Hope Ascending educates the world’s poorest children while growing God’s Church on the front lines of urgent need in India.
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What exactly do we do?
WE EDUCATE FIRST GENERATION STUDENTS
We are deeply committed to investing in the next generation through education, particularly among the most vulnerable. Our school currently serves over 200 ultra-poor children in India, providing them with opportunities they would not otherwise have. Many of the children we support come from families who cannot afford even a single book, making access to learning extremely limited. Through our tutoring programs, we offer not only academic instruction but also encouragement, stability, and care. We seek to equip these children with the tools they need to break cycles of poverty and build a better future. In doing so, we aim to nurture both their minds and their sense of hope and purpose.
WE BUILD CHURCHES
We are committed to fostering the growth of house churches throughout India, encouraging small, faithful communities to gather, worship, and grow in their local contexts. At times, however, these gatherings outgrow their spaces, or face pressure from surrounding communities due to the nature of their worship. In such cases, we step in to help provide a more permanent solution. To date, we have built seven physical churches, offering safe and dedicated places for believers to meet. These spaces not only accommodate growing congregations but also serve as visible beacons of hope within their communities. Through both house churches and established buildings, we remain devoted to strengthening and expanding the reach of the Gospel.
WE PROVIDE BIBLES & BIBLE TRAINING
We are committed to strengthening churches across India by providing Bibles and sound biblical training to congregations in need. Many believers lack access to their own copy of Scripture, making this provision both essential and transformative. By placing the Word of God directly into their hands, we help deepen personal faith and understanding. In addition, we offer training to pastors and church leaders so they can faithfully teach and shepherd their communities. This training equips them to rightly handle Scripture and to disciple others with clarity and conviction. Through these efforts, we seek to build strong, rooted churches that can grow and endure for generations.
WE FEED THE HUNGRY
We exist to bridge the gap when families are unable to provide food for themselves. In times of extreme need, we come alongside the hungry, offering support on a case-by-case basis with compassion and care. Our goal is to ensure that no one is left without basic nourishment in moments of crisis. We respond with urgency and dignity, recognizing the unique circumstances each family faces. Through this work, we strive to bring both practical help and lasting hope to those in need.
By partnering with local church leaders in India and Nepal, we are able to restore hope to disenfranchised communities.
We built these two churches, and others like them. The bright green church is on a tea plantation in West Bengal where the Gospel has caught on fire for a people group that works tireless hours to earn only $5 a day picking tea leaves that find their way into our cupboards. The teal one with the children was built on the side of a remote mountain area where education is not available. It doubles as a church and a classroom for the local tribal children. Our local pastoral partner used to walk four hours to reach these kids. It now takes him a half hour on the motorcycle made possible from donations to Hope Ascending.
Hope Ascending’s Reach
This map of India and Nepal highlights the growing ministry network of Hope Ascending. The yellow stars represent the pastors, schools, and churches that I visit regularly, while the red hearts show the churches we have physically constructed over the past seven years.
Many of the starred locations are pastoral families alongside whom Hope Ascending serves to advance the gospel, provide education for children, and equip emerging pastors in the faith. Our prayer is that these men and women will, in turn, become faithful Christ-influencers within their communities.
WE BUILD SCHOOLS – WE BUILD CHURCHES
We build indigenous compassion ministries so that the Gospel may flow freely into communities.
The unequal allocation of power, resources, and opportunities in Indian society results in prejudice, marginalization, and exclusion of lower-caste people groups from mainstream resources and social opportunities.
Psalm 68:6 “God makes a home for the lonely; He leads out the prisoners into prosperity, Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land.”
Your financial support helps to spread the Word of God through education, church development and pastoral training.
NEWS FLASH
1000’s of Christians Continue to be Persecuted in India
Hundreds of churches are being burnt to the ground. Innocent families and children are being thrown into jail. Pastors are being caned and stoned to death.
John 15: 18-21
Jesus said, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.”
Food & Blanket Distribution
These people lost their homes due to persecution. They were forced to live in a neighboring forest in the state of Chhattisgarh India, after their homes were burned down. Our pastoral partner is cropped out of the photo to protect his identity. We were able to make several distributions of dry-goods to these, now homeless, followers, and many more.
LEARN HOW YOU CAN HELP
Hope Ascending takes a biblical approach toward addressing the causes of poverty by Empowering socially excluded communities that face discrimination based on caste, ethnicity, religion and gender.
The presence of sin in the world leads to broken relationships, which are the root causes of all kinds of poverty. Poverty is much more than just a lack of material possessions.
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Our Story
One Third of the World’s Unreached People Groups live in India. Here is how we spread God’s love.
Fifteen years ago, I traveled to India for the first time to visit a ministry comprised of three bible schools, three children’s homes and many churches. Over the years, I’ve developed a network of nearly a hundred Indian and Nepali pastors, many of whom know one-another. These pastors and their families have devoted their lives to helping children and their families living in their communities. They run schools, adult literacy programs, medical clinics and churches. They establish house churches, and train up new leadership. We provide them with training platforms, motorcycles, seed money for school and church construction, school uniforms and food for the homeless during these troubling times of Christian persecution. Here is a group of our ladies sitting for a home-based Bible Study.
Transforming people from disenfranchised Caste Identities to New Creations in Christ
Poverty entails more than the lack of income and productive resources to ensure sustainable livelihoods. Its manifestations include hunger and malnutrition, limited access to education and other basic services, social discrimination and exclusion as well as the lack of participation in decision-making. Hope Ascending addresses hunger, education, health-services and spiritual well-being.
2 Corinthians 5:16-18
If anyone belongs to Christ, then they are made new. The old things have gone; everything is made new!
Our aim is to change the tide of oppression waged against those who live outside the margin of human dignity – starting with children.
Recent Projects:
We provide school uniforms and shoes for children who cannot afford them and who live in Indian slums. You should see their faces when they first put on their school uniform!
School Uniforms
Thank you Rockport. MA Baptist VBS parents and local church-goers for providing the funding to build two new classrooms for our school located in Haryana India.
Two New Classrooms
We outfitted a school with 60 new desk and bench sets. They are welded steel and will last a long tome. Total cost was $1,800
Desks & Benches
Each year, we purchase and distribute warm winter jackets for children who attend our tutoring centers and for their friends who live in the adjacent slum. Each year, we buy about 250 coats for $1,250.
Winter Jackets
We purchased and distributed warm quilts in February to families living in a tented community along the highway. We’ve been feeding them and developing a good relationship with them. The Gospel speaks to people on many levels. $35 each.
Warm Quilts for the Homeless
We provide medical assistance and organize medical and health camps for communities of migrants and groups of Dalit peoples. A medical camp for 250 people costs us just $400. This pays for two doctors, a nurse, medicine and vitamins!
Medical Assistance
We provide bibles for new believers because they often do not have access to them and cannot afford them. Bibles cost us between $5 and $10 each depending on the language and quality.
Bibles
We underwrite the cost of ministry training for groups of indigenous new Christians who wish to spread the Gospel accross cultural boundaries. It costs $35 per person per week. There are five total weeks totaling $175 per student.
Ministry Training
The leaders with whom we partner come from poor backgrounds. They are devoted servants of God and willing to do anything to help those in need. We buy them their first vehicle so their ministries to the poor will be successful and more effective. Motorcycles cost us around $1,200 and a new minivan costs $7,000.
Vehicles
Hear what our supporters are saying on Great Nonprofits!
GREAT NONPROFITSHope Ascending builds relationships with pastors in India for the purpose of offering tangible support to the people of India. The founder of Hope Ascending makes extended trips to India regularly to meet the pastors, build relationships, assess needs, and ensure accountability. The great strength of Hope Ascending is the strong relational bonds which are formed and nurtured.
Jim Williams
Donor
I discovered Hope Ascending several years ago and was attracted by Carl’s passion to aid families in need. I was also attracted to the organization because 100% of my donation goes directly to aiding the children and families.
Craig Fitzgerald
Donor
Hope Ascending reaches into India to support a brighter future for children living in slums. Children are provided with the necessities to go to school.
The founder of Hope Ascending, has traveled there yearly to join pastors on treks into the far reaches of rural India. He has developed valued friendships and honors the culture. All money given to Hope Ascending goes directly towards funding self-sustaining projects and education.
Christine Travers
Board Member
We have been so inspired by Carl’s self sacrificing work with Hope Ascending. He has brought supplies, encouragement and hope as well as funding schools and meeting the daily needs of many . We are honored to be associated with this ministry.
Leslie McFarland
Donor
I really love the work that Hope Ascending is doing to help the impoverished in India. Working with residents of India in order to determine what is needed most is so important in this type of work. This is especially true now, during the pandemic, where India is one of the hardest hit by covid.
Alexis Schmier
Donor
We have been donating to Hope Ascending primarily because we believe in their mission and we have seen great results from their work. Many have been helped by this organization in both great and small ways.
Susan Rheaume
Donor
GOOD STORIES
Hope Ascending’s Blog
