A Letter from the Founder
Welcome, I’m so glad you’re here! My name is Amy Smathers and my greatest passion is to mobilize the faith community to solve the world's biggest challenges, from human trafficking to global poverty and women’s empowerment.
My journey began almost ten years ago when I started a foreign policy career in Washington D.C. after serving as a short-term missionary in India. Since then, my work has brought me to over 26 countries and has included working in government, non-profits, and ministry with some of the world’s top human rights and humanitarian leaders. As I have traveled around the world I’ve been humbled to learn from so many people who have taught me valuable lessons as they cared for the poor, empowered women and girls, built education and micro loan programs, and made incredible sacrifices to bring freedom to their countries.
Throughout this work I noticed a trend: we rely on governments and organizations to solve our biggest problems, but what about the church? Every year the global church invests $700 billion in Christian causes, yet 42% of the world's population is still considered unreached and 685 million people live on less than $1.90 a day. In my own backyard I see church congregations looking to pray and provide help for brothers and sisters in Christ, but they often don’t know the best ways to help or where to give.
Drawing from my first-hand experiences supporting global human rights work and philanthropic strategy, I started The Well Initiative to equip believers around the world to be change-makers. By providing education on biblical justice and bringing awareness, we show individuals how to pray, support non-profits on the ground, and provide for practical needs. Our work focuses on programs to support vulnerable women and girls, although our work touches multiple populations around the globe.
We also go to the source — the church — by offering advice from international development practitioners to ensure that global missions programs are as effective as possible so that every dollar truly counts.
Finally, we bring faith leaders together across denominations to ensure that their view is strategic and collaborative. We ask questions like: Are there areas where we can amplify efforts by partnering together? Are we sure we’re doing more good than harm as we serve the most vulnerable? What are the best practices we can learn from?
As we observe the complexities of conflict and brokenness of the world around us, I firmly believe that the church is not only part of the puzzle, but can actually be the solution to the greatest challenges we face today.
Let’s make a difference in the world, together.
Amy Smathers
Founder, The Well Initiative