Last updated: April 11, 2023
Eddie Kaufholz had the words of justice found in Micah 6:8 tattooed on his heart, long before the words appeared on his body or in his ministry. Now, through leadership roles at global organizations, Eddie has worked to end both slavery and hunger. He helps bring justice to the world through marketing, creative solutions, advocacy, writing, filmmaking, and podcasting.
For Eddie, “doing justice” is a way of life.
Eddie’s grandma introduced him to Micah 6:8, the first Bible verse he ever heard, when he was eight years old. Although Eddie didn’t meet Jesus until he was 18, this verse touched his heart. He realized that helping others is something we must always do. Now, he has this verse tattooed on his arm in his grandma’s writing.
Today, Eddie interacts with justice to end hunger, but he believes that all have a mandate to “do justice” in different ways. For some, it’s the ways in which we interact with our neighbors, love our communities, and leverage our lives around the world.
“It doesn’t matter what justice means to me, but what it means to God,” Eddie says. “And what it means to God is his people being the light of the world. It’s you. It’s me. We are Plan A for doing justice in the world.”
He first learned about modern day slavery when he introduced a guest speaker from International Justice Mission (IJM) at the church he pastored at that time. The church had five services and at service four, Eddie’s heart heard the speaker’s words in a new way.
“I was shocked and embarrassed that I didn’t know there were slaves on this planet,” he says.
His new knowledge spurred him to action. He began volunteering for IJM, organizing social justice events at his church, and raising awareness about IJM’s ministry in the community.
“When you know about slavery, you can’t un-know it,” says Eddie, who worked with IJM for over seven years. “When you realize slavery still exists, you can’t not do something.”
Eddie is now Director of Strategic Communications and Campaigns at Bread for the World, a Christian organization advocating for policies and programs that help end hunger in the U.S. and around the world.
Whether leading, making meaningful content, or praying, Eddie lives his life to eradicate injustice. However, because the need is so great, where to start can be suffocating.
When people ask, “What could I possibly do?” Eddie’s response is, “Anything!”
“We think we can’t do anything because we can’t do everything,” he said. “If we all did anything, there would be massive, sweeping changes in our world.”
His challenge to all is to commit to pray for the world and put actions behind those prayers.
“In whatever spheres of justice, find any organization or person who is doing that work and help in tiny ways or big, gigantic ways,” Eddie says. “Doing nothing is not an option!”
Eddie created, produced, and hosted The New Activist, a podcast dedicated to humanitarian issues. His current podcast is Doing the Best We Can with Eddie Kaufholz. To contact Eddie or learn more about his work, visit eddiekaufholz.com.
Listen to Eddie on the Thrive with Asbury Seminary Podcast.
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