International (MNN)—The world has become less peaceful over the last 17 years, according to the 2025 Global Peace Index, with conflict deaths at their highest levels of the century. In the face of this, A3 President Joe Handley encourages Christians around the world to turn to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.
“The capsulation of Matthew 5-7 is a powerful tool to really rest in Christ so that we can become more like Him and display those Beatitudes, those character traits that help us emulate the glory of Jesus,” says Handley.
A3 exists to build and sustain Christ’s leaders around the world. They’re currently equipping and unifying leaders in over 20 countries through intentional learning communities.
“You look at this world and you think there’s no hope, right? How are we going to solve these problems? And the reality is that you and I cannot solve these problems, but we know one who can, and he is called the Prince of Peace, and he is the hope of the world,” Handley continues. “You think of Ukraine. You think of the dynamic in Korea’s North and South. You think of the crisis in Israel with Gaza and you know, conflict going on there. War’s everywhere. If there’s one thing we need, it’s the Prince of Peace. And the Prince of Peace says blessed are the peacemakers.
“Right in that same passage, he says, we are the light of the world, and a city set on a hill cannot be hidden. As you look at the Sermon on the Mount, it’s a reminder that you and me, believers across the planet, no matter if we’re from the Ukraine or Korea or America or wherever, we are that light that shines the light of Christ.”
Handley acknowledges that simply hearing and believing these words of Jesus is not enough to be that light—it requires action.
“When we talk about how my colleagues and friends have reached out to the people of Ukraine in the midst of this crisis, have interacted with their friends that are believers in Russia and tried to build, unity—to me, that’s people embodying the gospel,” he says. “When you see supplies going from the Polish people? They’re displaying the hope of the world. And so in the midst of all this chaos and polarization, there are people like the people of Poland. There are people like that going into North Korea today. There are people that are taking hope and supplies into Gaza. And so those are points of light. When you hear about them, how can you not be inspired?”
However, Handley reminds Christians that before action, it all begins with prayer.
“Jesus said he saw the scattered peoples lost like sheep without a shepherd, and his first response was to pray. His first response wasn’t go help. His first response wasn’t go evangelize. His first response was pray to the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers, and so please pray that more people would go into the Ukraine, that more people would go into North Korea, that more people would go to Gaza, that we could shed light in the darkest corners of this planet, and that through that, we would be the light of the world, embodying the character of Jesus through the Sermon on the Mount. So pray to the Lord of the harvest and then see how he might be calling you to get out of the box, get into the game, serve, and be a light to this world.”
Header photo is a representative stock image courtesy of Martin Bammer via Unsplash.
