So is His rage and condemnation of those who refuse them justice or even worse actively oppress these vulnerable communities. The Bible constantly grounds both Israel and the church’s spirituality with this theme.

As World Horizons, we yearn to be a community of people who actively respond to this heart of God, in all of the countries and cultural contexts that we come from and work in. God’s cry for social justice resonates deeply within our community. We aim to not just preach the good news but to also roll our sleeves up and engage in acts of compassion that will contribute to making this world a better and fairer place for all.

The UNHCR estimates that “84 million individuals have been forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, violence or human rights violations” and that “Half of the world’s refugees are children”. Furthermore, it states that “85% of refugees are being hosted in developing countries” and that “We are now witnessing the highest levels of displacement on record” ever.

All of us are being impacted by this global crisis and thankfully, there is something all of us can do to respond as God would like us to. Jesus’ parable of the sheep and goats tells us clearly that when we feed our brothers and sisters if hungry (who are not our family but rather the stranger, the other, our fellow humans), or offer them water if thirsty, or clothes them when naked, or welcome them into our homes if homeless, or care for them when sick or visit them in prison, that these are spiritual offerings that please him.

All of us can pray but we can also be practical answers to the individual strangers that God brings across our paths, many of whom will be part of that refugee population in today’s world.

Some in World Horizons are now actively engaging in the more organised humanitarian efforts. We are increasingly working to facilitate culturally sensitive and locally sustainable answers to the numerous needs that refugees may have in the many different countries and cultures we work in. Those of us involved in this work feel the deep joy and enormous privilege of getting to know, as well as working out how best to serve these communities. We serve in pop up soup kitchens, in language schools, through the healing and therapeutic benefits of the creative arts, adventure therapy and livelihood projects.

The challenges are immense and our efforts can seem like a drop in the ocean when we think of addressing the global needs of refugees, but we can choose, like Mother Theresa, to take courage from the fact that an ocean is made of many drops. The church has historically often been at the forefront of social change in the fight for social justice and human charity. Our World Horizons community is committed to promoting and facilitating this deeply spiritual and practical service of embracing the refugee in our midst.

In the mid-2000s a young couple asked World Horizons if they could join the team and travel in Central Asia. Their goal was to discover where God wanted them to settle and start a business. A year later they determined where they should put down roots. A year after that they started a small business. Fifteen years later the fast-food business they started has grown to multiple locations, employing over 100 people and contributes to the wider work of Christian witness in their city.

World Horizons has been doing business for more than thirty years. At various times, providing coaching, investment, and other services numerous businesses in different part of the world have been established, proving that business is a means of access to otherwise closed areas of the world. Language Schools, Coffee Houses, Adventure and Tourism Companies, and Local Craft Trades have all featured on the business listing.

In 2006 a division for Business as Mission was established. The team have assisted many entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into realities that employ local people, invest in community development, build indigenous wealth, strengthen the local church, and introduce Kingdom values to the local business community.

Among many initiatives, World Horizons’ Business as Mission team has assisted the development of the Bridge2 Centre in Liverpool. In turn Bridge2 is partnered with WH BAM to launch a business incubator into a Middle Eastern city.

If you have always wanted to start your own business; if you have an entrepreneurial mind and are willing to act on your own initiative; if you’ve always wanted to travel and invest in another part of the world, then we want to hear from you. We invite you to join with us and become part of a global movement of entrepreneurs who are using their business skills to build the Kingdom of God in the nations.

World Horizons has it’s own Business Community Hub where you can get all of our business news, training and support. If you’d like to join this network, please send us a message in the contact form below.

We love Jesus. We love spending time with Him, and we are fully aware that we can’t do much without Him. However, even as Christians, we often find ourselves making plans, organizing, and working hard without stopping to ask the Lord what He thinks about all the “good” that we are doing. In World Horizons we want to encourage people to take the time to stop, sit at Jesus’ feet and truly listen (Luke 10:41-42). We consider it to be a great part of our work, which is why prayer is one of our core values.

John 15 is a chapter of Scripture that we keep coming back to in our leadership team, and so we have included the phrase “abide with God” in our mission statement. What is it to “abide” with Him? I think a big part of it is taking the time—enabling ourselves–to have the time to ask Him questions and wait on His response.

In World Horizons we encourage our members to ask questions like:

• What are you saying, Lord? How do you want me to pray?
• What would you like to see happening with my life, with those around me, in the nations?
• How would you like me to speak, work, disciple, lead?
• How can I be part of your plan to bring transformation to the nations?
• We want our members to be enabled to ask these questions and then respond in obedience.

Since prayer is such an important part of our work, we also encourage our members and welcome those outside of our movement to join in different prayer meetings across the globe, whether that’s with their local team or community, going on a prayer trip to a different country, or logging onto an online prayer meeting led by someone on the other side of the world. We believe that each person’s prayer is significant and has the power to bring transformation to the nations.

We’d love to invite you to pray these big prayers with us. Let’s see what amazing things He will do!

The above are just some of the things which have sprung up and flourished from our World Horizons Creative Arts community in the past few years. From many seedlings prayed over and watered – even with tears – creativity is alive and thriving bringing joy and beauty, hope and freedom to many lives within and beyond this community. 

Throughout our 40 years of international ministry, creative expression has been integral to who we are as World Horizons. It helps shape us and how we share the love and invitation of Jesus among diverse peoples and cultures. Today we recognise a global move of the Spirit through the Arts and want to join in with what God is doing! As we continue together on this exciting learning adventure, we welcome people of all cultural backgrounds, encouraging everyone to recognise their own creative identity and contribute to this colorful tapestry.

When the 2020-21 lock-downs limited global travel and meeting face-to-face, we experienced amazing organic growth through online Spirit-led connections. From just a small core group of creatives, relationships developed right across our international community and out over the edges. A new arts community was ‘WOVEN’ together.

‘WOVEN’ has become a welcoming and inclusive ‘safe space’. A supportive environment where friendship is deepened, and creative ideas, prayers, dreams and projects are shared. Where gifting is called out, confidence built and opportunities for collaboration found.

One prophetic picture we received is of a brilliantly sparkling diamond – a multi-faceted gem reflecting light from many angles. It spoke of a diverse yet gathered creative community with each facet expressing God’s beauty and glory in a different way. The diamond’s sharpened edges and polish spoke of our accountability to Christ and each other and how His Spirit hones each individual and gifting to portray Him more beautifully.

The Arts impact our senses and souls. They carry the grace and power to challenge our worldview, to express beauty, bring comfort, soothe pain, be a voice for justice and a light to the oppressed. The Arts gather strangers, inspire hope, aid reconciliation and healing.

Artists are a prophetic voice for the Body of Christ and for its mission in the world.

Have you wondered how God could use your creativity to bless other peoples and cultures? Your artistic talent could be a tiny but significant catalyst to help transform a life, a community, even a nation for good!

Whether you are a cook or a candle-maker, a gardener, graphic designer, glassblower, florist, photographer, baker, filmmaker, batik artist, ballroom dancer, trumpeter or poet, you and your gifting are special and valued and have a place in God’s heart and Kingdom plan!

World Horizons values every creative individual and their God-given gifting, however niche.

Connect with us if you would like to find out more about the Creative Arts in World Horizons.

From its earliest days World Horizons’ community has been engaging churches as a part of The Church, the global body of Christ. Whether the church with which you are most familiar is a long-established community recognized by a name or a building in the neighborhood, or a new community endeavoring to be a fresh expression of the hands and voice of Jesus we want to get to know you.

The city of Antakya in modern Turkey was once know as Antioch. It was in that city that the followers of Jesus were first described as Christians. From that first Christian community Paul and Barnabas, the earliest cross-cultural missionaries were sent out. (Acts 11:26 & 13:3). We believe that part of God’s purpose in establishing churches around the globe is to enable Jesus’ followers to go out cross-culturally from within many cultures to share Good News and give glory to Him for His creation.

Those who serve with us all have an experience of church. Many have been sent by their home community, with prayer, and sometimes financial support. Others have previously served in a local church or interacted with many different communities of Jesus’ followers. We firmly believe that local churches help make us better ambassadors of good news in the nations.

Then there are churches that partner with us. We love to assist churches that are rooted in a geographic community to gain an experience of what God is doing in places beyond, and in places that are culturally and linguistically different. Local churches send teams to work with our staff as they share the love of Jesus in practical and personal ways. Local churches host traveling teams that share stories, join in prayer and partner with the community.

There are also churches that have been brought into being through the work of World Horizons’ team members. In places such as West Africa, the Middle East, Spain, and France, and even close to our original community in South Wales, UK, communities of prayer and worship have been established. Along with those who went out from Antioch, it is our desire that a local community of God’s people be available to all wherever they live.

If your community would like to partner with us please let us know.

Preparing our workers thoroughly for a successful cross-cultural life in ministry is extremely vital. We want them to thrive wherever they are sent, and not just be in survival mode on the mission field.

We share with each one of our new workers from all of our experiences so that one day they too can pass on their knowledge to the next generation. We equip them spiritually, mentally, and physically so that each worker can be all that God has called them to be. The world is changing fast and so alongside our initial training programs we adopt principles of life-long learning, to increase our knowledge and gain wisdom and skills throughout our walk with God.

Our desire is to have inter-generational and multicultural teams across our movement, and this begins at the training and preparation phase. We love to train and prepare people alongside others from different backgrounds and cultures and our training often takes place outside of a person’s country of origin.

We realized it’s much easier to engage with learning about different cultures whilst living in another culture than it is just trying to learn the theory. As beneficial as good theory is, in our experience it can’t match the learning opportunities that practical application can offer. This is why our way of equipping workers often looks more like discipleship than classroom-based teaching.

Here are some testimonies from people who have gone through our training recently:

“The program hinged around not just the places we went to but our teachers. These are people who have already practiced what they preach, they’ve got the t-shirt. Not only have they done it, but they are still doing it today!” – Ryan

“World Horizons’ training program is something that I dreamt about for a long time. It was a long-awaited answer to many prayers. During the training, I experienced some of the most challenging things I have ever done physically, mentally, and emotionally. However, I would not change a single thing. I grew more than I ever thought I could in just nine months. I wish more people had the opportunity to experience this training.” – Hannah

“World Horizons’ training develops you into a human Swiss army knife, so you have a tool ready for every single situation.’’ – Josh

At first, this is exciting – who would not want to be led by the Spirit? But then, it is challenging – no vehicle has two steering wheels. Oh! If the Spirit is in control of my life, I am not in control. Do I really want that? I face a choice.

It should be a no-brainer. My God created me, uniquely, for good works (Ephesians 2:10). He designed me, knows me and holds the instruction manual for my best life. Then He bought me back from sin, so I’m not my own (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). True Christian life is ‘other-centered’; the key to experiencing adventure is being yielded to the Holy Spirit. Submitted to Him, we experience the adventure of life in the obedience of faith.

Experiencing physical adventure

• It was surely goodbye to skiing when I joined World Horizons and moved to tropical Southeast Asia; but 30 years later I was in North Korea teaching local people how to ski.
• Hours by boat in Laos took me to a village with no metal or plastic – only wood – that worshipped an American soldier.
• Stabbed in Algeria when I failed to follow the Lord’s clear instruction, I nevertheless experienced His peace and the loving care of a local family.

Experiencing spiritual adventure.

• During prayer for a deaf boy in southern India, seeing the joy on his mother’s face when he could hear; and that same day the greater joy of watching the brightening face of a white-bearded day labourer hearing and accepting the Gospel.
• Preaching and teaching in many nations – once in Mongolia without local language or translator (secret: stay very close to Scripture!) – Sometimes speaking words that were not my own. This gave me a deeper understanding of His Word.

During the past 40 years of attempting to obey the Spirit, through my weakness and His grace, my family and I have lived a life richer and more fulfilled than ever I could have planned for us. Seldom have I known where we’d live next, or where our money would come from. Here’s another verse that’s precious to me:

“Faithful is He who calls you, who also will do [it]” (1 Thessalonians 5:24)

Do you see? It’s all about Him, not me. He’s faithful. He calls. He does. If I will yield control, if I will step out in faith, I will experience adventure and, most importantly, experience His faithfulness.