The Roman world of Christ’s time was harsh, depraved, and unforgiving. Suffering was pervasive, and practices like sexual immorality, rape, slavery, and infanticide were not only common but also normalized. If any society needed transformation, this was the one.
Enter Christianity. What did it do? It opposed infanticide by rescuing abandoned pagan children and raising them as their own. It confronted rampant adultery and immorality by demonstrating godliness in marriage and life. And it challenged the abuse of power over the weak by caring for the marginalized, the poor, and the infirm.
As Julian the Apostate, the last pagan emperor of Rome, remarked, “These impious Galileans (Christians) not only feed their own, but ours also; welcoming them with their agape, they attract them, as children are attracted with cakes… While the pagan priests neglect the poor, the hated Galileans devote themselves to works of charity, and by a display of false compassion have established and given effect to their pernicious errors. Such practice is common among them, and causes contempt for our gods.”
Julian’s final words in AD 363 were “vicisti Galilaee” (You Galileans [Christians] have conquered!).
The Sequel – PEPFAR
In 2003, President George W. Bush, guided by his faith and pro-life platform, launched PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) to combat the global HIV/AIDS crisis, particularly in Africa. Michael Gerson, Bush’s speechwriter and a devout evangelical, played a pivotal role in shaping the initiative as a moral imperative, positioning it as a faith-driven response to the suffering of the vulnerable.
Since then, PEPFAR has saved millions of lives, standing as a testament to the enduring impact of faith-driven public policy, modeled after the radical compassion of the early church. In a world often focused on self-interest and isolationist policies, it serves as a modern continuation of Christianity’s legacy of mercy—showing that when faith is put into action, it has the power to change history.
On January 20, 2025, President Trump froze U.S. foreign aid, including PEPFAR funding, for 90 days. Then, on January 24, 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a stop-work order that halted all existing PEPFAR operations, causing clinic staff to be sent home and antiretroviral distribution to more than 20 million people to cease.
On February 1, 2025, PEPFAR secured a limited waiver, allowing some services to continue. However, as of March 10, 2025, PEPFAR remains largely suspended, leaving many clinics closed or operating at reduced capacity. The funding freeze, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, has severely disrupted HIV/AIDS care, placing millions at risk of treatment interruptions, new infections, and preventable deaths. If this suspension continues, an estimated one million people will die yearly, with 1,400 babies born with AIDS every day.
While PEPFAR represents one of the most significant modern faith-driven humanitarian efforts, it is not the only example. Another organization partially funded by USAID, World Vision, has carried this same spirit of the early church into the modern age.”
The Sequel – World Vision
The priorities of the early church provide a window into how they understood their faith. They took Jesus’ admonition in Matthew 19:14—”Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these”—seriously. They put their faith into action, fully embracing His call in Matthew 25:40: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
More than 70 years ago, World Vision was founded by American missionary Bob Pierce, who, moved by the suffering of children in China and Korea, was inspired to create a way to help vulnerable children globally. Today, World Vision is one of the largest humanitarian organizations, providing essential services to millions across nearly 100 countries.
Our family has been part of World Vision for over 40 years, personally sponsoring children and funding water projects throughout Africa and Central America. Several of our relatives have served on their board or worked as employees. It’s in our blood.
Tammy and I had lunch yesterday with other World Vision donors, receiving an update on World Vision’s global efforts to address current crises. Much of the conversation, however, centered around the loss of USAID funds and its impact on their ministry. For example, the Humanitarian Emergency Affairs program has lost 44% of its funding—$127 million—leaving 2.2 million people facing life-or-death emergencies unreached. In Ethiopia alone, over 2,000 staff have been laid off, leaving a program that feeds over 700,000 people shuttered.
Some of this loss might eventually be made up by new volunteer donations. But the data show that the people most supportive of ending this type of government support are the ones least likely to step up and give.
The Bottom Line
Meanwhile, on my Facebook page, many evangelical friends are saying “Amen.” Not specifically to the increased risk of death and suffering imposed by the loss of USAID funding, but to the originating cause which is the cancellation of the USAID funds and program. They’ve swallowed hook, line, and sinker, the administration’s narrative that USAID was a “money-laundering scheme” that had lost its way. Or that USAID’s goal was to push LGBTQ issues to the developing world.
It doesn’t seem to matter whether or not all of their claims are true. There’s no interest in asking, “What part of these funds align with Jesus’ admonitions of Matthew 19 and 25?” Instead, the logic seems to be: throw out the baby with the bathwater, as no such reasoned analysis is necessary in this binary partisan-driven world.
Here’s the bottom line: The early church took Jesus seriously. Their identity reflected a life formed by “in whom we live, and move, and have our being.” Their values and sensibilities weren’t contaminated by political allegiances.
They prioritized rescuing children from death and suffering. Do you think they would have drawn lines about the source of their support? Would they have said, “These children deserve to be rescued, but those do not because the funding for them came from a government program we disapprove of?”
The early church ran with perseverance, casting aside fear, political entanglements, and self-interest to care for the most vulnerable. “Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,” shouldn’t we follow their example—throwing off everything that hinders, including political ideology, allegiances, and partisanship—and truly put our faith into action today?”