Hope Starts Here: Compassion in Action

There is a word we use often in our work at the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA): hope.

We talk about bringing hope to communities, restoring hope after disaster, and helping people imagine a better future. But over the years I have learned something important: Hope is not only something we talk about—hope is something we do.

A nourishing meal can be hope. A lively classroom can be hope. A neighbor showing up for another neighbor can be hope. Hope becomes visible when compassion becomes practical.

On September 5 the Seventh-day Adventist Church launched OneVoice27, a global movement of mission that will mark the 2,000th anniversary of Jesus’ baptism in 2027. It is an opportunity for our global church family to reflect on the example of Jesus and consider how we can live out His mission in our own communities.

For ADRA, this is a natural place to be. It is what we do every day.

Around the world, ADRA staff, volunteers, and partners serve communities experiencing poverty, crisis, and vulnerability. They respond when disaster strikes. They work alongside communities as they rebuild. They listen, build relationships, and, again and again, ask a simple question: What can we do?

That question is where compassion begins. Action is what comes next.

As a global church family we have an opportunity to speak about the hope we find in Jesus—not only with our words but through the way we live and serve. And that service will not look the same everywhere. Every community is different, and the people who live there often understand its needs better than anyone else.

So we are encouraging people to look around, listen carefully, and find meaningful ways to serve.

See the need. Show compassion. Take action. Bring hope.

Sometimes a small yes becomes something much bigger.

One expression of this will be a Global Day of Compassion, bringing people around the world together in a shared day of service. One community might organize a meal for families facing hardship. Another might visit people who are isolated or unwell. Someone else might repair a home or simply show up for a person who needs to know they have not been forgotten.

Different acts. Same heart.

We are also creating opportunities to reflect more deeply on what it means to serve. Our new devotional, Serving Like Jesus: Love in Action, draws on stories from ADRA workers and others across the ADRA family to explore compassion, faith, and service. Not simply as ideas, but as experiences that can shape how we live each day.

And through compassion hubs we will share stories from communities around the world that show what compassion in action really looks like: real relationships, real service, and real impact.

But ultimately, this is not about what ADRA does. It is about the people who choose to serve.

I have met so many of them around the world: ADRA staff, volunteers, church members, and community leaders. Some serve professionally. Some serve for a day. Some have been doing it for decades. But they all have something in common. They said yes.

Yes, I’ll give an hour. Yes, I’ll help. Yes, I’ll listen. Yes, I’ll share what I have.

Sometimes a small yes becomes something much bigger. One person serves. Another person sees it. A church gets involved. A community begins working together. Suddenly one act of compassion has become a movement.

Our faith tells us that every person has dignity because every person is created and loved by God. When we serve someone, we are not simply completing a project. We are recognizing a neighbor. We are choosing to care. We are putting our faith into action.

And our compassion is not conditional. ADRA serves according to need, regardless of religious association. No one has to share our faith or belong to our church to receive assistance. That, too, is what it means to live the hope we proclaim.

The world gives us many reasons to lose hope. But every day we also see people choosing something different: neighbors helping neighbors, volunteers giving their time, churches opening their doors, and communities rebuilding.

That is where I believe hope starts.

Not somewhere far away.

Here.

With the decision to notice. The decision to care. And the decision to act.

The original version of this commentary was posted by ADRA International.