When Pastor Brian Bloye returned from a World Help sponsored trip to Guatemala, his heart was overwhelmed by the needs he saw in the indigenous communities there. A church-planting veteran and founder of the church-planting Launch Network, he has always had a passion to reach people with the love of Christ. That passion took a new turn when he personally saw the absolute poverty in Guatemala for the first time.
During their trip, Pastor Bloye and several other pastors were introduced to the Total Village Transformation project—an initiative to bring sustainable health to rural communities ravaged by the relentless cycle of poverty. By providing clean water, preventative healthcare, a church, spiritual development, schooling, and sustainable agriculture, we can give a village the tools and resources it needs to thrive.
As Pastor Bloye learned about the difference a Total Village Transformation brings to poverty-stricken communities, he began to realize it wasn’t a matter of if, but how.
“The second day we were there, we [saw] where churches have already partnered with a village. You see a church there, you see there’s a well, there are greenhouses, trees. There’s hope. Then you go into villages where nothing’s happened yet,” he said.
Pastor Bloye shared how experiencing the two extremes opened his eyes to the immediate difference that could be made with the right kind of investment.
“I had the opportunity to see [the] villages World Help is building . . . and I just thought that ‘this would be an amazing opportunity for some churches to come together and build a village from the ground up,” he said.
His hope would become determination after visiting the village of Guayacan del Paso, where the 600 residents are considered to be “squatters” by local communities.
“They’re looked down upon, yet they’re hard-working people. They’re just trying to provide for their families,” he said.
Currently, the villagers drink from murky, contaminated water sources. Their church is an open structure with only a tin roof, the homes are made of mud and sticks, employment is almost nonexistent, and the rate of malnutrition is high. After meeting and praying with a family there, Pastor Bloye knew beyond a doubt that he wanted to help transform the lives of the people of Guayacan del Paso.
When he returned to West Ridge Church in Dallas, Georgia, and began sharing pictures from his trip, members of his congregation were excited to get involved.
Though just in the beginning stages of the project, the church has already raised enough funds to begin their first project in Guayacan del Paso—improving the village’s water source through a well, holding tank, and distribution pipeline. They also plan on finishing the village’s church, building a trade school, and implementing a feeding program. According to Pastor Bloye, West Ridge looks forward to “a long-term relationship” with the people of Guayacan del Paso.
With the help of visionaries like Pastor Bloye, members of West Ridge Church, and many others, we are helping to restore thousands of Guatemalan people to true and lasting health . . . one village at a time.
Are you a pastor or individual seeking to bring this kind of change?
Learn more about how you can partner with a village through Total Village Transformation.