George Greene, CEO of Water Mission, on Engineered Water Solutions Paving the Way for the Gospel (Ep. 79)

The Finish Line Podcast

George Greene, CEO of Water Mission, shares grew up in a faith-driven family, the son of two water engineers and entrepreneurs. After a devastating hurricane hit Honduras in 1998, his family began to lay the foundation for Water Mission, building and installing water solutions in the country. The calling eventually led them to sell their thriving family engineering consulting business to serve those with poor access to water around the world.

Water Mission has now served over 8 million people across 10 countries in 3 primary contexts: long term community development, disaster relief, and refugee camp stabilization. In each context, Water Mission partners with local churches to introduce the gospel and trauma-informed healing to those they serve. Every water solution also involves comprehensive community development and remote-monitoring technology to ensure longevity of each project.

Water Mission has a strong culture of generosity. Their strong engineering background has not only allowed them to build high quality, durable water solutions, but has also enabled them to serve as a free engineering resource to other nonprofits working in the water space, eventually launching the Global Water Center. Their engineering origins have also enabled them to form many corporate partnerships to acquire components at discounted rates, which they freely share with other ministries as a partner distributor.

Major topics covered include:

• Water Mission’s origin story
• Strategies for community development, disaster relief, and refugee camp support
• The fusion of technical innovation and faith-based ministry
• Sustainability through community financial models and remote monitoring technology
• The power of collaboration on lasting impact

QUOTES TO REMEMBER

• “We use water as an opportunity to build relationships with people that ultimately allow us to talk about who God is”
• “Our mission is to honor God by developing, implementing and sharing best in class safe water solutions, that transform as many lives as possible as quickly as possible”
• “As you look at Jesus’s model for ministry, it was both word and deed, it wasn’t one or the other.”
• The one thing that none of us ever had any control over is where we were born, and who we were born to.”

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

• Water Mission
• Halftime by Bob Buford
• Ronald Blue Trust (see our interview with founder, Ron Blue)
• National Christian Foundation (see our interview with President Emeritus, David Wills)
• Life Shape
• Lead Like Jesus
• Mission Drift (see our interview with author Peter Greer)
• Rooting for Rivals (see our interview with author Peter Greer)
• American Bible Society
• Living Water
• Hope International (see our interview with founder, Jeff Rutt or CEO, Peter Greer)
• Global Water Center
• The Finish Line Community Facebook Group
• The Finish Line Community LinkedIn Group

BIBLE REFERENCES FROM THE SHOW

Mark 12:30-31 | Love Your Neighbor

30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Proverbs 22:29 | A Man Skilled in His Work

Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.

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