Hands of Mercy aims at restoring emotional, physical and spiritual hope to Filipino children and their families who live in poverty. This is achieved by not only offering programmes of compassion to meet people’s basic needs, but also by giving every child and family who participates in one of our activities, the opportunity to develop a lasting relationship with God through involvement in a local church.

As the compassion ministry of the Association of Mercy Community Churches, Hands of Mercy coordinates its programmes of compassion primarily in partnership with local Mercy Community Churches. At each church, a Hands of Mercy team, which consists of church members and leaders (most staff also have other roles within the church), is responsible for developing and implementing the Hands of Mercy programmes that best suit the needs of the beneficiaries in the communities being reached by the church. All teams adhere to the Hands of Mercy vision, values and objectives. The programmes of compassion being offered to children and their families in the community compliment the spiritual work of the church in meeting the needs of the whole person – body, mind, and spirit.

Children and families being served through Hands of Mercy programmes are encouraged to fully enter into the spiritual life of their local Mercy Community Church (or other church denomination). This could mean attending Sunday worship services, and age appropriate discipleship training groups. It is during these discipleship groups where Christian adults provide training and guidance for personal and character development. Our goal is to minister by personally sharing God's love and God's ways with both child and family. However, programme beneficiaries are never forced to attend the spiritual activities of their local church and they are certainly not excluded from receiving help from Hands of Mercy if they decide not to be involved.

For those whose lives are touched by the ministry of Hands of Mercy and Mercy Community Church, many go on to impact their friends, and family with their renewed attitudes, beliefs and values. Some adults also enter into active ministry in the community by becoming a volunteer with one of the Hands of Mercy teams.