Acts 1:8 Ministry History

To the Ends of the Earth

"One man's story of submitting to God and watching Him move."

Jeff Van Beaver's story

The conception of God's brilliant plan for an outreach ministry began when the pastor of Jeff's church challenged him to read a book called Conspiracy of Kindness. At that time he had no inclination of the enormity of what that book would trigger.

As chairman of his church's evangelism board Jeff was very intrigued by the book's simplistic approach in reaching out to the community through acts of Christian kindness. The beauty of the method is evidenced in how it allows churches or individuals to share their faith in a simple, non-threatening way.

Thus inspired by the book and with the pastor's approval, Jeff's church initiated its very first outreach event from their own parking lot. The free car wash and soda giveaway allowed them to incorporate the Care, Share and Connect philosophy. While Caring for people, they were able to Share the love of Christ through prayer and ultimately Connect them to a church. More events rolled out and with them the most common question of why someone would do these things, with nothing in return. Department store parking lots became a goldmine for prayer. Many people came, with many problems. These people were desperate for a listening ear and eager to have someone pray for them.

The popularity of the program soon caught the attention of the local media. Phones rang and excitement spread, unleashing a system that began to grow with intensity as other local churches picked up the pattern.

For nearly 20 years Jeff had been pressed with the idea of starting a ministry; praying for direction and asking God to prepare him for a vision that was not yet clear to him. And as he watched the way God was moving through these outreach events, the vision finally started to reveal itself.

Urged by this calling, Jeff invited a group of faithful friends from his church to meet. They showed up at a local restaurant with no agenda; their sole objective to talk about a ministry based on Christian kindness. Their Bibles were the only tools they brought to that fateful meeting. They prayerfully looked to God's Word for a scripture that would reflect the intent of the ministry that was about to be birthed. They discussed Jesus' command in Acts 1:8 to be witnesses to the ends of the earth and how Christian kindness would be the perfect means to fulfill this command. And so it was decided the appropriate name be Acts 1:8 Ministry®.

Not long after this Jeff was roused in the middle of the night by a powerful tugging at his heart. God was telling him, without question or debate, that He wanted Jeff to give away the tool company that he had owned and operated for six years. But how could God expect him to forfeit his business? After all, it wasn't just a company; it was the trusty six-figure livelihood that supported his family! Jeff questioned the craziness of the idea and how completely it sat in contrast to the world's ideas. He asked himself how he could possibly explain to his wife that God was prompting him to walk away from a profitable business. But even as he considered these questions he was convicted with the realization that he had become increasingly focused on the material things of life. From this the questions soon changed from "How could I...?" to "How could I not...?" Faced with truth, Jeff could not refuse God's beckoning to put his focus back on Him.

For nearly a week he struggled with this, having not the slightest clue of how or when this would transpire, only knowing it would. And so it happened that Jeff received a God-appointed phone call from a woman wanting to buy a company. And so it was, that within four months, this woman took over his company, purchased for the price of one dollar.

There was an eight month overlap as Jeff transitioned out of the tool business and into full-time ministry. He and his wife ran the business from their home for the first two years. The skills of the group from the original meeting were perfectly aligned with the ministry's needs; leaning heavily towards legal support, training resources and products. They've worked with over 1100 churches in 48 States and 30 countries. Last year they reached 1.2 million people worldwide with the love of Christ through acts of Christian kindness. Churches in the U.S. support such giveaways as gift-wrapping at Christmas, flowers for Valentine's Day, and free gas on holiday weekends. Third world countries have a much more humbling approach; giving away the most basic things of life: food, water, shelter and medical resources.

Today Jeff continues to thank God for His leading, for the fulfilling work and purpose He has given him and His faithfulness in making all of this possible by opening the right doors. Jeff continues to be driven by the massive amount of opportunity for spreading God's Word and the resulting promise of growth for the ministry ... to the ends of the earth!
 

To learn more about Acts 1:8 Ministry contact us or call (920) 494-2289