About Us

Our Mission

As the relief and development ministry of the Baptist World Alliance, we network the global Baptist family to transform vulnerable communities with the compassion of Christ.

Our Mandate

He has told you, O mortal, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?
– Micah 6:8

BWAid's 4 Commitments 

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Collaboration

We encourage Baptists to support one another and build strategic partnerships across the global family.

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Resourcing

We provide and/or broker resources for BWA member partners who are responding to humanitarian needs.

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Capacity Strengthening

We equip partners to respond effectively to needs
while promoting local leadership.

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Quality Assurance

We ensure Baptist-led programs are safe, impactful, and trustworthy across all contexts.

Since 1920, the Baptist World Alliance has responded to global crises with compassion and action. Check out our history!

Check out our history!

Meet Our Team

Allen Chimombe

Allen Chimombe

Capacity Development Specialist

Responsible for designing and implementing capacity strengthening tools and training modules for BWA member partners.

He also responsible for partnership management and supporting conventions in Africa. Allen has over 15 years of experience in the development field focusing on Gender, Child Protection, and Support for Refugees, and Internally Displaced Persons in Africa. He holds an MSc in Sociology and Social Anthropology and a MA in Journalism and International Communication.

Rev. Marsha Scipio

Rev. Marsha Scipio

Director

Networks the Baptist family to impact lives of the world’s most vulnerable populations, overseeing the coordination of Baptist-led humanitarian efforts.

Born in Trinidad & Tobago and raised in New York, Marsha has served as the Director of Baptist World Aid since 2021.  She is also the facilitator of BFAD – the global network of Baptist aid organizations and implementing partners. Marsha is an Associate Minister at the historic Berean Baptist Church in Brooklyn, New York. Prior to joining the BWA, she was the Associate General Secretary for Missional Initiatives and Partnerships for American Baptist Churches USA.

Claudia Escobar

Claudia Escobar

Program Manager

Oversees BWAid-funded projects from application to completion, ensuring compliance, monitoring, and reporting.

Claudia also supports partner engagement, communications, and fundraising efforts to strengthen the organization’s global impact. She holds a degree in Business Administration with a specialization in Marketing, earned in her home country of Nicaragua. She also completed a postgraduate program in Humanitarian Response Management at the Hungarian Óbuda University and holds a Master’s degree in Human Resources and Knowledge Management from the European University of the Atlantic in Santander, Spain. 


Commissions

There are three BWA commissions that provide support to the vision for BWAid: (1) Commission on Humanitarian Aid and Community Development, (2) Commission on Racial, Gender and Economic Justice and (3) Commission on Safeguarding.

In addition, the Creation Care Initiative was developed in 2025.

Commission on Humanitarian Aid and Community Development

This Commission engages in response to ongoing significant vulnerability experienced by many BWA Baptists as well as many people around the world in the myriad of man-made crises and natural disasters. This Commission addresses global challenges related to humanitarian aid, community development, and crisis response, in keeping with kingdom values. Good practices and innovative approaches will be explored and developed to equip the BWA, BWA Member and Ministry Partners, and Baptist churches around the world to engage with the humanitarian aid sector as a local actor with a church identity in the delivery of humanitarian aid efficiently and equitably to promote a more just world.

Good practices and innovative approaches will be explored and developed to equip the BWA, BWA Member and Ministry Partners, and Baptist churches around the world to engage with the humanitarian aid sector as a local actor. These practices aim to keep a church identity in the delivery of humanitarian aid efficiently and equitably to promote a more just world.

Why giving directly still means giving well
Study refugees build independence with cash aid
Why giving directly still means giving well
Why giving directly still means giving well

Commission on Racial, Gender, and Economic Justice

This Commission seeks to deepen awareness of the biblical portrait of equal dignity for all people as well as the individual and corporate sin that maligns this reality. It provides biblical and theological reflection designed to identify and confront all forms of racism, sexism, and economic injustice in the church and beyond. It will engage in research, develop resources, and challenge Baptists to work for racial and gender justice, ethnic reconciliation, and human flourishing, especially in local communities. The Commission will work to develop comprehensive strategies to address the unique challenges faced by marginalized populations and advocate in collaboration with various stakeholders for equitable access to resources to create a more just and inclusive society for all in keeping with the values of the Kingdom of God.

Why giving directly still means giving well
Why giving directly still means giving well

Commission on Safeguarding

This Commission will be guided by biblical principles to focus on resourcing the BWA, Member and Ministry Partners, and Baptist churches on how to foster churches and all parts of the Baptist family as places of wellbeing that protect vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, individuals with disabilities, and victims of abuse. Through research, dialogue, identifying and developing recommended programs, organizing awareness campaigns and educational initiatives, widely disseminating findings, and fostering multilingual policies, practices, and guides, the Commission will strengthen safeguarding practices, equip advocacy for systemic changes, and promote the safety, dignity, and empowerment of individuals both within the church and the broader community with compassion, respect, and protection.

Why giving directly still means giving well
Why giving directly still means giving well
Study refugees build independence with cash aid
Study refugees build independence with cash aid

Creation Care Initiative

The BWA has established a Creation Care Initiative to provide biblical and theological reflection. It also aims to provide the BWA and Baptists with resources that include practical tools, sustained engagement, and resources for use in congregational worship, personal practices, and innovative sustainable development.

This is an invitation-only initiative working closely with the BWAid Director. If you are interested in this crucial area, please contact us.

BWA Forum for Aid and Development (BFAD)

BFAD is an intentional collaboration of Baptist global relief and development agencies, ministries and practitioners to empower and equip the Baptist family and to elevate Baptist leadership and impact in the humanitarian aid sector. Together we support the participation of Baptist churches and conventions in humanitarian relief and development work across the world.

BFAD’s work is divided into 4 strategic areas:

Networking

Capacity Strengthening

Disaster Response Coordination

Administration

The BFAD Steering Committee provides oversight of the network. The BFAD Advisory Group are specialists in the humanitarian sector who share their expertise with BFAD members.

Become a Member of BFAD Today and Enjoy the 4 A’s:
Accountability, Access, Acceleration, & Administration

Aid Agencies & Ministries