yet 2 out of every 7 people have not heard the Gospel in a way that they can understand and respond.
Pictured here: Training participants studying the Bible.
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During the training sessions, 9 “essential components” will be taught as the core of the teaching curriculum, which begins with developing intimacy with Jesus. The curriculum builds on the biblical understanding of what it means to be and to live as a disciple of Jesus Christ and equips Program Directors to share the Gospel effectively as well as to multiply disciples. These intensive training sessions also equip church-selected Program Directors with the content, methods, and philosophy for developing a discipleship-mission program so that they, in turn, can equip clusters of churches to multiply Christ-like disciples and locally sustainable fellowships among least-reached people in their countries.
Pictured here: Training participants spending time developing intimacy with Jesus through prayer.
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The Discipleship-Mission program is a full-time training of 10 days to 4 months with a full time outreach assignment of 20 days to 11 months, followed by 2-3 days of debrief. At least two-thirds of the program is spent in practical mission experience, preferably in church planting. During outreach, disciple-makers share the Gospel with and plant churches among a nearby least-reached people group.
Pictured here: Discipleship-Mission Program Directors in outreach, sharing the Gospel of Jesus with others.
Prison Bible Encounter Program for Women (Canada)
Grant Year: 2023
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Prairie College is a private Christian college located in Alberta, Canada. For more than 100 years, the school’s heartbeat has been “to know Christ and make Him known” inviting others to be lovers of God and - as a result of discipleship - influence culture and participate in building His kingdom. To that end, Prairie's Prison Bible Encounter Program is an outreach opportunity for incarcerated individuals to earn an accredited college certificate and cultivate a relationship with Jesus Christ. Prairie is one of the only faith-based accredited college education programs in Canada delivered to prison inmates.
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Prairie's Prison Bible Encounter Program offers these often “forgotten” individuals an opportunity to discover or rediscover a relationship with the central figure of the bible – Jesus Christ, and influence institutional sub-culture of trauma, dysfunction, and violence. The Prison Bible Encounter Program is currently available in several men’s institutions in Alberta. This for-credit certificate program is delivered face-to-face in a classroom setting over a three year period by Prairie College faculty and staff to incarcerated individuals.
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Mirroring Prairie's on-campus Encounter Program, the Prison Bible Encounter Program courses include Old Testament (2), New Testament (2), Christian Life and various formational electives with 40% of the certificate courses being Bible courses. This project will tailor the Prison Bible Encounter Program to suit the unique needs of incarcerated women and facilitate the roll-out of the program at the Edmonton Institution for Women. Acts of Grace funds will be used to support the program revisions and the initial roll-out of Prairie's first ever Prison Bible Encounter Program for Women in November 2023. Already, a significant number of women have expressed interest in the program.
Charting the Path to Redemption for Ukrainian Prisoners (Ukraine)
Grant Year: 2023
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Without a plan for rehabilitation, 75% of the world’s 12 million incarcerated individuals find themselves back behind bars within five years of re-entering society. Prison Fellowship International (PFI) recognizes that rehabilitation and restoration are possible for prisoners who reject their criminal past and embrace a new narrative. To that end, PFI seeks to transform the lives of prisoners, their families, and victims through a global network of ministry partners, breaking the cycle of crime and restoring lives, worldwide, through Jesus’s love. Through PFIs 8-session Bible study course called “The Prisoner’s Journey”, incarcerated men and women are invited to experience inside out transformation by encountering Jesus, the Prisoner. Based on the Gospel of Mark, The Prisoner’s Journey is an exploration of the person and teachings of Jesus. The course is a highly structured, repeatable, interactive, and volunteer-led small group experience with a full range of adult learning methods.
Pictured here: Prison Fellowship Ukraine volunteer leader training for The Prisoner's Journey.
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Through 16 videos presented over eight sessions, participants learn to relate to Jesus as a prisoner and hear stories from prisoners around the world whose lives have been changed through their personal journeys with Jesus. Prisoners are placed in groups of 10 to 12, creating opportunities for them to connect with fellow participants between sessions. Upon completion, course graduates receive a customized Bible in their heart language that includes devotionals about the unique challenges faced by prisoners. The graduation celebration is often attended by the whole prison community and presents an opportunity for others to join the next course. Three-quarters of course graduates continue with additional discipleship training, provided by PFI’s local national affiliate through partnership with Bible League International and other discipleship-focused organizations.
Pictured here: Church leaders and Prison Fellowship Ukraine representatives visit a Ukrainian Prison.
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The Prisoner's Journey course has proven to transform prisoners from the inside out by introducing them to restorative relationship with the person of Jesus. Many graduates become volunteers helping lead other courses both inside prison and post-release.
In Ukraine, there are nearly 55,000 inmates incarcerated in 109 prisons. These men and women need inner transformation through Jesus to break free from the hopeless cycle of crime and incarceration. PFI's affiliate, Prison Fellowship Ukraine, will launch and roll-out of Prisoner’s Journey to 42 prisons across the country this year. In the first year of The Prisoner’s Journey in Ukraine, 10,000 men and women are expected to participate in this Bible study and nearly 4,700 prisoners are anticipated to graduate from the program. To support this wide-scale effort, Prison Fellowship Ukraine will train and mobilize 315 volunteers to lead the course inside the prisons.
Pictured here: Prison Fellowship Ukraine volunteer leader training for The Prisoner's Journey.
Building Healthy Churches that Model the Gospel (Canada)
Grant Years: 2022-2024
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The Gospel produces true and lasting change in the life of the believer and healthy churches are the best way to impact the community with the Gospel. However, pastoring churches in the French-speaking world is difficult as often these men are working with limited financial resources and staff. Also, there are frequently only a few like-minded churches in their city meaning they can often feel isolated. In addition, French-language resources on the topics of health church development and biblical discipleship are limited. To address these needs, Publications Chrétiennes held a conference in 2022 to bring together French-speaking pastors and elders in Quebec to build a local pastor/elder network and to encourage and equip these church leaders to develop healthy churches that, in turn, model the Gospel and equip their people for ministry.
Pictured here: Pastors and elders in attendance at the first annual conference in Quebec (2022).
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This project builds on the initial concept of the conference with additional French-language books and subsequent future annual conferences. The initiative will focus on strengthening and improving the health of the church throughout Quebec and the French-speaking world and to develop a culture of effective biblical discipleship.
Over the next 3 years, Publications Chrétiennes will translate, into French, 19 books specifically on topics to address the principles of healthy church development and biblical discipleship. Each year, an annual conference will be held with targeted training for pastors and elders related to the theme of the books translated that year. The conference will also encourage relationship building, networking and targeted dialogue between pastors and elders related to the application of these biblical truths to their Christian life and their church.
Pictured here: Church leaders pray together at the first annual conference in Quebec (2022).
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French-language biblical resources are often very expensive or out of print. Publications Chrétiennes uses a digital, just-in-time publishing system to keep books available and affordable for French-speaking church leaders in Canada and across the globe. Publications Chrétiennes focuses on publishing books that will be effective tools to make disciples, share the Gospels, and raise up leaders in the French-speaking church. Many of the books translated through this project will be provided as free resources to the pastors attending the conference. The books translated for this initiative will also serve as resources for the global French-speaking church. It is the prayer of Publications Chrétiennes that these books and conferences will spark a movement in which churches throughout Quebec and the French-speaking world become embassies of Jesus.
Pictured here: French-language resources offered free of charge to pastors and elders attending the 1st annual conference in Quebec in 2022.
Church-based Community Transformation Training (Tanzania)
Grant Years: 2022-2023
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94% of the 380,000 people of Chamwino District, Tanzania rely on rain-fed agriculture to survive. The area has beenheavily impacted by climate change. Rains are erratic and the green season is only 4 months long. Food shortages are common and the poor do not have safety nets to fall back on. In the midst of this, the Anglican church isseeking to facilitate and empower practical and sustainable tools by which their 700,000 members and theirneighbours can break out of poverty. Tearfund believes that God’s people can be a force for change - and thatthe church, the only permanent social "agency", is the only entity that can tackle the broken relationships that are at the root of poverty. The Chamwino CCT initiative seeks to change mindsets and provide a catalyst for change that amplifies other development efforts to become a beacon of hope.
Pictured here: Lister Nyanganyi, CCT’s leader in Chamwino, trains leaders from 8 churches on principles of CCT from 2 Kings.
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Church-Based Community Transformation (CCT) is a biblical model of development that works with local churches, facilitating local church growth & outreach. Based on 5 key scriptural principles (Mobilize, Envision, Plan, Take Action, Evaluate), CCT helps congregations to identify and address unmet physical, social and spiritual needs in the wider community through their own resources. Each church's outward expression of the holistic training received is unique as congregations determine for their own communities what needs must be met and how. Some community development programs resulting from CCT include houses and roofs for widows, care of child-headed households, community gardens and training for neighbours, farms at schools, etc. As the church more readily understands its role in loving their neighbour, CCT also acts as a catalyst for amplifying the efforts and impact of other local economic and agricultural initiatives.
Pictured here: Church members develop and review their 5-year CCT plan and roadmap for their community.
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In partnership with Tearfund Canada, this initiative through the local Anglican church will involve training 240 seminary students, pastors, catechists as well as lay leaders in 81 churches in 10 Parishes in CCT. Once trained, these individuals will, in turn, provide CCT training to their respective churches and communities through a series of seminars, workshops, & mentoring supported by sermons. Based on CCT in other areas, it is expected that when Chamwino Churches are engaged in defining their community needs, the resources they have, and then mobilized to solve their own community’s problems, the impact of community development projects is enhanced. This is anticipated to result in acts of compassion amongst community members increases regardless of any affiliations, increased regular fundraising and budgeting for community outreach, improved perceptions of those outside the church and growth in Church membership.
Pictured here: A village savings and loans group, that was birthed out of the CCT project and is comprised of farmers, saves together for community building.
