Ask the Editor: Hope Award nominations

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Next up on The World and Everything in It: Ask the Editor.

Once a month, we devote time to answer common questions about how and why we do things the way we do.

Here’s our editor-in-chief, Marvin Olasky.

MARVIN OLASKY, EDITOR IN CHIEF: Sometimes people ask how we decide on ministries to profile. They want to know why we haven’t had a Hope Award story about x, y, or z. That’s a good question—and it gives me a chance to make a very limited time offer to our podcast listeners.  

Here’s the backstory. In December I asked our magazine readers to nominate Christian nonprofits in their communities. The ministries have to offer challenging, personal, and spiritual help to the poor. That includes widows, orphans, prisoners, and the aliens within our gates. Winners get money. Last year it was up to $10,000 dollars. They also get lots of publicity that brings in more money. Even more important, they get new volunteers.

We have received 120 nominations so far. We begin researching them this month. But for our podcast listeners I’m extending the deadline by 24 hours. To nominate a program, please email today WORLD reporter Charissa Crotts. I’ll spell out her address at the end of this segment, so get a pencil and paper or something electronic.

The ministries have to be explicitly Christian. Their funding should come from individuals and churches rather than government. They should deal with a problem that currently has an undersupply of solutions. They should be of a kind that Christians in other cities could start in their own neighborhoods.

Here are some questions Charissa will be asking as she researches a ministry: Did it grow bottom-up through community efforts? Does a program for adults emphasize work by the physically and mentally able? Does it try to reunite them with families or bond them with helpers? Does a program for young people help them gain both basic Christian understanding and important skills?

The most important question is the one Jesus asked a suffering person: “Do you want to get well?” Sadly, some people are used to non-biblical lifestyles and want to stick with them. We look for local ministries that help those who want to get well. Remember, the deadline is midnight tonight, so do not put this off. Your email should include the ministry’s name, city, website, and a sentence or two on why you esteem it. Please email Charissa Crotts at ccrotts@wng.org.

For WORLD Radio, I’m Marvin Olasky.

(Photo/iStock.com)

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