Our Story

The story of Mission 1:17 is one of hope deferred and lost dreams becoming reality. In 2008 the Stokes began the process to adopt two brothers from Liberia Africa. With completion on the horizon, the country unexpectedly closed adoptions. As the years went by the Stokes continued to support and communicate with the boys.

RJ & Crissy Stokes - Founders
RJ & Crissy have served many years in the ministry as a local pastor and pastor's wife. RJ currently serves as an Elder and Crissy devotes her time to homeschooling their children and running the communications team for Mission 1:17

Pastor Francis & wife Hawah - Director of Church Planting
& President of OCAF

Several years later in 2024 Crissy attended a worldwide conference in TN for vulnerable children called CAFO. There, she met an ambassador for Liberia who introduced her to Pastor Francis. Through a series of what can only be explained as God ordained events a partnership was born. After visiting Liberia and finally getting to meet one of their sons, the Stokes founded Mission 1:17. Which began a great new adventure spreading the hope and salvation of Jesus to the people of Liberia.

Abraham & Joshua - The Stokes' Beloved Liberian Sons

Today Mission 1:17 works in partnership with Orphan Care Africa Foundation (OCAF) which is an interdisciplinary, grass roots, Liberian organization. We like to think of it in terms of fueling their engine by supporting the initiatives of the Liberian Church. Within our partnership we serve several different villages across three counties in Liberia, seeing many lives changed and transformed by the power of the Gospel.

Our Four Pillars

01

Go & Grow

Advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ is the primary focus of Mission 1:17. Our evangelism efforts are primarily focused on an unreached region. With church planting and street evangelism serving as our primary catalysts for reaching the lost. Discipleship is essential for empowering and unifying the local church to reach the lost and disciple the believers. To accomplish this, we partner with Child Evangelism Fellowship and hold Pastoral training conferences annually.

02

Education

Hosea 4:6 says For lack of knowledge my people perish. Second, to the gospel, we believe a strong Christian liberal arts education grounded in a Biblical worldview will be the change agent for the children and families we serve. Through partnering with local teachers and utilizing Rafiki curriculum we strive to build schools, train teachers, and provide a solid Biblical education that values the West African culture and gives these children a better tomorrow.

03

Medical & Health

Affordable, quality Healthcare is a critical need in Liberia. Clinics in the rural areas are sparse. There are no healthcare subsidies. As a result, cash must be provided upfront for services. Many people prematurely die or suffer greatly from untreated illness. One way we help is to prevent illness before it begins by providing clean water to villages through building wells. We pray in the future we are able to build and run medical clinics in the rural areas to further provide live changing healthcare support.

04

Skills & Agriculture

We believe every man, woman, and child is created in the image of God. Being a dependent or a liability when you are a capable human being strips a person of their God given dignity. Due to a gross lack of infrastructure, the Liberian people struggle with food security challenges. The unemployment rate is a staggering 88%. At Mission 1:17, we have embraced Farming God's Way to provide and promote best practices in agriculture for West Africa, as well as providing farming tools and trade classes such as sewing, gardening, and entreprenership.

01 / 04

Go & Grow

Advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ is the primary focus of Mission 1:17. Our evangelism efforts are primarily focused on an unreached region. With church planting and street evangelism serving as our primary catalysts for reaching the lost. Discipleship is essential for empowering and unifying the local church to reach the lost and disciple the believers. To accomplish this, we partner with Child Evangelism Fellowship and hold Pastoral training conferences annually.

01

Go & Grow

Advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ is the primary focus of Mission 1:17. Our evangelism efforts are primarily focused on an unreached region. With church planting and street evangelism serving as our primary catalysts for reaching the lost. Discipleship is essential for empowering and unifying the local church to reach the lost and disciple the believers. To accomplish this, we partner with Child Evangelism Fellowship and hold Pastoral training conferences annually.

02

Education

Hosea 4:6 says For lack of knowledge my people perish. Second, to the gospel, we believe a strong Christian liberal arts education grounded in a Biblical worldview will be the change agent for the children and families we serve. Through partnering with local teachers and utilizing Rafiki curriculum we strive to build schools, train teachers, and provide a solid Biblical education that values the West African culture and gives these children a better tomorrow.

03

Medical & Health

Affordable, quality Healthcare is a critical need in Liberia. Clinics in the rural areas are sparse. There are no healthcare subsidies. As a result, cash must be provided upfront for services. Many people prematurely die or suffer greatly from untreated illness. One way we help is to prevent illness before it begins by providing clean water to villages through building wells. We pray in the future we are able to build and run medical clinics in the rural areas to further provide live changing healthcare support.

04

Skills & Agriculture

We believe every man, woman, and child is created in the image of God. Being a dependent or a liability when you are a capable human being strips a person of their God given dignity. Due to a gross lack of infrastructure, the Liberian people struggle with food security challenges. The unemployment rate is a staggering 88%. At Mission 1:17, we have embraced Farming God's Way to provide and promote best practices in agriculture for West Africa, as well as providing farming tools and trade classes such as sewing, gardening, and entreprenership.