Architects, engineers, surveyors and construction managers have sat by for decades watching doctors and nurses engage in medical mission. Medical professionals have historically used their professional skills to serve the physically and spiritually needy, and now, design professionals find that same opportunity through Engineering Ministries International (EMI).

EMI partners with Christian ministries who are providing for the needs of the poor and proclaiming Christ throughout the developing world. These ministries hope to further their reach, but require the facilities (buildings, clean water, electrical systems and, most importantly, a plan) to do so. EMI helps make their calling a reality by mobilizing technical professionals to provide affordable design solutions to propel ministries into the future with a plan for how to move forward.

Some of the best examples of successful EMI projects are hospital designs. Engineers can provide the technical support needed to help a hospital staff move forward in their vision to grow from a 20 bed hospital into a 200 bed hospital. This allows the staff the freedom to continue on in their work while the development process moves ahead.

For people around the world, hope is a belief in something not yet seen. It is a barren landscape overlaid with a vision for what could be. Hope changes the way we act, work, celebrate and prepare. Along with the ministries they serve, engineers are designing a world of hope.

This article originally appeared in the NAE Insight.

John Dallmann

John Dallmann serves as CEO of Engineering Ministries International, a Christian ministry that designs facilities that serve the poor in developing countries. He served as a missionary with Converge Worldwide for 16 years doing water projects and evangelism in Ethiopia, water development and planting a church in Cameroon, and leading the denomination’s worldwide compassion ministries. He holds a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Colorado and a master’s in world Christianity from Denver Seminary.