Bridge Builders: Worldwide Connections
GFA World’s Bridge Builders program connects caring supporters with communities in need through monthly gift help that keeps ministry going. When you become a monthly donor, your steady giving helps build bridges of hope — joining generous hearts with families who lack clean water, schooling, and basic health care. Bridge builders monthly giving directly backs national missionaries serving where poverty is deepest. These faithful gifts help bridge the gap between those who want to help and those who need it most. As a monthly supporter, you’ll receive the joy of knowing your partnership makes a real difference — every single month.
What Bridge Builders Support
GFA World’s Bridge Builders is a community of believers devoted to supporting Christ-centered ministry through regular monthly giving. Their support reaches across Africa and Asia, helping people know God’s love through practical care.
Bridge Builders help provide clean water in communities where safe drinking sources are scarce. They feed the hungry and care for the poor. They help poor children access education and break the poverty cycle. They equip local volunteers to offer basic medical care, uplift overlooked women with chances to provide for their families, and introduce those who have not heard to the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Every one of these ministry areas depends on people who give consistently month after month. A child sponsored through school. A family receiving a water filter. A woman learning a trade. Behind each story is someone who chose to invest regularly in the work God is doing through local workers in their own communities.
GFA World has been active in parts of Asia since 1979 and more recently began working in Africa as well. The organization serves the “least of these” in areas where the need is great. Its focus is on those among the 10/40 window who have never heard the Good News. Four main areas of ministry guide this work: sponsoring national missionaries, sponsoring children, building up communities, and giving help in disasters. As a Bridge Builder, your support reaches this vital work in over 18 countries worldwide.[1]
A Story of Hope
Pima was born into a poor family and forced into child marriage at the age of 15. She left home to be with a husband she did not know — a man with cognitive disabilities who could not speak. Abandoned in a strange place without support, she suffered mistreatment from her in-laws and felt isolated from her family. After escaping and returning home, she discovered her parents had passed away.
Believing she must remain married and endure, Pima suffered, mistreated by her in-laws and feeling isolated from her family. Did her parents care about her? Why had they sent a child to be alone with a man she did not know? Finally, she escaped and returned home, but the house was empty. She later learned that her parents had passed away. She was now alone. In an attempt to right her situation, Pima became the second wife to one of her coworkers, Roul. Roul did his best to provide for two wives, but his first wife was hostile to Pima, forcing Pima, finally, to move out. Pima was again alone, abandoned and hurt.
Tahirah Justice Center, a U.S.-based nonprofit, notes that “Marriage before age 18 has devastating, lifelong consequences, including greater vulnerability to sexual and domestic violence, increased medical and mental health problems, higher drop-out rates from high school and college, greater risk of poverty, and up to 80% divorce rates.”[3]
Pima’s experience is sadly common. Child marriage affects millions of girls worldwide, cutting short their education and leaving them open to isolation.[3] The kind of community support that Pima eventually found — a listening ear, spiritual encouragement, practical help — shows what local churches and partners can offer. It takes patience. But it changes the path of entire families.
When Solana, a Christian woman in the village, heard of Pima’s trouble, she talked with Pima, listening to her story and offering encouragement. “Everyone has problems, but one has to learn to overcome them,” Solana said, trying to lift Pima’s sorrow. “Think more before taking a bad step because life … is a precious gift from Someone who always loves people unconditionally and releases [them] from all bad things.”
Pima did not believe she would find relief in this life. But thanks to Solana, her church congregation and GFA pastor Nolen, Pima began to see life differently:
“When I gave my life to the Lord and accepted Him as my Savior, He helped me to get rid of my problems and made my life happy,” Pima says. “Now, I have learned to face the problems and overcome them. No matter what problems and obstacles come in my life, I will never abandon the Lord because He is the true God and Redeemer for all.”
Pima’s church community rebuilt her home and gave school supplies for her daughter. This is an excellent example of faith in action![2]
The Bridge Builders community partnership made this kind of change possible in Pima’s life. Solana and Pastor Nolen not only met Pima’s immediate needs, they also made an eternal difference.
Bridge Builders help make this all possible. For less than $1 per day partnering with GFA World, you can make an eternal difference. Your support empowers women like Pima to learn about the One who loves them, gain skills to support their families, and find lasting dignity.
The Bridge Builders network thrives because of generous people like you who want to make a difference. GFA Bridge Builders, meaning people who want to help bring hope to a tough situation, help us break entire communities out of the devastating cycle of poverty. Their gifts make real help possible from a national pastor or missionary who is devoted to seeing God change communities.
The impact of monthly giving is real. GFA World reports that its field partners have helped provide access to clean drinking water for millions. Community water projects can serve hundreds of people daily for decades.[4] This steady giving creates real change — not just meeting immediate needs, but building the groundwork for healthier futures.
Bridge Builders does not just fund projects. Someone prays and gives. A pastor receives support to serve. A family gains access to water, medical care, or the hope of the Gospel. These connections are what make the Bridge Builders community so much more than a giving program — it is a fellowship of shared purpose.
How Monthly Giving Reaches the Field
National missionaries carry out this work — local believers who know the language, understand the culture, and are committed to their communities. They are neighbors serving neighbors. Their work is kept going by the prayers and gifts of people around the world who give each month. Bridge builders monthly giving fuels this field-level ministry, giving the steady support that lets workers plan years ahead instead of month to month.
These national missionaries bring hope into hopeless situations. When a family is stuck in the cycle of poverty, there is little hope. There is no ability to dream beyond one’s present circumstances. When a pastor or missionary brings that family a pair of chickens or goats or seeds to begin a farm, it can change the trajectory of an entire family. There is suddenly hope for the future. There is hope for the present too — hope that puts food on the table.
This is what bridge builders monthly giving makes possible — not distant charity, but tangible items placed in the hands of a family by someone who knows their name. A pair of chickens. A packet of seeds. These are the tools that build bridges between survival and sustainability. For a monthly donor, the impact builds up: every month’s gift adds to years of change for the communities these workers serve.
Bridge Builders help bring physical relief and spiritual care to those in desperate need!
For less than $1 per day partnering with GFA World, you can make an eternal difference. Your support empowers women like Pima to learn about the One who loves them, gain skills to support their families, and find lasting dignity.
Bridge Builder. Build hope. Transform lives.
Discover more about GFA World’s local missionaries in Africa and Asia[1] “Bridge Builders: Build Hope, Transform Lives.” GFA World. Accessed May 2, 2025. https://www.gfa.org/build/lt2/.
[2] “Finding Someone Who Wouldn’t Abandon Her.” GFA World. May 2024. https://www.gfa.org/news/articles/finding-someone-who-wouldnt-abandon-her/.
[3] “Child Marriage Poses Serious Risks to Children.” Tahirih Justice Center. Accessed October 15, 2024. https://www.tahirih.org/pubs/child-marriage-poses-serious-risks-to-children/.
[4] “Clean Water.” GFA World. Accessed May 25, 2026. https://www.gfa.org/water/.