Social Impact Heroes: Why & How John Heerema of Biglife Is Helping To Change Our World
There’s nothing impossible when the Lord is involved. I’ve seen the Lord provide in impossible ways for the ministry from changing hearts through dreams and visions to opening doors to rescue tens of thousands of refugees from persecution. He is constantly reminding us that He is moving in mighty ways around the world and nothing will stand in His way!
As part of my series about “individuals and organizations making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing John Heerema.
John Heerema is the CEO of Biglife, a faith-based ministry that has reached over 160 nations.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
In 1999, my wife, Kathy, and I thought we had the perfect life. My business was successful, our kids were healthy, and our life was comfortable. Somebody challenged me to read a book called “Unveiled at Last”, which described the lostness in the 10/40 window, an area including much of South Asia and North Africa. It asked the question “Are you leading a little life in your own little world, or are you willing to lead a big life, a life with a big Kingdom impact?” We were totally convicted that our “perfect” life was perfectly shallow. We agreed to start making ourselves available to the Lord and what he’s calling us to do.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
One of the most amazing things I’ve seen since starting Biglife is how the Lord changes the hearts of former extremists to serve Him. One of my favorite stories is of a Biglife leader who was a former Islamic extremist. He volunteered to fight on the front lines so that he could die in combat for Jihad. The Lord changed his heart when he had a recurring dream of Jesus three nights in a row. On the third night, he fell out of bed reaching for Jesus. He surrendered his life to Christ and abandoned Islam. He is now one of the best disciple-makers that I’ve ever seen!
Can you describe how you or your organization is making a significant social impact?
Biglife’s mission is to empower believers worldwide to reach and disciple their own people for Jesus Christ. By training indigenous leaders, the Lord has opened doors for Biglife to build a global network of believers who love God and love people. In moments of dire need, members of Biglife’s network are able to spring into action and care for their communities in massive ways. Biglife has provided disaster relief through food distribution, clean water initiatives, and medical camps. Leaders have also provided humanitarian aid by rescuing tens of thousands of refugees from extremist organizations.
All of this is secondary to Biglife’s primary mission of sharing the love Jesus Christ and teaching others to do the same. None of it would be possible without a faithful God who calls us to carry out His extraordinary will in unimaginable ways!
Can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
In 2021 US and NATO forces evacuated Afghanistan — leading to the chaotic fall of Kabul and the Taliban’s rise to power. Biglife had the opportunity to partner with other organizations, like Task Force Pineapple, to help evacuate refugees who were under death threat from the Taliban, including Afghan government officials, US government officials, and tens of thousands of Afghan men, women, and children.
In this process, we’ve constantly been reminded that the Lord turns chaos into opportunity. He opened the door for Biglife leaders to pour deeply into refugees. Over 2,000 have given their lives to Christ because of the hope that they have in Him!
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
To borrow Jesus’ words, the three things that people can do are 1.) love God, 2.) love people (Matthew 22:35–40) and 3.) make disciples (Matthew 28:19–20). These three commandments are foundational to the work that Biglife does and crucial for living big!
How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
Leaders can’t be effective unless they are also servants. The ability to humble oneself and serve others from a place of love is the most important aspect to being a great leader. Everything else falls in line behind this.
Jesus modeled this perfectly when he washed his disciples’ feet in John 13. He said to them “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” We are called as leaders to act as Jesus did and love people well by serving them first before we can truly lead them effectively.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why.
First, it’s not about us. We are a part of something much bigger than ourselves. Being a follower of Jesus means being a part of a story spanning thousands of years all leading to making the name of Jesus Christ known across as every tribe, tongue, and nation.
Second, obedience will always attract criticism. When we started Biglife, everybody told us that we were crazy — crazy for wanting to work in some of the most difficult areas in the world, crazy for training indigenous believers to reach and disciple their own people, and crazy for wanting to be obedient to Jesus’ commands!
Third, embrace the filter. Jesus said that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. In John 6, Jesus told his followers about the cost of following Him and many turned away with the exception of a select few. Rather than adjusting His message to please the masses, Jesus poured deeply into the select few who were willing to give everything for Him. Not everybody will be on board with working in obedience to Christ, but we can’t compromise when obedience is on the line.
Fourth, the work goes further, farther, and deeper when we co-labor. There are so many great organizations that can come together and co-labor. Every believer is part of a larger global tapestry of the work that God is doing on Earth, so there is no use in keeping our work to ourselves and neglecting to work along other believers who also want to see Jesus’ name brought to every corner of the Earth. We’re blessed that we can hand the reins to other organizations to trust them to nurture and sustain movements that Biglife catalyzed.
Finally, there’s nothing impossible when the Lord is involved. I’ve seen the Lord provide in impossible ways for the ministry from changing hearts through dreams and visions to opening doors to rescue tens of thousands of refugees from persecution. He is constantly reminding us that He is moving in mighty ways around the world and nothing will stand in His way!
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I’d love to see people move back to the basics. Simplicity is fundamental to successful movements. Specifically, I’d love to see faithful followers of Jesus pouring deeply into disciples, who will go and do the same. With this simple model, discipleship multiplies across communities, cities, and entire nations! Moving back to the basics of Jesus’ simple model for discipleship will reach the world much faster than any crusade will. Addition is always easier at the beginning, multiplication takes longer, but it is the only way we can be involved in the transformation of the world.
Thank you for these really excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success.
