Impact Updates from Around the World - February
Take a quick trip around the world with us and catch a glimpse of what God is doing through One Collective communities.
Bulgaria - When God Ignites a Vision in a Young Leader
After attending a discipleship retreat, Filian, the youth intern serving in Tulovo, Bulgaria came home with a simple but powerful conviction: what if every young person could experience what I just experienced? Instead of letting the moment pass, he stepped out in faith and took action.
Filian partnered with other youth leaders and our Youth Ministry Coordinator, Sam, to create a Mini-Discipleship Weekend for teens in his community. Over the 24 hours together, 18 young people gathered for worship, testimonies, and biblical teaching centered on one honest question: “What are my biggest fears, and how can I give them to God?”
Filian led the first talk, vulnerably sharing his own struggles with fear and how God is teaching him to surrender them. He later reflected, “Everyone came expecting God to move…and He did!” One young teen, attending her first retreat ever, shared through tears, “As a result of the teaching this weekend, I am healed from overpowering fear. I thank you, God!”
Many teens named the prayer stations as the most impactful part of the weekend: writing letters to God, nailing fears to a wooden cross, sitting in silence, and receiving prayer. The weekend ended with one resounding question echoing among the youth: “When is our next discipleship weekend?!”
This is a beautiful picture of what happens when God stirs a heart, and a young leader says yes.
Ecuador - Thank You video from the team in Quito
The Second Chances team in Quito is planning for the the year ahead with clarity and purpose, trusting God while also stewarding well the mission He has entrusted to them. They created this video to say Thank You for all the support in 2025 !
Thank you to every collaborator, donor, and volunteer who made transformation possible in the Hope Centers, Casa Gabriel, and community programs.
They enter a new year with faith and hope, ready for all God will do!
Kenya - Celebrating the first 2 Threads of Tumaini Graduates
This spring, the Kenyan community of Tumaini launched a beautiful new initiative: Threads of Tumaini, a sewing and discipleship program bringing practical skills and lasting hope to women in the community. An old barn was refurbished into a vibrant workshop, and thanks to the generosity of faithful donors like you, sewing machines and supplies were fully funded.
In late January, the community gathered to celebrate the program’s first two graduates from the nine-month journey, marking the milestone with an afternoon of horse riding and sweet treats. These moments of joy are possible because you chose to invest in people, not just programs.
Tumaini means hope in Swahili, and this program lives up to its name. Threads of Tumaini is a holistic ministry that combines vocational training in sewing with discipleship through Bible studies and prayer groups, alongside life-skills education in personal budgeting and finance. Participants also receive training in key health topics such as nutrition, mental health, and sexual health.
Your generosity is helping create opportunity, restore dignity, and spark lasting transformation across the community. Thank you for being part of this story.
Learn more about Threads of Tumaini in this short video.
Creating Opportunity. Restoring Dignity. Inspiring Hope.
Middle East - Providing Community and Hope for Refugee Mothers
One of the One Collective teams in the Middle East works predominately with Arab refugees who have fled conflict in their home countries. Our team offers an ongoing program for mothers and children. One of the participants of the program recently shared:
“I am writing this on behalf of every grateful heart to express our deepest gratitude for the incredible impact you have made in our lives. It is rare to find a group as dedicated and compassionate as this one, especially in a country like this. Knowing that we have a community that listens with empathy and love has been a source of immense healing. Your constant encouragement has been the fuel we needed to keep going during our most difficult days… Thank you most especially for always pointing us back to Christ. The spiritual nourishment we receive here has strengthened our faith and given us a hope that transcends our circumstances. We pray that God replenishes everything you have poured out a hundredfold. May He grant this organization the grace to continue this noble work… Once again ‘THANK YOU ‘ and a happy new year to you all”
Please pray that mothers would come with a hunger for truth, that they would hear and understand the stories shared in the program throughout the year, and that they would build good community. Pray that the team would connect with the women from the program well on home visits, and that the team would have wisdom about whom to visit, how often, and how to come alongside them in the best way.
Ukraine - The Global Church is Sustaining Ukrainian Pastors & Churches through the Sister Church Initiative
When the first missiles fell in 2022 and families began running for their lives, the Church in Ukraine did not lock its doors — it opened them.
Within days of the invasion, eleven temporary shelters sprang up across our network. Every night, nearly 500 men, women, and children — exhausted, frightened, clutching backpacks and babies — found a place to sleep on their journey toward safety in Europe. Six of those shelters were churches. Two of them cleared out their worship centers and covered the floors with mattresses. Sanctuaries became bedrooms. Pulpits stood beside piles of blankets. Songs of praise were replaced by the quiet breathing of families finally able to rest. But there was a cost.
Church congregations lost half their members as they fled westward. Others had joined the military and gone to the frontlines. The very churches that opened their arms were suddenly smaller, financially stretched, and overwhelmed with need. They were feeding refugees while losing their own members. Heating buildings while incomes disappeared. Loving sacrificially when their own resources were vanishing. And yet, they kept saying yes.
That is when One Collective stepped in and launched the Sister Church Initiative. Churches in America and Europe answered the call, coming alongside Ukrainian churches to carry the burden together. Each Sister Church provides the pastor’s salary, so he doesn’t have to take outside work. Instead, he can give his full heart and energy to his people, distributing food, packing care packages for children, delivering firewood in the bitter winter, and providing basic appliances so families can begin again with dignity. These pastors don’t keep the blessing for themselves. They share it. They make sure the entire refugee community feels the love of Christ.
At one point, 21 Ukrainian churches were supported by a Sister Church. Today, that number is 11. Ten churches are praying for someone to stand with them again.
Maybe that someone is your church.
Imagine knowing that your congregation is the reason a pastor can stay, serve, and shepherd in the middle of war. Imagine being the answer to a prayer whispered in a cold sanctuary turned shelter.
Email us at Development@Onecollective.org to learn how you can become part of the Sister Church Initiative.
Stand with Ukraine. Stand with the Church. Help keep the doors open.
These are just a few snapshots of what God is doing across the globe. Thanks so much for reading!
Lindsey Vanzant
Global Giving Advisor
Lindsey serves as the Global Giving Advisor for One Collective, where her primary focus is to coach financial supporters by connecting their goals, experiences and passions to the work God is doing on the front lines in communities where One Collective serves around the world.
Prior to joining One Collective, Lindsey spent 15 years in various business development and account management roles with Rubbermaid Commercial Products where she most recently led the healthcare division. For the past 11 years, Lindsey has led a local ministry support group for young moms with unplanned pregnancies alongside her local church.
Lindsey lives in Indiana with her husband and four children and loves to travel, explore new places, meet new people, cheer on Hoosier basketball, grow flowers, and spend time with family and friends.
