Word Made Flesh Inc
serving Jesus among the most vulnerable of the world's poor
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
We aim to infuse hope, empower people, and amplify the voices of those who are often not heard. We do this by fostering communities of people called and committed to serving Jesus among people who find themselves in some of the most vulnerable and oppressive situations in the world. We mobilize people and churches to respond with sustainable community-based initiatives to build relationships with families who experience extreme poverty, women who are trafficked or at risk of being trafficked, children who have been abandoned, and more.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Word Made Flesh Bolivia
WMF Bolivia seeks to awaken hope and offer opportunities for holistic transformation for women affected by sexual exploitation and their families.
Word Made Flesh Brazil
WMF Brazil is called by God to offer a prophetic witness to the city of Rio de Janeiro, especially to those who struggle with and suffer from drugs, poverty, broken families, and violence. We are in relationship with children, adolescents and young families who live on or frequent the streets, providing them with Bible teaching, educational activities, meals, prayer, and more. We have a day center where women who are on the streets can care for their children and themselves, as well as participate in Bible study, and receive help with legal issues. We also have a Christian care home for children who are adopted or at-risk.
Word Made Flesh Romania
WMF Romania works toward a better future for vulnerable children through personal development through partnering friends. Children in this area are at risk of dropping out of school, joining gangs, and are vulnerable to trafficking, abandonment, lack of health care, and marginalization. There is also a need for the development of life skills/ job skills for both children and parents. WMF Romania facilitates centers where children receive hot meals and personal care, help with homework, first-aid, counseling, spiritual and moral education, support in job placement, and more. Other WMF Romania activities include a summer camp, adult education programs, and community development.
Word Made Flesh Rwanda
WMF Rwanda works to love and serve Jesus among and alongside the most vulnerable in Kigali, Rwanda. We are committed to participating in the movement of the Kingdom of God already at work here, and in joining our Rwandan friends and neighbors in a vision of hope for the future of Rwanda. We are currently building friendships with vulnerable women and children in some of the poorer neighborhoods of Kigali. Our economic empowerment programs provide women with access to dignified work, vocation and life skills, financial literacy, counseling, and deep friendship through community.
Word Made Flesh Sierra Leone
WMF Sierra Leone seeks to love, serve and accompany youth, destitute families, and young children in Freetown, specifically in the Kroo Bay community. Our ministry center provides a place where children can experience community, hospitality, and safety. They share meals, play in the playground, or cultivate the garden. WMF Sierra Leone provides education about preventing sexual abuse, as well as counseling for children and their families, and helps them receive medical care and pursue legal action against perpetrators. Our Lighthouse Ministry disciples and mentors youth through a variety of activities including weekly corporate worship, homework assistance, leadership development, and more. We lead a Good News Club for children, outreach activities, and a tutoring program.
Word Made Flesh Moldova
WMF Moldova works toward a better future for vulnerable children through personal development through partnering friends. Children in this area are at risk of dropping out of school, joining gangs, and are vulnerable to trafficking, abandonment, lack of health care, and marginalization. There is also a need for the development of life skills/ job skills for both children and parents. We create a space of respect and hope, offering equal chances of holistic healing and recovery through practical activities such as art, music, moral-spiritual education, homework help, and counseling that all contribute to the children's and families' rehabilitation and integration into society.
Word Made Flesh Burundi
WMF Burundi exists to pioneer a new path to peace by providing resources for trauma healing and reconciliation in Burundi and the African Great Lakes Region. We contribute to the healing of psychological trauma by offering psychosocial services and capacity-building, empowering the community to become psychosocially, spiritually, culturally, and economically resilient. We establish community therapeutic centers, facilitate coordinate workshops on trauma healing, train key community members on trauma healing, promote reconciliation and conflict transformation processes through the Alternative to Violence Program, lead workshops and promote effective methods for healing, and sensitize the public and the international community to respond to trauma problems in Burundi.
Word Made Flesh India
WMF India's calling is to see Jesus among the poorest of the poor in the community, especially children affected by HIV/ AIDS. The Home of Happiness cares for children orphaned by AIDS, children living with HIV, children from families affected by AIDS or Hansen's disease (leprosy), and abandoned babies. WMF Chennai also runs a ministry among women who are destitute. The women are trained as caregivers at the WMF childcare facilities, and provided with Christian discipleship, economic stability, and the opportunity to educate themselves through correspondence courses.
Word Made Flesh Navajo Nation
In partnership with Navajo leaders and community members, we seek to share the Gospel of Christ among the Diné people in the Bodaway region of Arizona by meeting physical and spiritual needs.
Bodaway Ministries works with Navajo (Diné) organizations and individuals to support them in ministry endeavors. Through these relationships Bodaway Ministries attempts to meet the physical needs caused by extreme poverty and unemployment and address spiritual needs caused by a lack of relationship with Christ.
WMF Papua New Guinea
Supports rural communities in the Sepik and Sandaun Provinces of PNG in addressing spiritual, intellectual, and physical needs.
Where we work
External reviews

Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of clients who complete job skills training
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Word Made Flesh Rwanda
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Women in Rwanda participate in weekly micro-business training.
Number of youth receiving services (e.g., groups, skills and job training, etc.) with youths living in their community
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Related Program
Word Made Flesh India
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Teens are trained in making mats, pillows, cakes, and cleaning supplies.
Number of students enrolled
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, At-risk youth
Related Program
Word Made Flesh Romania
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Children are enrolled in the Community Center to help them stay in school and stay off the streets through access to a safe place, hot meals, education, and play.
Number of women who work in the sex industry reached
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls, Victims and oppressed people, Sex workers
Related Program
Word Made Flesh Bolivia
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Overall outreach to women who work in the sex industry in Al Alto and La Paz, Bolivia.
Hours of volunteer service
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, Families, At-risk youth
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Hours of volunteer service among the Navajo, including job training, VBS, coordinating revival opportunities with local church, supporting local artisans, providing food provisions, and more.
Number of children reached with a meal each school day
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, At-risk youth
Related Program
Word Made Flesh Moldova
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Hot meals are served weekly at our Community Center to children, along with education, games, and mentoring.
Number of youth who volunteer/participate in community service
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Related Program
Word Made Flesh Sierra Leone
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Teenagers from the Lighthouse program are mentored and equipped to lead the weekly Good News Club for over 200 children.
Number of women supported by the Community Center
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls
Related Program
Word Made Flesh Bolivia
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Women are trained to achieve basic literacy, financial knowledge, and professional skills.
Number of children served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, People with HIV/AIDS
Related Program
Word Made Flesh India
Type of Metric
Context - describing the issue we work on
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Clients successfully treated for trauma.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Victims and oppressed people
Related Program
Word Made Flesh Burundi
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Decreasing
Context Notes
WMF Burundi successfully treated and closed trauma cases.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
We aim to help children live with their families in homes, receive education, access opportunities for a better future; to help women to be protected and free from exploitation and to receive opportunities for building a better future; and more.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We achieve our goals through community centers (Romania, Peru, Moldova, Sierra Leone, Brazil, and Bolivia); microloans (Rwanda); social enterprise (Bolivia); school and medical center (Malawi); informal school (Thailand); rural community development (Papua New Guinea); and home for vulnerable children (India).
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
We own facilities in most of the locations where we serve, and have experienced staff with over 30 years of experience in our areas of service. Our staff is professional and diverse with degrees in social work, education, psychology, health care, theology, etc. We have excellent programs and a diversified funding base, as well as an active board of directors from various church backgrounds and with diverse expertise. The services offered in many of the locations we serve are accredited. Relationships make up our most important capacity. Our methodology has been to develop activities through relationships. For over 20 years, we have invested in building relationships with vulnerable children and families, and official partnerships with local schools, doctors, businesses, other NGOs, churches in Galati and local government. Additionally, various universities in the US have accredited our semester abroad program and internships.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Thirty women in Rwanda participate in weekly training in micro-business; over 125 teens are trained in making mats, pillows, cakes, and cleaning supplies in India; over 45 children are enrolled in the Community Center to help them stay in school and stay off the streets through access to a safe place, hot meals, education, and play; almost 3,000 women who have been exploited by prostitution have been reached out to in Bolivia; training, preaching, dialogue tables, discussions, and publications reached over 100 Peruvians, raising awareness about those who are vulnerable; 864 hours of volunteer service among the Navajo Nation; more than 30 hot meals served at our Community Center to children, along with education, games, and mentoring in Moldova; more than 30 women participate in the Community Center in Brazil; more than 200 children receive a nutrition supplement per week at a Good News Club in Sierra Leone; approximately 40 teenagers from the Lighthouse program are mentored and equipped to lead the weekly Good News Club for over 200 children.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
-
How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
-
Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We share the feedback we received with the people we serve, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback
-
What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time
Financials
Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights?
Learn more
about GuideStar Pro.
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Word Made Flesh Inc
Board of directorsas of 10/27/2023
Steve Behnke
Word Made Flesh
Term: 2016 -
Steve Behnke
Volunteer
Gil Liu
Volunteer
Conrad Davies
Volunteer
Cami Goble
Staff
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
-
Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? No -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 08/23/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.