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- Overview
- Mission
- Imperatives
- Case Statement
- Statement of Faith
- Our Passions
- The Case for Liberia
- Leadership
- Our C.E.O.
- Board of Directors
- Advisors
OVERVIEW
God has given Ahead International a ministry which could save Liberia from many of the tragic consequences of its 16 years of one of the most barbaric and brutal civil wars ever fought in history; and we need your prayer and financial support as we move forward.
For fourteen years, it seemed as though evil forces had completely taken over this country and thousands of innocent Liberians spent weeks and months in the tropical forests and jungle hiding from their fellow Liberians who were searching the jungle and forests to kill them like hunters hunt for animals. Thousands of Liberians were most brutally killed in the presence of friends and relatives who were forbidden to shed tears at the threat of death, thus leaving them profoundly traumatized and emotionally wounded. Over 250,000 Liberians, most of whom were innocent civilians, were killed in the war.
The civil war set individuals against individuals and tribes against tribes. Yet after the war, thousands of Liberians live in the city of Monrovia side by side in the same neighborhoods with their former tormentors during the war and with the killers of their friends and relatives.
Ahead International is working in Liberia to evangelize un-reached people by proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ and planting healthy churches throughout the nation while at the same time advancing subjects of reconciliation and socio-economic empowerment. These efforts are rapidly transforming lives and turning hearts to the love of Christ, the ultimate source of lasting peace.
MISSION STATEMENT
The purpose of Ahead International Ministries to promote the economic self-sufficiency of the third-world church, so that third-world nations can be evangelized by indigenous Christians and the third-world church can become a missionary sending agency.
- Create Christ-centered, self-sustainable communities and plant churches to address the spiritual and vocational needs of indigenous African people.
- Minister God's love in the third world countries that otherwise will have no or very limited access to the gospel of Christ.
- Honor, glorify and delight in the lord by knowing God and making Him known.
- Preach/Teach a holistic gospel cross-culturally to un-reached people through evangelism, follow-up, discipleship, indigenous church-planting and social- economic empowerment.
IMPERATIVES
True to our commitment to reach the lost for Christ with the Holistic the gospel, the following imperatives embody our strategy for reaching communities:
- Incarnational -- Our missionaries live in the communities where they minister.
- Evangelical -- We present Christ to the un-churched through Bible studies, outreach, teaching and worship services.
- Discipleship -- We nurture people to maturity in Christ and train them to teach others.
- Compassionate -- We demonstrate the gospel we declare by providing
- Education
- Emergency food, clothing, medicine and shelter
- Skills and training
- Medical and dental clinics
- Others
- Empowerment--We seek to improve the socio-economic status of believers in poor communities so that they can use their blessings to help expand the kingdom of Christ.
CASE STATEMENT
Ahead International expects, with God's help, to accomplish this mission by preaching the gospel to third-world nations and then helping indigenous Christians to develop businesses and other self supporting vehicles to help sustain themselves and their ministries. This strategy will facilitate evangelism in two ways:
(1) The profits of the new businesses will be used to support the mission of the third world church, and (2) evangelists.
The development of businesses which will provide this kind of support for the church's mission will be achieved through two means.
First, deploy Owner/Trainers in third-world countries. Owner/Trainers will be committed Christians with a proven ability to develop and run businesses. Ahead International will provide start-up funding and assistance in securing loans. After that, the businesses must succeed as profit-making enterprises. Owner/Trainers will help employees acquire needed skills, as well as modeling effective business practices, Christian discipleship, and the contribution of tithes of corporate profits to the church. Employees will be expected in due time to set up their own businesses, using the principles modeled for them by the Owner/Trainers.
Second, Ahead International intends to establish a Missionary Institute of Technology in each third-world country in which the ministry is active. The curriculum of the Missionary Institute of Technology will include three required components: Theological education, evangelism training and training in a trade or profession. The intent is to produce graduates who will have strong skills in evangelism backed with practical survival skills in business, and the capacity to bring theological depth and integrity to both. Graduates will be expected to be self-supporting evangelists or to start businesses whose tithes of profits will be used for the church's mission.
STATEMENT OF FAITH
We Believe
- There is One Sovereign, Triune God --- eternally existing as Father, Son and Holy Spirit --- Who is unique in grace, transcendent in holiness, absolute in justice, abounding in mercy, unparalleled in love and eternal in His faithfulness.
- The Holy Bible is the inspired, infallible/inerrant, authoritatively directive Word of God for all people.
- Redeemed believers in Christ are called, commissioned and gifted by Him, through the anointing of the Holy Spirit, to go into the whole world and live out, preach and teach His Gospel of Love, Light and Liberty to every person. ( Luke 4:18-19; John 17:18)
- As disciples of Jesus, the Christ, we are mandated by God's Word to exemplify the unconditional love of God to all persons in the world. If we do not possess and express this all-embracing ---agape --- love of God, we have no right to call ourselves Christians. (John 15:17).
- The disciples/ambassadors of Christ are chosen by Him to demonstrate a lifestyle of Godly reconciliation, stewardship, and servant hood in all aspects of life as we reach up to Him and reach out to the people around us. (John 13 and 15; Matthew 25:31-46; Philippians 2: 3-13; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21).
- The holiness of God must be evident in the thinking, speaking and doing of those who call themselves Christians. (Romans 12:1-2; Leviticus 20:7; Matthew 5:20)
- Jesus, the unique Son of God will, one day, return to this earth to judge both the living and the dead.
We Believe In
- The All-Sufficiency of the Triune God Who is Omniscient, Omnipotent and Omnipresent.(Genesis 1; 2; Exodus, Psalms, Entire New Testament)
- The Deity of Christ
- The absolute necessity for individual regeneration by the Holy Spirit for personal salvation, because of the exceeding sinfulness of the human heart and mind and that all people are justified/redeemed only on the ground of faith in the shed blood of Jesus, the Christ --- because it is only by God's grace, through faith that anyone can be saved from the wiles of Satan and the sinful tyranny of evil.
- The final resurrection of the saved and the lost --- at the end of time --- both those who will inherit eternal life with God and those who will go into eternal damnation with Satan.
- The spiritual unity and love of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:2; John 17:20-23)
- The unceasing, teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit Who "Leads us into all truth" and by Whose indwelling, Christian believers are enabled to live a life that is pleasing to God. (John 14:16-17; 15:5-17.)
- The imperative need for Christian disciples, everywhere, to seek to put the Kingdom-work for and with God at the center of their priorities, remembering that we can do nothing without Him.(John 15:1-11)
OUR PASSIONS
The vision for the founding of Ahead International came out of three intense passions that the Lord gave its’ founder, the late Dr. Augustus B. Marwieh for the people of Liberia. These passions drive the life the ministry.
Passion Number one: Bring the good news to all
The first passion which drives the ministry comes from the thought that if the Christians did not get the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to rural Africans before they die, they would go into Christ-less judgment to suffer more wretchedly in perpetual agony after suffering so bitterly and wretchedly in this life.
Passion Number Two: Be a good Shepard… tend to the flock
It is an unnerving fact that less than 10% of the population of the cities in Liberia Africa is churched.
Passion Number Three: Teach them to fish...
Over 95% of all businesses in Liberia were in the hands of foreigners, most of whom were Muslims and Middle Eastern Catholics. While the Muslims and Hindus were sending hundreds of millions of dollars to their countries, most Liberian Christians seem content sitting down and looking to the West for support to ministries in their own country. Thus we are committed to helping Christians take control of their own socio-economic destiny by becoming worthy contributors to society.
THE CASE FOR LIBERIA
It is a fact that the only nation in Africa and perhaps in the whole world which was directly founded by Americans is Liberia. The last white American who ruled Liberia was Governor Thomas Buchanan, a cousin to President James Buchanan. The first President of Liberia, Joseph Jenkins Roberts, a successful businessman, was from Norfolk, Virginia. Roberts, a free man with white father and an African American mother migrated from Norfolk, Virginia, to Liberia.
The first immigrants who settled in Liberia 1822 were mostly from New York, and their first settlement was called Christopolis, which was later changed to Monrovia. The second immigrants to settle on the seacoast of Liberia were mainly from Pennsylvania, and their first settlement was called Buchanan, including Lower Buchanan and Upper Buchanan, named after Governor Thomas Buchanan. The third immigrants to settle along the coast were mainly from Mississippi, but some were from Louisiana and Kentucky. Their area was called "Mississippi in Africa," which had three settlements: Greenville, Lexington, and Louisiana. But "Mississippi in Africa" was later changed to Sinoe. The fourth immigrants to settle on the coast east of "Mississippi in Africa" were from the state of Maryland, and that region is called Maryland to this day.
Liberia is a replica of America. The Independence Day of Liberia is in July and the Flag Day is in August. If one removes 49 of the stars from the US Flag and the flag is set side by side with the Liberian Flag, it would be impossible for anyone to tell the difference between the two because there would be no difference. The Liberian Constitution is like the US Constitution with the form of government like that of the United States. In fact, the Liberian Constitution was written by two Harvard University professors, one of whom was Professor Simon Greenfield.
Liberia was mainly founded to be a Christian colony to spread the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ among the African people. Liberia through the famous evangelist, Prophet Harris, spread the Gospel of our Lord throughout West Africa. A Nigerian Evangelist, during a crusade he had in Liberia, said that the first person to introduce Christianity in Nigeria was a Liberian. Before the Liberian Civil War in 1989, everyday from the shore of Liberia, the Gospel of Christ was preached throughout Africa through the famous Christian radio station, ELWA (Eternal Love Winning Africa), operated by SIM (Society for International Mission).
Liberia was also founded to fight the slave trade on the West Coast of Africa; and it successfully fought it and ended it. Even before the end of the slave trade in West Africa, Liberia was greatly praised in the book Africa Redeemed published in 1851. In it, the author wrote:
"Engaged in a work of unsurpassed dignity and importance, the inhabitants of this small Republic are accomplishing more good, as I must believe, than any equal number of human beings on the face of the globe. More, perhaps, than to the united endeavors of all Christian nations, with their treaties and armed squadrons against the slave-trade, is humanity indebted for its suppression along many hundred miles of the African coast, to the people of Liberia."
Liberia was called America's African Friend by a great American writer, Earl Anderson. If any nation declared war on America, that nation automatically declared war on Liberia; and the US Government had the right to recruit Liberians in America to fight for the defense of the United States. In the League of Nations, Liberia was one of America's closest allies. During World War II, Liberia provided practically all the rubber which America used. Liberia also provided a base in Africa from which America fought the war. In the United Nations, Liberia always voted with the United States. Before 1980, the national currency of Liberia was the US dollar and cents.
To many Africans traveling to Liberia was to them like traveling to the United States. Liberia was the big brother of all colonies on the continent. Liberia gave passports to Africans who needed to travel to western countries when the colonial governors denied passports. Liberia gave financial support to many of the African leaders who fought for the freedom of their countries from colonial rule. All the former colonies of Africa that gained their independence looked to Liberia for guidance. But tragically, a civil war, which has been fought for over 16 years, brought Liberia to its knees. It killed more than 10% of the nation's population and has sent hundreds of thousands into exile
It is the Americans who have brought Liberia into being, including great American statesmen like Henry Clay, who was Speaker of the US House of Representatives; Francis Scott Key, author of the US National Anthem; Daniel Webster, the great American statesman and famous orator; Bushrod Washington, Nephew of President George Washington; John Mills, one of the founders of the American Bible Society; Robert Finley, a Presbyterian Minister; President James Monroe, after whom the Capital of Liberia was named; and many other prominent American statesmen, who founded in 1817 the American Colonization Society, the organization which gave birth to Liberia.
Ahead International now offers an opportunity for Christian America to rally together to play a leading role in the evangelization of Liberia and in restoring peace, economic, social, and political stability to the nation. AHEAD therefore appeals to Christian churches and organizations of America to rally together to pray for Liberia and help rescue the country from sinking any deeper. Ahead International also calls upon mission agencies that had ministries in Liberia before the civil war to launch a campaign of calling upon their supporting churches and individuals to pray more passionately for Liberia.
LEADERSHIP
President & Chief Executive
Oscar L. James
ojames@aheadministries.org
Oscar’s own journey and major events of his from Liberia to the United States and back to Liberia, were all part of God’s careful design for his life. His word says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declared the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jer. 29:11)
In August of 1988, by a miracle of God, Oscar left Liberia for the United States, barely two months before the notorious warlord, Charles Taylor, unleashed a period of tyranny on the nation. He was the only member of my family spared the brutality of the war. He lost both of his parents, a sister and a nephew to the war while the rest of his siblings wandered in displaced camps for several years.
While here in the U.S., the lord blessed him with a college education and he went on to received my Masters of Business Administration. He held several high paying jobs and was comfortably on his way towards building his version of the American Dream. He had met Sophie, Bishop Gus’s second daughter, and we were married in August of 1995.
Together, they are blessed with two precious sons, Leighton (9) and Miles (6).
Corporate America proved to be a blessing to his family but the Lord reminded him continually about the miracle of him being spared the trials of war in Liberia. He openly admits that he always knew God had another plan for his life. Psalm 37 says that the Lord delights in the way of the man whose steps he has made firm. His steps led him to trade in my job for the cause of the cross.
In 2001, having been loosely affiliated with Ahead Ministry for several years, Gus Marwieh, his mentor and father-in-law, extended an invitation for him to join the Ahead ministry board. After 5 years of service in various capacities, he assumed the role as the ministry’s President and continued glean nuggets of wisdom from key ministry figures as he did from the Bishop.
On Saturday, July 28, 2007, the journey took on a new dimension. Dr. Marwieh, the founder of the ministry went to be with the lord. Like Elijah before Elisha, the mantle was passed on from Gus to Oscar and thus began a new turn in Oscar’s ministry.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
aheadboard@aheadministries.org
| 1. |
Mr. Oscar James |
President & Executive Director |
| 2. |
Dr. Dalineta Victoria Hines |
Member |
| 3. |
Mr. Jeffrey Wurtz Lockheed Martin, Inc. |
Secretary |
| 4. |
Mr. Frank Sumner Sonoma Graphics, Inc. |
Member |
| 5. |
Mr. David Ickert Viking Door |
Member |
| 6. |
Pastor, Sean Blomquist Shelter Covenant Church |
Member |
| .7. |
Mr. Kee Hwang MI Electric |
Member |
| 8. |
Mr. Dirk Allman Country Wide Financials |
Member |
| 9. |
Mr. Karl Ryan Professional Touch Auto |
Member |
| 10. |
Mrs. Joan Whitehead |
Treasurer |
| 11. |
Mr. Thomas Lee Coldwell Banker |
Member |
| 12. |
Mr. Fred Tse Hwelett Packard Company |
Member |
| 13. |
Mr. Guillermo De La Torre Wood in the Woods Construction |
Member |
ADVISORS
Pastor John Christie
Crosswalk Community Church
Baker & Cindy Cleveland
Mr. Ron Foster |
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