What We Do
On any given day around the world, one tenth of all humans (689 million people) live in extreme poverty on $1.90 per day.1
Many of these people are children and families who live in neglected communities without access to critical resources and support.
At Building Against Destruction Ministry (B.A.D.), we asked ourselves: How could we make a difference in some of these lives in the name of our good and merciful creator?
As Christian believers, our hearts were compelled by the words of the prophet Isaiah (58:10) to let our light rise in the darkness, shining like the noonday sun, by spending ourselves on behalf of the hungry and oppressed.
So In 2018, we began our work to impact global poverty by starting with some meaningful actions on the ground in the Dominican Republic, where more than one fifth of the country’s residents live in extreme poverty and one in three people lives on less than $1.25 a day.2 Our goal was to help put a dent in poverty by building boarding schools to provide quality education, recession proof trades, and agricultural support.
Now, our nonprofit care and action team aims to help empower underserved and vulnerable people around the world to live with freedom from poverty, disease, and hunger. We also sell clothing to raise funds for Jesusaboveeverything.com, a ministry on a mission to spread the Word of God, one piece of clothing at a time.
The seed of our organization was planted by Fontane Johnson and his wife as an inner city youth mentoring program in New Britain, Connecticut. The Johnsons’ goal at that time was to address the stressors underserved young people contend with on a daily basis, including poverty, violence, trauma, depression, bullying, and much more. They wanted to take small actions to empower rising generations by teaching them self-reliance, self-worth and stability.
As their seed grew, they have since expanded their outreach globally through B.A.D. to serve people near and far experiencing desperate need.
Today, B.A.D. is an international ministry based in Florida offering community outreach and disaster response wherever help is needed. Our ultimate mission is to shine the light of God into the world’s darkest and most neglected corners, reminding everyone that God’s love has the power to help anyone find healing and build lives of hope, joy, and purpose.
1 - https://www.worldvision.org/sponsorship-news-stories/global-poverty-facts
2 - https://borgenproject.org/poverty-dominican-republic/
What We Do
CORE VALUES
At B.A.D., we center ourselves on the following core values:
Service: We believe we have been called to be servant leaders ready to rush to the aid of people in dire need of assistance wherever they may be. We are focused on maintaining a spirit of humble servitude while working to put the needs of others before our own.
Empowerment: We believe in equipping people with the training, tools, and sense of purpose necessary to take control of their lives. When individuals are empowered to take ownership, better outcomes are achieved for the whole community.
Compassion: We believe in always modeling kindness and compassion as we listen carefully to the needs of others, not only offering sympathetic ears but helping hands, voices of advocacy, and warm hearts filled with selfless love.
Integrity: We believe in operating at a high level of honesty and transparency. We want to be known as people of strong character working for an organization that gives back in meaningful ways to the people who need us most. We strive to always communicate openly and honestly with our donors, our volunteers, our partners, and the people we serve around the world.
Courage: We believe that to act in love and service of others requires a bravery and boldness that we ask everyone in our community to embrace. When a person sets aside fear and trusts in the power of God to move mountains, all things are possible.