Kauri Foundation was pleased to speak with the Director of Bethel Global Response, Carl Ladd. Bethel Global Response is a ministry of Bethel Church that works in disaster zones worldwide to bolster local churches' capacity.  Carl explained that Bethel's goal is to see "the church arise" and "people encounter the fullness of Jesus in every circumstance." This goal is met through the work that they are doing around the world.  Bethel Global Response was formed to fill the gap between traditional disaster missions teams and existing agencies because "it is the mandate of the church to respond to individual and community crises, and we should be setting the standard." Carl explained that Bethel Global Response desired to "create a system… that can function with the government and NGO structure" and ultimately have the government agencies see "the benefit and value of the local church."

Carl's response exemplified Bethel Global Responses' heart when asked how they choose which disasters to respond to. Besides determining if there is a need, Carl and his team desire local contacts because "almost everything we do is through the local church." Carl explained, "We want to see the local church be the hero of their community, so we try as much as we can to operate through them because we're in it for discipleship. We want to see people's lives transformed. In my opinion, that only happens through the local church." Bethel Global Response has taken its mission to the frontlines of wars and ongoing disasters worldwide in recent years. Read parts 2 and 3 of this series to learn more about how Carl and his team take their mission to the front lines!