Mission
We endeavor to bring the message of Christ’s passion to hurting, hungry, hardened and hopeless people in post-crisis nations through sustainable relief and development projects in cooperation with local churches and other local and international organizations.
Values
We are committed to and passionate about:
Jesus Christ
It is important that New Mercies Ministries remain a Christ-centered endeavor. We will exert intentional effort to keep the gospel at the forefront of our relief and social justice work. New Mercies has more than a Christian motivation or beginning, but endeavors to also bring glory to God through our means and end. We intend to accomplish this by living and working according to biblical principles and also valuing the following.
Sharing the Gospel and Making Disciples
We aim to share the gospel and make disciples by showing God’s love in word, action and attitude.
We believe that personal and national restoration or renewal ultimately has little to do with meeting physical needs. Therefore, sharing our faith will be an intentional and purposeful element of every project.
We recognize the importance of connecting believers with a local church, where possible.
We endorse and affirm the primary role of national Christians to reach the people of their nation.
Mobilization
We are called to engage those who may not typically feel called to international ministry or service, but who have a valuable area of professional expertise which could meet a specific permanent or short-term need.
We are called to release national Christians to do the work of the ministry in their own nation and beyond.
We are called to create opportunities for the involvement of diverse groups of internationals who live passionate, open and contagious lives of steadfast commitment to Christ.
Recognizing the mutual benefit, we endeavor to mobilize churches and other groups on both a personal and financial level.
Relationships
It is crucial that we and those with whom we work walk in integrity and are upright in relationships.
We are not called to start a project and then hand it over. Rather, we are called to start projects with our national partners so that both they and the community have ownership of the project throughout its lifecycle.
We recognize the global completeness of the Body of Christ. Therefore, we do not assume that either nationals or internationals will have all the answers or resources. Cooperation and partnership is essential to the success of individual projects and the ministry as a whole.
Founders and Directors: Charlie and Karen Oglesby
God first stirred Karen’s heart for post-crisis nations during trips to East Timor and Sierra Leone, two nations just emerging from brutal civil war at the time. As she served and studied post-war relief and development in these broken places, God began to reveal the beginnings of what would eventually become New Mercies Ministries.After graduating from college, Charlie and Karen met while working in full-time college campus ministry. Karen launched New Mercies Ministries in 2006. Charlie continued in campus ministry until marrying Karen in 2008, at which point he joined her in directing New Mercies. Charlie and Karen’s understanding of international ministry has been informed by time spent in six different post-crisis settings in addition to several other nations across the globe. To maximize their efficiency and effectiveness in resource acquisition, team mobilization and project development, the Oglesbys make regular trips to Rwanda while being based in Minnesota. This allows them opportunity to remain actively involved in their church, City Hill (www.cityhill.org), where Charlie serves as an Elder. Both enjoy mentoring and are involved as volunteers in a variety of capacities.
Karen is a graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College (BA in Religion). She serves on the Board of Directors for Faith Victory Association – Rwanda (www.faith-victory.org) and Prepare Ministries (www.prepareministries.com). Charlie graduated from the University of Minnesota (BA in Geography).
Charlie and Karen have three daughters and enjoy spending time outdoors, eating ice cream, and cheering on the Twins, Vikings, and Gophers.