25 Volumes

Scroll below to see a timeline of The Cry through the years.

Reflection by Clint Baldwin, WMF International Executive Director

Friends, 25 years!

The Cry has been sharing the work of the Lord as embarked upon by Word Made Flesh for 25 years!

As C.S. Lewis writes it in his The Last Battle of The Chronicles of Narnia series, we too continue to work for the hope of both ourselves and others calling out more both now and in eternity to come, “I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life…Come further up, come further in.”¹

WMF has seen many transitions and transformations from its beginnings to today and yet, the core work of love of God and love of neighbor continues!

25 years is an important marker point on the journey.  It sounds very auspicious when we note that this means we have been doing this for a quarter of a century!

25 years is both a short time in the sense of longevity of institutional history, but it is quite a reasonably substantive period for any of us when we think of the course of a single lifetime.

We are thankful for abundant graces of the Lord that have manifested over many roads that have been trod.  Also, we look forward to Jesus’ continued presence as a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path moving forward.

Since WMF began as an organization almost thirty years ago in 1991, much growth has occurred.  As might be imagined, early on the learning curve was fast and furious.  It was especially so for an organization that was started and led by undergraduate students who had either just finished their college degrees or who were still in the process of earning them. 

Thankfully, older mentors were found.  Their partnership provided means for the newly birthed organization to move forward.  In many senses, it was the wisdom, pragmatism, and foresight offered from these sage and prudent guides that gifted Word Made Flesh with experience and understanding beyond the brevity of its years.  Now, having walked through almost thirty years of organizational life and having traversed twenty-five years of sharing the stories of these rhythms and relationships through the medium of The Cry, vital maturation of system and structure process has occurred and continues to transpire.  Staff has become healthily more intergenerational.  Pragmatic experience has grown and educational training has exponentially expanded.

In the midst of all the fluidity that comes with human experience in general, Word Made Flesh has been able to maintain constancy of presence among communities of people finding themselves on the margins of society and navigating various egregious social, economic, and cultural oppressions.  Word Made Flesh staff has remained a ministering presence on behalf of Jesus, seeking to establish and enhance healthy community life in slums, favelas, barrios, and red light districts around the world.

We still believe our primary commitment is faithfulness to Jesus and it is out of this that the goodness of our actions flow.

Moving forward, we will continue to share stories: of our lives offered in service; of ideas thought and tasks engaged that we have put our hearts, minds, and shoulders into accomplishing; of friends made and relationships built.  All of this has been done as part of seeking to make this current life a bit more like eternity to come.  All of this has been leaned into in order to seek to make this reality a bit more “on earth as it is in heaven.”

We look forward to you joining us on the journey through subscribing and reading The Cry and in whatever other manner of ways the Lord leads you to be companions with us on the way.

We’re excited about the next 25 years!

Grace and Peace. 

— Clint

¹ Lewis, C.S. (1956). “The Last Battle: A Story for Children.” New York. Macmillan.