Good Works, Inc.

I grew up in the Jewish community of Cleveland, Ohio during the 1960s and early 1970s. After my father died and my mom remarried, our family moved to the Dayton, Ohio area which is where I met Christians for the first time in my life at the age of 16.  My life was powerfully transformed after becoming a Jewish Christian during my junior year in high school in Centerville, Ohio. Graduating high school was a major milestone for me because I had spent the five previous years using and selling drugs.

I moved to Athens, Ohio in the fall of 1976 to attend Ohio University and it was in Athens that I felt the desire and call towards full-time Christian service. During my senior year at Ohio University, in conjunction with a degree in mental health, I remodeled the basement of my home on Elliott Street in Athens into a two-bedroom apartment to assist what we then called “displaced persons.” I had a vision from scripture (Luke 4:18-19) to reach out to the people who were without a home and struggling with poverty in rural Southeast Ohio. That vision came to a reality in 1981 when I established Good Works, Inc. with the help of friends and supporters.

I am now in my 44th year with Good Works, building and sustaining a community of HOPE, working with the people who struggle with homelessness and poverty in rural Ohio. I speak to churches, community groups, and on college campus about being involved and being in relationship with people who are struggling with poverty.  Scripture directs us to pay special attention to three groups of people that God says are very special and very important to love and serve: the widow, the fatherless, and the stranger (James 1:26-27  & Job 29:1-17).

To better understand homelessness, I have chosen to experience homelessness on 11 different occasions over the past 30 years in 11 urban cities. You can read about some of these experiences by clicking here. To read more about my story, click here.

A graduate of Ohio University in 1981, I have attended Asbury Theological Seminary on ten+ occasions over the past 40 years. I received an Honorary Doctorate from Asbury Theological Seminary in the spring of 2012. Darlene and I have been married 42 years and we have one son, Timothy, who is 33. You can read an article about Darlene by clicking here.

What does it mean for me to be involved with Good Works today?  I believe that the greatest commandment (and JOY) God gives human beings is to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. I believe that these two commandments are mystically interrelated and that it not important to God when we think we are doing one and when we think we are doing the other as long as our love comes from a heart of worship.  More importantly, Jesus calls us to another level: “A new commandment I give you: Love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34). I believe the great task — the great commission– of the body of Christ to translate what Christ has done for us and in us (and is still doing every day) through our lives into the lives of others.

The neighbors God has given me a special concern for are the widows, the fatherless and people without homes. All we are trying to do through Good Works is love God and love our neighbors as a community. Every act of sacrificial love becomes an offering of worship. I feel I am making an impact upon the world by being faithful to love God and care for my neighbors. In the end, there is nothing more sophisticated about our mission. God continues to supply JOY through his grace each day in the work of repairing broken and shattered lives.

• This presentation was given at Asbury Theological Seminary Chapel in February 2024. It is entitled “ANSWERING THE PRAYER OF GOD”
• This presentation on Exodus 3 was given by Keith at Torch Baptist Church in Coolville, Ohio.
• This 23 minute talk was presented on May 3, 2022 to the students and faculty of Asbury Theological Seminary on the Wilmore, Kentucky Campus in Estes Chapel. It is entitled: Remember the poor: What are their names? 
•  This article on Hospitality and Faithful Discipleship, published by Duke Divinity school’s FAITH AND LEADERSHIP magazine came out in June 2021. It is an interview with Christine Pohl and Keith Wasserman about the book Good Works.
• In the spring of 2021, the InSide Podcast recorded an interview with Keith about the history, values and vision of Good Works.
• In the spring of 2020, Keith did a 1 hour interview on the podcast Thrive with Asbury Theological Seminary.
• The presentation by Keith was given in Champaign Illinois. It is entitled “Practices that help sustain community”
• On January 2, 2019, OUR LIFE LOGS published a story on Keith’s early life.
• This talk was given by Keith in March of 2019 at a local church in Athens County.
• This one hour presentation is on four of the 15 different initiatives of Good Works. It was presented at the Wealth and Poverty series sponsored by Ohio University in September 2018.
• To hear a 40 minute audio interview with Keith on The Local Church and Holistic Mission Podcast recorded in March 2018, click here.  Scroll down to the fourth listing in the podcast.
• For a brief article Keith recently written on the history of Good Works, click here.
• This audio interview with Keith was recorded in the spring of 2016.
  
• This article published by Faith and Leadership is called Power for Good.
• Hank Heschle, who served as an intern with us twice, has written a Theology of Keith Wasserman, which you can read by clicking here.
• To read more about Keith’s story, click here.

For information on how to have Keith come to your church or civic organization to speak on a WIDE variety of topics related to caring for people struggling with poverty and homelessness, click here.