Our passion
Our life's passion is to extend the healing love of Christ to the oppressed, abused, and marginalized and to help others do the same by training and equipping leaders.
Our work
Steve and Celestia lead short term teams to Uganda and Congo (DRC) to train and equip the local community and church leaders in a theology of abuse and healing – to encourage an informed and compassionate response to the people they serve. They also lead healing conferences and counsel the survivors and prostituted women of the DRC. Much of their energy is devoted to research, writing, and the development of written resources for use in the majority world and with needy populations in North America. Domestically, they are assisting a new evangelical ministry to prostituted adolescent girls in Phoenix, Arizona. They continue to cast vision for Mending the Soul Ministries and walk alongside local leaders who have a heart for the marginalized. They encourage and offer oversight to over 130 trained MTS facilitators in 27 local churches. They also continue to assist and support the staff and directors of Phoenix's local DV shelters. Steve, Celestia, and Abby are on staff with Global Training Network, a Christian non-profit organization dedicated to providing training and resources for Christian leaders in the majority world.
Abby has devoted her life to loving and transforming the lives of street children in Kampala, Uganda. She lives simply among those she serves. Most of her work is in Kisenyi, the second largest slum in Kampala. She partners with several African led Christian parachurch organizations and Calvary Chapel, Kampala.
Summary of GHR
Global Hope Resources is an LLC organized to fund and facilitate ministry to the abused, oppressed, and sexually broken. We provide various pro-bono resources on abuse, marriage, gender, social justice, and healing for church leaders, relief workers, parents, therapists, and abuse survivors. These resources range from research based, academic material for professional use to practical and non academic material for parents and survivors. We also provide a range of resources for healing. These include books, workbooks, greeting cards, healing products, and photography. Proceeds from these resources are used to fund our ministry to the abused and marginalized, particularly in East Africa, as well as under-served populations in the US such as prostituted girls and women/children in DV shelters. GHR also revitalizes slums by the support of micro-enterprise through the sale of magazine beads and jewelry made by the street children and at risk youth of Kampala, Uganda. We exist to bridge support and encourage the community development of marginalized populations of women and children of east Africa.
Our background
We have been involved in Christian ministry for thirty years. Steve and Celestia pastored for fifteen years in the US. Since 1995 Steve has served on the resident faculty at Phoenix Seminary as Professor of Theology and Ethics. Since 1992, Celestia has ministered as a licensed professional counselor, specializing in abuse/trauma, sexuality, and marriage. Celestia offers oversight and direction to the clinical arm of Mending the Soul and stays active in clinical supervision and professional development of Christian counselors. Steve and Celestia hold advanced degrees from Western Baptist Seminary, Lewis and Clark College, and the University of Sheffield (England).
In 2003, Steve and Celestia founded Mending the Soul Ministries, a Christian non-profit that provides resources and training on abuse and healing. Since May of 2007, Steve and Celestia have ministered to rape survivors, care-givers, clergy, and civic leaders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. Steve and Celestia have authored numerous books, journal articles, and booklets on abuse, gender, marriage, and healing. They are now partnering together in ministry with their daughter Abigail, who is on staff with Global Training Network, (Kampala, Uganda) coordinating ministry to street children. Abby attended Azusa Pacific University and has a B.A. Arizona State University in Integrated Studies with an emphasis in cross cultural social work. Abby lived and ministered in Uganda and Rwanda for most of 2007-2008, and now lives full time in Uganda.
