Author Steve Haas

Steve is a gifted and dynamic spokesperson for World Vision’s worldwide humanitarian work, with a role that includes working with church leaders, contributing to strategic planning on major issues, and communicating about global issues that affect the poor. While few of us may be called to relief work, Steve believes that “all of us are under orders to live out loud.” It is this conviction that fuels his exhortations to action on the part of believers. “The Church has a mandate to care for the vulnerable, to provide a covering, to provide community, to follow the greatest commandment to love,” he declares. While pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from the University of Kansas, Steve temporarily suspended his studies to work in youth ministry in the Philippines. After graduating, he labored along the Thailand border as a relief worker aiding Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees. He went on to earn a Master’s of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary in 1985, then served as associate rector of Craigsbank Church in Scotland while pursuing postgraduate studies in Edinburgh. His career has included serving on the staff of Illinois’ Willow Creek Community Church—one of America’s best-known megachurches—where he developed small group ministry and then local and international ministries. He joined World Vision in 2001. Steve is known as a motivator and a visionary with a passion for making things happen. His leadership on many of World Vision’s “Vision Trips,” which allows leaders to personally witness the impact of AIDS in African communities, has helped to engage and mobilize congregations across America on the AIDS crisis. Steve also was one of the driving forces behind the launch of World Vision’s ACT:S, which today numbers over 230 colleges and universities across the U.S. Steve speaks knowledgeably and engagingly on a variety of topics including AIDS and the role of the Church, holistic ministry, Scriptural interpretation, and biblical teaching on a wide range of subjects. He has addressed audiences of virtually every type, size, and denominational background. His expertise and zeal have won him interviews with CNN, Christianity Today, The New York Times, and a host of radio stations. Steve is married to Susan, and has three children Andrew, Erin and B.J. (Benjamin Jakob).