What happens when a church truly lives out “pure religion”?
Austin Ludwig knows firsthand. After growing up in foster care and experiencing abuse and instability, Austin encountered something that changed everything: people from a local church who showed up.
They built a relationship with him, they cared for him and they lived out the gospel in a way that he could see in the midst of his pain.
As Austin describes it, “I saw the hand of God before I saw His face … because I saw the Body — the Church, the Ecclesia — reaching out to me and lifting that veil so I could see the face of God more clearly.”
Through that relationship, Austin was placed in a Christ-centered foster home, setting him on a new path. Today, he works to mobilize and equip other families and churches to show up for vulnerable children.
But that kind of love isn’t easy. It requires sacrifice and stepping into hard places.
Yet, as Austin shares, there’s a paradox: “When churches are embodying pure religion, when they experience suffering or difficult things because they’re engaging the vulnerable, they’ll feel also somehow, in a paradoxical way, maximum sense of purpose.”
The Pure Religion Project, the church ministry initiative of Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO), aims to inspire and equip God’s people to live out the “pure religion” described in the book of James and invited throughout Scripture through resources, supportive community and ongoing connection and coaching.
Video courtesy of the Pure Religion Project, the church ministry initiative of CAFO.
