In Honduras, nearly 80% of the population relies on public services such as health, education, and security. Private schools and hospitals or personal security guards are out of the reach of most Hondurans, and when corruption robs health centers of medicines, or schools of teachers, or police forces of honest cops, the people who suffer most are those who can’t afford to pay.
The Christian Work Of Anti-Corruption
August 26, 2016
It’s Wednesday afternoon, and the back office of ASJ (formerly known as AJS) is filled with the faint buzzing of the document scanner and the steady clicking of laptop keys.
White partitions divide small, unremarkable cubicles where a handful of people are quietly transforming the way their government serves its people. Their tools? Interviews, law books, spreadsheets.
ASJ’s mission is to do justice, making Honduras’ systems of laws and government work. Sometimes that means a dramatic arrest in one of Honduras’ most dangerous neighborhoods. Sometimes it means spending hundreds of hours poring over thousands of pages of government payroll documents – something ASJ also sees as God’s work.
ASJ programs focus on two of the biggest problems facing Honduras – Violence and Corruption. Both are central to our vision of being brave Christians, earning justice for those who most need it.
But to many, a Christian anti-corruption organization still seems like a strange combination.
However, the Bible is unequivocal on corruption:
- “You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly,” (Leviticus 19:15, NIV)
- “A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight (Proverbs 11:1, NASB).”
- “Differing weights and differing measures – the LORD detest them both” (Proverbs 20:10, NIV)
These verses, and dozens more like them, show us something – God really hates it when someone tips the scale!
Powerful people in Honduras, in the United States, and across the world are carrying differing weights for the poor than for the rich, for the elites than for the disconnected, for racial and ethnic majorities or minorities. This scale-tipping, these false balances, are corruption. And corruption hurts.
Improving health and education in Honduras, fixing roads and bridges and water pipes, reducing violence and poverty – all depend on making these public services work.
ASJ is the Honduran chapter of international anti-corruption nonprofit Transparency International (TI). In 2014, ASJ and TI signed an agreement with the Honduran government that opened the five biggest government institutions – health, education, security, infrastructure, and tax management – up to ASJ’s oversight.
ASJ’s backroom is full of the people who are carrying out this oversight. They analyze the purchases and contracts, human resources, and data collection of government institutions, auditing them to see if the processes are transparent, efficient, and effective.
“Public goods should be for the common good,” says Keila García, the coordinator of ASJ/Transparency International’s government oversight programs. “When we think about corruption, it is the opposite of the values of the Kingdom of God. We as Christians cannot be indifferent to this.”
Whether it’s cataloging public purchases or scrutinizing government payrolls, García sees social oversight of government functions as a rare opportunity for Christians to be “a prophetic voice” demanding accountability from those who use their position to exploit or steal.
In the two years that ASJ/TI has been working under the agreement, she has noticed a remarkable change in the government culture. “They feel pressured,” she says, “They rely on us as a key player, knowing that even when we aren’t there, that we will be there asking for that information and documentation.”
“The Bible teaches us the principles that we must love God and love our neighbor,” says Hector Moncada, an economist and former professor, who is now developing a government-wide analysis of public contracts with ASJ. “If I can fight for justice by reducing corruption, I am improving institutions that benefit my neighbors and all of society, people I don’t even know.”
When people think of the fight for justice they often think of strikes, marches, or protests. They think of impassioned speeches and massive crowds. This is one face of justice. Another is less imposing.
When we think back to the dramatic victories that God has led us to in Honduras, nearly all of them started in someone’s Excel sheet, at someone’s desk, on someday like this Wednesday afternoon – quiet, unassuming, life-changing.
ASJ-Canada and ASJ-US Congratulate the Honduran People, Call for Full and Transparent Results As sister organizations committed to justice, peace and hope in Honduras, ASJ-Canada and ASJ-US extend our deepest congratulations to the people of Honduras on the peaceful conduct of their national elections on November 30, 2025. With the initial tally showing an extraordinarily close vote, we call on election authorities to do what is necessary to ensure a transparent count of the remaining ballots in order to guarantee public trust in the final outcome. We commend the Honduran voters for their dedication to democratic participation and their commitment to shaping the future of their country through civic engagement. We also recognize the efforts of electoral authorities, civil society organizations, the international community and the thousands of volunteer observers who worked to ensure a transparent, orderly, and secure process. We are especially proud of our sister organization, ASJ-Honduras, for their unwavering commitment to democracy demonstrated through their electoral observation efforts, their analysis activities, and their consistent call for a fair and orderly process. Now that such a process has been achieved, the work turns to counting the votes with accuracy and transparency. The results remain close, increasing the possibility of a contested result. We support the work of the election officials at the National Electoral Council to give Hondurans confidence in the final results by conducting their count with rigor and transparency. We remain hopeful that the spirit of peaceful participation in the democratic process embraced by the electorate will carry forward into the post-election period to come. We look forward to continued collaboration with ASJ-Honduras as we all work together toward a just and hopeful future for all Hondurans. Matthew Van Geest President, Board of Directors ASJ-Canada Russ Jacobs President, Board of Directors ASJ-US
A call to action for Honduras
The Association for a More Justice Society-US Supports the Network to Defend Democracy; Calls for Free and Fair Elections in Honduras November 25, 2025
Honduras’s Institutional Crisis Deepens Ahead of the 2025 Elections
Dear friend, I couldn’t stop looking at the picture. Of course, there had been plenty of inspiring photos from this summer’s Prayer Walk for Peace and Democracy. The sea of blue and white rising and falling as hundreds of thousands walked the Honduran hills through Tegucigalpa, flowing like a never-ending stream. Catholic nuns praying their rosaries alongside Pentecostals dancing in the streets. But the picture that still knocks me flat is the closeup. The one of the two men standing side by side (picture enclosed). They are exhausted, and the shorter collapses into the taller. The tears mostly hold joy and relief, but they are mingled with something darker. After all, there had been threats—promises of harm done to themselves and their loved ones if they led their followers through the streets of Honduras in prayer. Despite the fear and intimidation, Pastor Gerardo Irías and Monsignor José Vicente Nácher forged ahead. They knew Honduras needed unity and, above all, prayer before the looming November 2025 presidential elections. As an ASJ supporter, you know that these kinds of threats aren’t out of the ordinary, and your support has helped slow and reverse violence in Honduras. Today, I am writing to share a way you can continue standing with brave Hondurans like Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José in hope. The Evangelical pastor and the Catholic archbishop put the word out as widely as they could to their churches, hoping to mobilize 20,000 to walk and pray. Instead, an estimated 230,000 walked in the capital of Tegucigalpa alone. It was a historic moment. And without your past support for ASJ, it may have never happened. After all, two years prior, Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José didn’t even know each other’s names. They first met in 2023 at ASJ’s offices. They were two of many civil society leaders convened by ASJ to discuss safeguarding democracy– especially before the election in 2025. It was at that meeting that they shook each other’s hand and learned each other’s name. It was at that meeting–and many subsequent meetings–where old religious prejudices began to be replaced by trust and mutual affection. So, when the moment came this summer to act, Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José knew what they had to do. And they knew that they had to do it together.
Calvin alums turn faith into action through nonprofit
MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Thank You for Moving Forward With Us this Summer!
When Policies Shift, Families Pay the Price * by Jo Ann Van Engen
Inspiring civil society in the US with a vision of a more just society
