The Call to the Poor

None of us can save the world alone. But it is truly a sin not to reach out and at least save the life of one child in the Third World. Focus on the one. Apathy is lethal.

When the Apostle Paul was launched out from Jerusalem to change the world with the most revolutionary theological advancement (The Gentiles can be saved too!!) the council of elders added one small, but profound assignment to his mission that we can never overlook ... "don't forget the poor."

James 1:27 says "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: To look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Not only is it an ethical human responsibility to forfeit one latte a day for the life of a child. It is also a key to unlocking provision and favor in our own lives. In the Book of Job, chapter 29, Job makes it clear that the Lord's provision and favor on the early days of his life were intrinsically connected to rescuing the poor, the fatherless and the widow.

As a family of believers, supporting the poor is also a question of fair balance. In 2 Cor. 8:13-14, Paul states, "I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance."

Paul himself collected alms for the poor in Jerusalem, and every major revivalist throughout history has done the same. We consider this an essential part of our mandate as a ministry -- not to forget the poor.

Currently, we are focusing on the Far East and Southeast Asia, because of the devastating effects of the child sex slave trade in that region. Many are forced to work unpaid overtime in sweatshop prison camps, for as little as eight cents an hour, to make the clothes that we purchase in most major retail stores like Wal-Mart. To refuse this overtime (often as much as 16 hours a day or more), often means to lose a job. More than 1 billion people in the world currently live on less than $1 a day.

The cumulative effects mean than children as young as three years of age are prostituted to local clients and Western businessmen -- maybe even someone you know. In Thailand, for instance, the child sex racket is a $124 million (U.S.) a year business. It represents the equivalent of 60 percent of that nation's annual budget. In 1987, Thailand's official tourist industry even promoted "sex tourism," stating that "The one fruit of Thailand more delicious than durian (a local fruit), its young women."

Child prostitution exploits more than 400,000 children in India, between 200,000-300,000 in Thailand, and many more around the world. It is our responsibility to assert justice, rescue the poor and "break the fangs of the wicked" (Job 29).

How can I help?

If you would like to make a one-time donation for general orphanage costs, including children care, facility upgrades, maintenance and capital needs you can contribute online now. 

We will send nonprofit receipts for tax purposes to all donors, and we give regular updates about the children's home on this Web site.  For those donating by mail, please make checks payable to "Sons of Thunder" with "Orphanage" listed on the memo line of your check. Donations can be mailed to:

Sons of Thunder
P.O. Box 40
Marylhurst, OR 97036

Thank you for answering the call!

Sons of Thunder is a registered 501(c)3 charitable non-profit ministry. All donations are tax deductible.