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Face of Justice Association
General
Organization Description & Goals:
We are based in San Jose, Costa Rica. The ministry has two arms: Justice and Mercy The mercy arm is our Short-Term Missions program. Through it we support 10 local ministries run by Costa Ricans who are pouring out their lives for Christ. This array of ministries allows us to provide dynamic ministry experiences for incoming teams such as children's ministries, ghetto church partnerships, a home for teenage moms (age 11 to 17), a refuge in the mountains for addiction recovery, orphan ministries, women at risk ministries, a powerful evangelism project and others, plus a number of our "in-house" justice ministry activities are accessible to teams. This ministry is intentional as we seek to provide the "equipping the saints for their works of the ministry" described in Ephesians 4:11-13. Costa Rica is close and affordable to get to. There are no disease issues or vaccinations required, nor is a visa required in advance. Drinking water is safe. It is a beautiful country with a non-violent culture making it great for general teams, families or special emphasis such as men's teams, women's teams, youth groups and young adults. We have hosted more than 140 teams and often you'll need to plan a year in advance to secure your dates. The Justice arm of the ministry is our primary vision and mission. We work with victims of Human Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation. We have 2 Prevention Ministries, 4 Intervention Ministries and 2 Restoration Ministries including Costa Rica's only safe house for teenage girls who are trauma victims of these crimes. This is our Freedom House and your team may have the chance to do a fun program with them. We also have the Hope House, a training center for street prostitutes looking for a way out. These include Bible studies, Sewing and Jewelry Making classes, feeding program and more. We also have our Encounter Street Ministry where we head to the streets of San Jose to serve coffee, cookies and Jesus to people working the streets. From those relationships we draw people to Casa Agape, our church plant for street folks. The list goes on. This is a dynamic ministry. We receive short term teams, college interns, volunteers and missionaries who serve with us for a month to several years.
Organizational Principles
Purpose & Mission Statement:
FOJ's mission is to defend, shelter, empower and love survivors of human trafficking & sexual exploitation and the men, women and children working in prostitution in Central America. We do this through a variety of programs we've establish that address the needs for Intervention, Prevention & Restoration We also have a mercy arm to the ministry and that is our Short-Term Missions program. Thus far we've hosted more than 150 U.S. church groups and we offer a dynamic blend of ministry opportunities. We do this through partnerships with ten local ministries lead by local Costa Rican believers. If they are fruitful and sacrificial in their methods, we want to do everything we can to edify them. They include orphanages, children's ministries, teen mom facilities, addict recovery centers, ghetto communities and local churches and a variety of evangelism projects. Our desire is for visiting team members to have a transformational experience that inspires them to become true followers of Christ. Upon their return to the U.S. we desire to see them take their new fire for God and begin serving in their local church or within the ministries fund in their local communities.
Other
Doctrinal Statement:
About God God is is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He is God of three persons who are equal and exist in perfect love and unity: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19; John 14:10-17; 2 Corinthians 13:14). About The Bible We believe in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as inspired by God (2 Tim 3:16) and are without error (John 17:17). We believe that it is alive and active and penetrates the mind, spirit and soul of human beings (Hebrews 4:12). About Humanity We believe that man was created in the image of God and the height of God’s creation — the only being to be given free will. Free will to accept and love God and obey His commandments, or to reject Him through the sinful — sin that results in both a physical and spiritual death. (Genesis 1:26-27, 2:7; Mark 7:21-22; Romans 5:12; 3:23). About Jesus Christ We believe that Jesus Christ was begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary (Matthew 1:18, 23; Luke 1:35) and that He was fully human during his time on earth, yet He was without sin. We believe that Jesus alone has the power to forgive sins (Mark 2:10) and that salvation comes by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (Acts 4:12, John 3:15-16). We also believe it is by grace that we are saved (Ephesians 2:8-9). About The Cross We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins providing the only sacrifice capable of atoning for our sins. It is His blood that makes us righteous before God the Father (Isaiah 53:6; John 3:16; Romans 5:9, 12; 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:3; 1 Peter 2:24). We also believe in the crucifixion of our Lord, His resurrection and His ascension into Heaven,. (Luke 24:6; Acts 1:9; Hebrews 4:14, 10:12). About Salvation Salvation is a gift from God to man. Without it, man is incapable of of ridding Himself of sin and becoming righteous by his own actions. We believe that all who receive Jesus Christ by faith are born again of the Holy Spirit, and thereby become children of God (John 1:12-13, 3:3; 1 Peter 1:23) and receive everlasting life free from condemnation, and that noon take them out of God’s hand. (John 5:24, 10:28-29). We believe that confession and repentance are an essential aspect of confessing Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Core Values:
Grace. Mercy. Justice. The world is yearning to see grace-based Christianity. Christianity that begins by developing meaningful, compassionate and empathetic relationships OUTSIDE OF THE CHURCH based on unconditional love. This approach includes building relationships with people regardless of the person's spiritual beliefs, economic status, gender identity, or sexual preference. We believe that through relationships trust will bring down the barriers so that we can have meaningful discussions about the God of the Bible and the plan by which He ants us to live our lives. Furthermore, this is the exact model Jesus modeled with the Samaritan woman at the well. (1) He surprised her for engaging discussion even though she was considered a lower class of people, a woman, and a sinful woman at that (2) He engaged her in spiritual discussion (3) He convicted her of her sins (4) Half the town came to salvation!
Volunteers
Advocacy
Construction
Graphic Design
Kitchen Staff
Team Leaders
Website Design/Development
Remote Volunteer (As Available)
Types of Volunteer(s) that we are Seeking:
Like any organization we need help in every area of the ministry. This can be office administration and accounting, graphic design and social media advancement, or serving directly with the women and girls we care for in our safe house and other ministry outreaches. We also host teams and serve in a wide variety of rich ministries when they are here with us. This offers volunteers a chance to interact and refuel with their own culture while serving the needs of the people of Costa Rica.
Required Costs:
We have informational documents describing the program and associated costs. They vary depending on the length of stay of the volunteer and wether or not we are providing housing or they will find housing with our other missionaries.
Training Process:
This is in our info docs but is also best described via a Skype or Zoom meeting.