Charitable Status Info
Registered in Canada under # 88987 0663 RR 0001
Information concerning Grace Life Ministries, including financial, licensing or charitable purposes, may be obtained, without cost, by writing to Grace Life Ministries, P.O. Box 3583 Courtenay, British Columbia, V9N 6Z8 Canada, (250) 218 0619 or emailing gracelifeministries7@yahoo.ca
Who we are:
a Christian non-profit Society registered in Canada dedicated to bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to the nations, while responding to the needs of the destitute and oppressed.
Who we serve:
- high-risk children and families from a slum in Visakhapatnam, India
- women's self-help micro-credit groups in Orissa, India
- refugee children who attend Elpis School in Thailand
- ex-prostitutes from Project Rescue in Kathmandu, Nepal
- pastors in Nepal and India
How we serve:
- we establish children's homes for high-risk children where they receive English medium education in a loving Christian environment.
-we work in relationship with individuals and communities to demonstrate God's love and grace to the poor, oppressed, and outcast.
- we provide emergency medical aid for the sick and infirm.
- we help people break the cycle of poverty in their families and communities through income-generating projects, industry training, and financial grants to micro-credit self-help groups.
- we provide church buildings, Christian literature, and educational resources for Christian communities
- we help sustain communities through practical means such a bore wells, mosquito netting, innoculatons, etc.
Grace Life Ministries is committed to integrity in the use of finances entrusted to this ministry, ensuring that materials, resources, and professional assistance are used as effectively as possible. Some of the areas where monies are disbursed are: bore wells, church buildings, children's homes, Christian literature, bicycles, teaching materials, medical aid, child sponsorship, financial grants to self-help groups (micro-credit), cottage and industry skills training, Christian education, transportation, etc. Grace Life Ministries educates sponsors and contributors through fundraisers, newsletters, brochures, DVDs, and other promotional materials. Our international projects require staff, buildings, food and clothing allowances for children, medicines, travel expenses for workers on the field, conference and other educational expenses, etc.
83% of contributions received are disbursed directly to our international projects; 17% is used for fundraising, management, and operational support.
All Grace Life Ministries accounts are independently audited every year.
Behind the Scenes
Grace Life Ministries was birthed as a charitable society under the name of Faith Outreach Canada in 1994, shortly after Kell Frandsen returned from a visit to India. He was deeply impacted by what he discovered in the state of Orissa, a land filled with destitute people who were dying from starvation and disease. These poor tribals were considered ‘untouchable’ by Indian society and their needs were largely ignored. The sacred cows of India received much better treatment than these oppressed and poverty-stricken people. The land was filled with temples and shrines to Hindu gods and goddesses but there was little Christian witness to bring the message of salvation and hope. Kell saw that the tribals represented a rich harvest field for the gospel but the national pastors and evangelists struggled in their ministries due to poverty. There was a great need for supplemental financial support that would help the workers establish their churches and ministries.
Kell and his wife Lorri wanted to help meet the financial need by designing the society to advertise the needs of India’s poor to Canadian sponsors. Funds raised through donations were then channeled to Orissa for the education of children, the support of Bible School students and pastors, feeding programs for the poor and destitute, medical services, training in cottage industry, and agricultural programs. To gain a deeper understanding of the people and their needs, Kell and Lorri, took several trips to India over the next few years. In 1997 they were commissioned as missionaries to the Orissa tribals and began the work of evangelism, Bible School teaching, preaching in churches, and organizing child and pastor sponsorships. Kell’s focus was the training of young men and women in the gospel of grace and his dream was to see pastors and evangelists preaching the gospel throughout Orissa.
After traveling back and forth to India and serving 4 six-month terms there, Kell and Lorri returned to settle in British Columbia in order to raise funds, expand the ministry base, and handle administration. Since then Kell and Lorri make annual trips (and often more) to give oversight and encouragement to the ministry.
When Kell visited India in 2002, he was brought to tears when he met with the pastors and workers. With almost no tools, in poverty, danger, and persecution, a small group of workers had grown a ministry very quickly. In 2 short years the 28 pastors and workers supported through Grace Life Ministries had opened up 145 villages for ministry, raised up 600 prayer partners, and established a base of over 4000 people to whom they regularly minister.
Many of the existing Christian churches in India tend to continue operating from society’s model which is structured on the caste system and on pagan religions. Much of this is the result of poor teaching and a lack of sound Biblical instruction. Consequently there is little freedom in their Christian experience. Grace Life Ministries helps by sending Christian literature and Bible resources to the workers on the field; providing Christian educational materials for the children in our children's ministry; by holding teaching conferences and seminars during visits to India; and by supplying practical support to pastors and their communities.
Kell has articulated the mission of Grace Life Ministries in this way:
“The mission is really a heart passion for the poor, given to us by God. The tribal people of Orissa are a crushed people; women are degraded and their lives are filled with drudgery and oppression. Health conditions are abysmal and the people’s most basic needs go unmet. When we had the privilege of ministering and teaching in India, our hearts’ cry was to lift the poor out of this pit and give them the means to hear the message of salvation in Christ Jesus and to find dignity in life. The big question was how to do this in a practical way. We saw that we needed to partner with Canadian sponsors and donors who would help the Orissa believers already working among the tribal poor. The Oriya pastors need quality teaching materials so as to instruct believers and to raise up leaders. These people need to know their worth in God’s eyes, their new identity in Christ, and what the New Covenant gospel of grace means to them personally."
Although Kell and Lorri Frandsen run the ministry, Grace Life Ministries has a dedicated Board of Members in Canada as well as church representative, administrator, and professional accountant. We also have Christian volunteers from around the world who have served in India part-time - some do so regularly every year. Our staff in India are nationals who have dedicated their lives to serving the ministry.
There are opportunities for qualified people to help with the Grace Life childcare, bring medical and ministry expertise, supply educational tools, and provide financial support.
All web site content, including text and photos, are copyright property of Grace Life Ministries. For problems or questions regarding this Web site contact [gracelifeministries7@yahoo.ca].
Last updated: 5/1/2009
