Our History

On Sunday March 17th, 1990 a team of adults from Bayfair Baptist Church in Pickering, Ontario, shared their experiences with the entire congregation on their return from a ministry project in Jamaica, a project with orphan children. It was obvious that they were deeplymoved and challenged by the experience and this in the words of one who said: "Pastor, we can't stop! - we must go on, we must do more to help children. God has blessed us, we must do more."

It had been my privilege to lead the team, the third I had led to the island of Jamaica and I knew exactly the extent of the emotion being expressed and the deep spiritual burden that was gripping the hearts and lives of my people. They were beginning to feel what I had felt for years.

Children are the primary victims of disaster and poverty. They are the most vulnerable to the effects of evil in society. Yet do they not have the right to adequate nutrition? Clean water? Proper health care? Do they not have the right to hear the gospel and to experience the Gospel? Do they not have the right to protection against discrimination, abuse, violence, and neglect? My answer would be 'Yes, Yes!' and therefore something had to be done.

After a visit to Africa where I confronted children who were both victims of AIDS, in that, they had been orphaned because of the disease, and who suffered with AIDS, children neglected and rejected. My heart was further moved as the Holy Spirit began to deal with me, so came the vision of a mission that would reach out to the forgotten children of the world. After much prayer and the seeking of counsel from respected Christian leaders, and at the direct leading of the Holy Spirit, the Mission was established with a simple goal, to bring children into safety, security, and love of the Arms of Jesus. God did amazing things to see the Mission registered and approved by the Government of Canada, and to see its ministry expand quickly. Of course, a Board of Directors was appointed, legal counsel taken, and the work began in October 1990 and has developed steadily since.

In 1996 we continued to experience tremendous growth not only in Canada but in the United States of America and of course to be able to serve and service our donor base, it was necessary for us to register in the United States as a Mission, that is a non-profit organization reaching out to help needy children,and to seek registration with the inland revenue service so that we could issue tax receipts. We were delighted when in early 1997 we were able to secure both and so The Arms of Jesus Children's Mission is not only registered in Canada but is now registered in the United States of America with our base being in Buffalo, New York. Not only that we were able to establish a Board of reference, key people from different states who would give credibility to our various projects throughout the world and so The Arms of Jesus Children's Mission continues to grow.

Dr. Sam Martin | Founder

 

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