Jamie Lynn Goodwin

MODULE ONE: Introducing oneway ministries

OneWay Ministries (“OneWay”) is a 501(c)3 organization based out of Aurora, IL, with a mission to “activate God’s people to exalt Jesus Christ and advance His gospel to the multitudes” and a vision “to see countless people come to a saving faith in Christ as God’s people joyfully engage in reaching them.” Founded by Michael Thompson and his wife Rachel in 2000, OneWay is a family of seven missions and media ministries focused on “helping people help people” by “reaching the lost and rallying the church”. 

OneWay’s missions ministries include: 

• OneWay Africa: OneWay Africa shares the good news of Jesus Christ among least-reached people groups” through their “Operation Unreached” and various video projects focused on sharing the mission stories of Ghana. Additionally, Project Activate engages thousands in churches and universities by issuing a compelling call for African believers to engage in the Great Commission. 

• Gospel Advance: “Gospel Advance is powered by a passion to see multitudes saved. Our specific focus is on coming alongside national workers with training, encouragement and practical ministry tools to help maximize effectiveness. From South America to the Middle East, we serve Kingdom workers, helping to enhance and accelerate their efforts as they lay their lives down for the gospel.”

• Streams of Living Water: “Streams of Living Water recruits, trains and sends believers from the Middle East & North Africa to reach the Arab world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

• Young People (Internships): “So many young people have hearts full of love for Christ, passion for the Great Commission, and unique dreams about how to use their specific gifts in the Kingdom. Too often, though, they have no practical idea where to start. Far too many passionate and skilled young people are sitting on the sidelines simply waiting to be activated, even though Jesus himself said, ‘the harvest is plentiful and the workers are few.’ That's why we're here. Our heart is for you: the wide-eyed & full-hearted, those longing to know and fall more deeply in love with Jesus and discover how He longs to use your whole life for His glory here and among the nations.”

OneWay’s media ministries include: 

• Prayercast: “Activating world-changing prayer for the lost.”

• OneWay Studios: “OneWay Studios integrates film, music, and stories from around the world to create media that advances God's Kingdom…Through what we create, it is our goal to stir people to exalt Christ and advance His gospel worldwide.”

• Mission Network News:“MNN exists to inform multitudes about stories that matter and empowers them to take action that changes lives.”

Source: www.owm.org

OneWay’s existing operations in Ghana are facing both risk and opportunity in the face of negative consequences of global climate change. While 2015’s Paris Agreement signified international cooperation for participation in coordinated efforts to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change, today’s measures of these efforts prove that they are falling short of the goals to: 

• “substantially reduce global greenhouse gas emissions to hold global temperature increase to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, recognizing that this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change

• periodically assess the collective progress towards achieving the purpose of this agreement and its long-term goals

• provide financing to developing countries to mitigate climate change, strengthen resilience and enhance abilities to adapt to climate impacts.” (United Nations, 2024)

The COP28 convention in 2023 marked the first global stocktake to review the world’s progress in meeting their country’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) plans. This convention revealed that efforts in areas of mitigation, adaptation, and finance are falling short, acknowledging that progress has been too slow across all areas of climate action (United Nations, 2024). 

The COP28’s “First Global Stocktake High-level Committee Summary of High-level events” states that “Non-Party stakeholders (NPS) including businesses, investors, cities and regions, women, youth, Indigenous Peoples, and local communities worldwide have a crucial role in implementation through inclusive and innovative approaches to support global efforts to tackle climate change challenges and seizing opportunities.” (United Nations, 2024). Additionally, “there is an urgent need for strengthened adaptation action at scale, to reduce vulnerabilities and enhance resilience, recognizing that climate change is already impacting lives and livelihoods across the world, especially in developing countries and vulnerable communities.” (United Nations, 2024). 

African-specific analysis arising from COP28 confirms that the continent is specifically at-risk and vulnerable, noting, “the signals and outcomes of COPs are not enough. Concrete and ambitious action is dependent on the willingness and ability of governments and society-wide action.” (Africa Policy Research Institute, 2024).

Sources:

www.un.org/en/climatechange/paris-agreement

https://afripoli.org/falling-short-or-following-through-cop-28-outcomes-for-africa

The realities of climate change, especially in vulnerable and developing areas, pose both risk and the opportunity for the global evangelical church and its ministries that operate in Africa. How can OneWay Ministries best love, care, and walk alongside the communities and regions they currently serve in light of potential climate change risks? This case study examines the missions work of OneWay Ministries with a focus on the intersection of innovative social entrepreneurship business modeling tools with scientific climate change data and evangelical missiology to propose an agile scalability and adaptation solution for its existing ministry portfolio.

Links to other Documents

• OneWay Ministries 2023 Annual Report

• OneWay Ministries 2022 Form 990

• Paris Climate Agreement

• COP28: First Global Stocktake High-level Committee Summary of High-level events

• COP28 Outcomes for Africa