A sheep and poultry ministry that has been operating in Armenia for the last three years is making great strides to improve the lives of families and the surrounding communities of Maralik and Akhuryan. These four-year projects, which were created in response to a growing need that stemmed from a major earthquake in Armenia in 1988, have helped more than 60 families since their implementation and have also helped to grow the church through this process.

"[After the earthquake] most lost everything they had and were left homeless," program director Anna Jara said. "This has created a huge rate of unemployment, and the result of which finds that people have [had] to leave their homes and country."

Local churches and the Nazarene Compassionate Ministries committee then decided to create these outreach programs to help people in these areas who were simply trying to make ends meet. Families involved in these programs were selected by local church and community leaders with the help of the NCM committee. Non-church families and individuals were paired with people already involved in the churches, and they raised the sheep and chickens together.

Some areas noticed immediate changes and improvements as a result of these programs.

“The families were more empowered and encouraged to look to the future and to make their projects successful,” Jara said.

For the rest of the story, see Engage magazine.