The 40 members of a church in Woods Harbour, Nova Scotia — a small, rural Canadian fishing village — recently witnessed the exponential power of partnership, hope and sacrificial giving.

Woods Harbour Wesleyan Church, the little church with a huge heart, changed the lives of thousands of people in Sierra Leone. I know because I watched the partnership develop and grow.

How it Started

In 2022, the church invited me to share World Hope’s mission and vision. I explained three areas of Word Hope’s transformational expertise — clean water/energy, global health and protection — and spoke about the reason, response and responsibility we have as Christians, according to 1 John 3:16-21.

After my presentation, the Rev. Tim Conrad (who goes by Pastor Tim) asked his church how it could partner best with World Hope. Members discussed clean water/energy, global health and protection, each country of opportunity and the church’s passions. The church decided raising funds to drill a deep borehole water well in Sierra Leone would be the best fit and benefit the most vulnerable people.

Results

By winter 2022-23, church members had raised enough money to drill a deep borehole well for an entire community in Sierra Leone. Today, clean water allows girls to attend school (instead of walking miles to fetch water), increases wellness and brings hope to the entire community and its school.

The church’s gift transformed a community on the other side of the world, but it also transformed the tiny church itself and surrounding fishing village. As church members stepped out of their comfort zones and gave sacrificially, they witnessed something they hadn’t expected: Their faith grew.

In 2024, Woods Harbour Wesleyan Church extended its partnership with World Hope. This time, the church chose to support World Hope’s Recovery Centre in Sierra Leone, which provides comprehensive and safe residential care for human trafficking survivors.

To fund the initiative, the church invited the local community to participate in a trivia night and auction. Congregants, community members and businesses donated auction items, but the hottest sellers were a local restaurant’s chocolate cake and “Bill’s Tasty Biscuits.” To date, the church has raised enough money to reintegrate six trafficking survivors into their families and communities.

 A Lesson in Faith

The Bible tells several stories of how Jesus multiplied resources. Specifically, I’m reminded of another small group of fishermen. 

John 21:6 states that after his resurrection, Jesus went to a beach on the Sea of Galilee. The disciples had spent the night fishing, but they caught nothing. They looked up when they heard a voice. 

“Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some.” 

They did as instructed, and they couldn’t haul in the catch because there were so many fish. 
The disciples could’ve given up and not thrown the net. With Jesus, however, everything changed: They returned with the largest catch possible. 

Sound familiar? 

Forty people from this tiny fishing village in Nova Scotia offered what they had, and God used it to transform a community of thousands in Sierra Leone. In turn, the church members’ faith grew with their desire to continue partnering with World Hope International.

To learn how your faith-based organization can partner with World Hope and change lives like Woods Harbour Wesleyan Church continues to do in Sierra Leone, please visit our partnership page.