Destiny Recruiting Destiny Heartwork is about bringing purpose to our young generation by empowering them to bring hope to the orphan. There is an unsettling paradox facing our world today. As over 160 million orphans fight to survive, millions of other young people indulge in a culture of self-focus and yet still struggle to find real happiness. True life is found by giving our lives away and true religion is caring for those in need. Isaiah 58:10 says, "If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday." We believe that God wants to use this generation to rescue the orphans of the world, and use the orphans of the world to rescue us. We need them. They need us. We call this destiny rescuing destiny.

Our Story In 2008 a youth group in Colorado Springs was awakened to the worldwide orphan crisis. A father in the church spoke to the students about the dire needs orphans face daily. He also spoke of the crisis that we face here in America, as our culture is infested with divorce, depression, and apathy. Rather than knowing they have a heavenly father, most people in the U.S. live like spiritual orphans. This faith-filled father explained to the students that their lives are the solution to both problems. He urged them to give up self-focused lives and to spend themselves on the poor, broken, and lost. He posed a challenge to the group to build, not one, but FOUR orphan homes, empowering them by matching their efforts dollar for dollar. Students erupted with excitement, and creative ways of raising money ensued: lawn mowing businesses were formed, daily lattes were given up, savings accounts were emptied, cars were sold, and extra hours were worked at their jobs…The efforts and passion of the High School and Jr. High students paid off, and in 8 short weeks $127,000 was raised! This was more than enough to complete 4 orphan homes located in Kenya, Myanmar, and Uganda. The hearts of the students were changed forever. Witnessing this miraculous story made us wonder what would happen if this idea spread to student groups around the country…and so Heartwork began.

The "Heart" of Heartwork Revealing the Father God. Knowing the Father means knowing who we are. Purpose and meaning for existence are found in relationship with him. Orphans obviously have no context for what it means to find destiny through the love, comfort, and guidance of a father. Even in our own culture the role of the Father has been severely damaged through broken marriages and absent or preoccupied fathers. The Father God wants to bring healing and restoration through us to the orphan and in us as well. By caring for the basic needs of the orphan we can help give what they need most....the knowledge that they have a Father who loves them and has a destiny for each one of them. As we work to reveal the father heart of God to the orphan we in turn gain a deeper understanding of his heart for us. It's all of us coming to realize the Father's words in Jeremiah 29:11, "I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Guiding Principles

Heartwork is guided by core principles that seek to help orphans not only to survive but to thrive: physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually. Building upon the foundational commitment of all Christian Alliance for Orphans member organizations to financial integrity, effective practices and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, these guiding principles include:

God's Heart and Ours. God is vested, deeply and personally, in the plight of the orphan (Dt 10:18; Ps 68:5-6). He calls His people to join Him in this, sharing His passion for orphans and bringing to each child the love of Jesus Christ in both word and deed (Is 1:17; Jms 1:27; Mt. 25:40).

Responsive Love. To act upon God's call to care for orphans is not merely a matter of duty or reaction to need. It is first a response to the Gospel: the loving Father who sought us, adopted us, and invites us to live as His sons and daughters (1 Jn 4:19; Eph 1:15; Gal 4:6). Through our acts of responsive love, God brings a beautiful transformation: not only in the lives of orphans, but in our lives as well.

Priority of Family. God created the family as the ideal environment for every child, and the best outcome for any orphan is to know the love of a permanent family. Given the vast need and complex challenges of orphans worldwide, this is not always possible. However, priority should always be placed on family-based solutions, and any long-term care should be as permanent, nurturing and family-like as is feasible for the particular situation.

Role of Institutions. Crisis situations sometimes demand residential care for children, including orphanages. To the fullest extent possible, however, such institutions should be viewed as short-term and transitional. In general, the goal in each situation should be to seek for solutions as far as practicable along a "continuum" toward permanent family: large group homes, small group homes, foster care, kinship care, and, ultimately, full adoption whenever willing families are available. Family Preservation. Whenever possible, children classified as "orphans" that have one surviving parent or other relatives should be helped to remain with family members. Efforts that enable families to stay together and prevent children from ending up in orphanages or on the streets are a vital part of response to the global orphan crisis.

Central Role of the Local Church. The local church in every nation possesses both the biblical mandate and many other key resources needed to care for the world's orphans in a nurturing, family-based environment. Every effort to care for orphans should prioritize the role of the local church, pairing whatever outside resources may be necessary with indigenous believers willing to open their hearts and homes to orphans in their community.