ACTS: History & Vision
ACTS (Active Community Team Services) has provided assistance to nearly 2 million people through its 17,000 volunteers since 2004. 44 million dollars worth of donated supplies, water, ice, 510,000 hot meals and medical services and supplies have been distributed during various times of disaster.
ACTS has a unique program of volunteers where experienced adults provide leadership to empower youth to perform active community service as a way of sharing the love of Christ, especially during times of disaster. This cooperation has made a real difference, which is why the CBS Evening News has featured their unselfish service as a voluntary Army of Every One.
ACTS was founded by David Canther, who had 27 years of experience as a church Pastor. The concept of Empowerment originated when Pastor Canther was inspired by God to teach, inspire, mobilize and empower a primarily retired aged, dying church (which only had one young family) to do Christian service, transforming the community in a positive way. The main purpose was to reach out and meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the community, rather than focusing on itself.
The church community served weekly hot meals, provided valuable information through Life Skills Seminars, invited the public to Community Impact Outreach Block Parties, and reached out to the children through its Kidz Club Programs. In 2002, a chain of thrift stores and food pantries began reaching those in need under the name “Fountain of Hope”, and financed a growing number of outreach programs. As the church reached out in service, the community soon embraced the church! The local Sheriff said that, “Our community has truly been blessed by the Life Changing Ministries Church where when we refer those in emergency need, you graciously provide free desperately needed items.”
Empowering and training adults and youth resulted in Pastor Canther’s Life Changing Ministries Church spiraling to five different services, to meet the needs of the various segments of the community. People of faith, who caught Pastor Canther’s vision of Empowerment and Community Transformation, started Satellite churches to serve other communities. This network of young adult driven churches was recognized as one of the fastest growing in the Seventh-day Adventist denomination, using Jesus method of evangelism of meeting the needs of people first!
The Canther family all helped in launching ACTS. David Canther’s wife Sherri is a nurse by profession and now works with the administration and grant applications for ACTS. Their son Andrew is talented with mechanics and construction work. Their daughter Autumn sings, preaches and does dramas as a way of reaching out to the youth.
While helping the victims of hurricane Andrew in 1994, David Canther was appalled to see truck drivers literally kicking donated items out of their semi trucks into the rain, where there was no suitable storage and no organization prepared to distribute the items to hurting people efficiently. Canther prayed to find a better way of bringing help to survivors. Victims and volunteers also pleaded for a hot meal. God reminded David of his talents as a “problem solver” when he was a young inventor, who successfully registered 7 patents of various kinds to solve different problems.
The result is now all donated supplies are brought in by a fleet of vehicles and processed under large tents. People in need are able to drive through the tents and get supplies, a hot meal, music, medical and emotional encouragement they so desperately need!
When several hurricanes hit the residents of Florida in 2004, David Canther responded to God’s call to go beyond his own church and cooperate with other church communities and businessmen to purchase disaster relief equipment so he could mobilize people both inside and outside the Christian community to help the hurricane victims. Several trucking companies have now agreed to help ACTS with the transportation of emergency supplies.
The answer that makes all this possible, came to Canther - empowering teams by uniting everyone is the most effective way to make a difference during times of disaster! This was the concept that later became known as an Army of Every One in the 2005 hurricane Katrina disaster response.
With ACTS very visible in the Southeastern USA responding to four tornados in 2007, requests were now made to make this Army of Everyone a NATIONAL organization. ACTS now reaches the Pacific Ocean with its new division known as ACTS Emergency Relief- Mountain West Division. This division is made up of trained emergency community leaders.
ACTS is now involved in training programs, medical and emergency response teams and mission rebuilding projects INTERNATIONALLY in Central America, which was accomplished during a trip at the time of hurricanes Dean and Felix. Africa is the next requested area of need. Plans are in progress to operate Medi-vac airplane and cargo capabilities as well. ACTS now has 5 Divisions: Disaster Response, Emergency Relief, CSI Institute, Creative Ministry, and Medical Response.
ACTS vision for the near future is to establish a large warehouse for donated supplies, which will also serve as a community food bank. A shipping company has offered to tow needed Quarter barges to mobilize supplies, medical assistance and housing in the US and elsewhere. The ACTS Community Service Institute (CSI) will offer an expanding line of training, certification, and College credits in emergency response and ministry.
This vision resulted in the creation of ACTS, which is governed by a Board of Directors, assisted by an Advisory Board, comprised of people of faith. The board members come from various backgrounds and professions, including CEO’s, business owners, accountants, attorneys, emergency services, physicians and educators from several different countries.
The founder’s dream is that ACTS NEEDS youth who will not be judged as selfish and irresponsible, but will respond to the call of God, and become empowered visionary leaders, ready to serve the needs of their community and humanity around the world!
ACTS urgently needs your support because you, can make a real difference!