About Us
Eden surrounds vulnerable children with the family of Christ, addressing their needs holistically through five integrated pillars: spiritual growth (the Church), intellectual growth (the School), physical wellbeing (the Clinic), physical nourishment (the Farm), wrapped up with the foundation of love (the Children’s Village).
Our Story
Founded in 1998, Eden Ministries has grown from a heartfelt vision to a dynamic force for positive change. Our faith in Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of our mission, driving us to serve with love, compassion, and a commitment to biblical principles.
Our primary focus is on providing a loving and secure home for orphans, rooted in the values and teachings of our Christian faith. Beyond orphan care, we actively engage in ministry initiatives, seeking to follow the example of Christ in every way.
Biblical Foundation
Where the Bible speaks, we speak; where the Bible is silent, we are silent.
Unity In Love
In essentials, unity; in opinions, liberty; and in all things, love
Christian Identity
While we are not the only Christians, we proudly identify as Christians only.
See how Eden Ministries is transforming lives in Zimbabwe
Statement Of Faith
While we are not the only Christians, we proudly identify as Christians only.
We accept the Bible, including the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament, as the written Word of God. The Bible is the only essential and infallible record of God’s self-disclosure to mankind. It leads us to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
There is one God: infinite, eternal, almighty, and perfect in holiness, truth, and love. In the unity of the godhead there are three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, co-existent, co-equal, co-eternal. One God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—is the foundation of Christian faith and life.
We believe that in the fullness of time, God honored His covenants with Israel and His prophetic promises of salvation by sending His Son, Jesus, into the world. Conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, as fully God and fully human in one person, He is humanity as God intended us to be.
We believe that the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Church at Pentecost in power, baptizing believers into the Body of Christ and releasing the gifts of the Spirit to them. The Spirit brings the permanent indwelling presence of God to us for spiritual worship, personal sanctification, building up the Church.
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.
We believe this experience does not deliver us from the infirmities, ignorance, and mistakes common to humanity, nor from the possibilities of further sin. The Christian must continue on guard against spiritual pride and seek to gain victory over every temptation to sin. Each believer must respond wholly to the will of God so that sin will lose its power over them, as the world, the flesh, and the devil are put under his feet by the mighty power of God-the Holy Spirit. Thus, the Christian rules over these enemies with watchfulness through the power of the Holy Spirit and in humble submission to the lordship of Jesus Christ through Holy Spirit’s agency on the earth and in our lives.
We believe that God’s kingdom has come in the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, that it continues to come in the ministry of the Spirit through the Church, and that it will be consummated in the glorious, visible, and triumphant appearing of Christ – His return to the earth as King. After Christ returns to reign, He will bring about the final defeat of Satan and all of his minions and works, the resurrection of the dead, the final judgment and the eternal blessing of the righteous, and eternal conscious punishment of the wicked. Finally, God will be all in all and His kingdom, His rule and reign, will be fulfilled in the new heavens and the new earth, recreated by His mighty power, in which righteousness dwells and in which He will forever be worshiped.
Because God has ordained the marital relationship as being between one (1) genetic man and one (1) genetic woman (Matthew 19:4-5), a marriage between persons of the same sex is contrary to the religious beliefs and faiths of Eden Ministries, as based in Scripture (1 Corinthians 6:9). Therefore, no minister of the Eden Ministries staff will marry a same sex couple, and Eden Ministries shall not provide services, accommodations, advantages, facilities, goods, or privileges related to the solemnization of a marriage between persons of the same sex, the celebration of such a marriage, or the promotion of such a marriage.
Our Board
Jamison Deacons
Jamison Deacons is a pastor and ministry leader with experience in church leadership, missions, discipleship, and sustainable agriculture. He studied preaching, church leadership, and Bible at Johnson University and completed missions training through Missions Training International. Since 2015, he has served as leading pastor of Lake Country Christian Church in Waterloo, New York. From 2011 to 2015, he served at Eden Children’s Village in Zimbabwe, discipling young men, teaching Bible and church leadership, and supporting sustainable farming. His ministry experience also includes work in Uganda and South Africa.
John Silva
John Silva is a retired cabinet-making business owner and longtime follower of Christ. He and his wife, Jan, have served on mission trips in the Dominican Republic, Thailand, Mexico, and Baja California, including church rebuilding, missionary support, and outreach among Indigenous communities. John has visited Eden Children’s Village three times. He serves through his church’s Men’s Leadership Team, mentors a new believer, and leads a young men’s discipleship group. He also contributes through local fire board and school district committees. His professional background includes corporate health and safety, mortgage brokerage, contracting, and business ownership. He brings experience in teaching, program planning and evaluation, financial management, discernment, and encouragement.
Angela Burgener
Angela Burgener holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Eastern Illinois University. Her work has included in-home childcare, substitute teaching, counseling at a residential home for children, nannying, hospital registration, and running a wedding and event planning business. She has also given many years to local schools, community organizations, and her church, serving in hospitality, nursery care, and Vacation Bible School. Angela and her husband have supported Eden for more than 20 years, beginning as sponsors of a child at Eden Children’s Village. A visit to Zimbabwe deepened her connection to the ministry. She brings a heart for children facing difficult circumstances and a desire to serve faithfully.
Betty Jo Ramser
Betty Jo Ramser serves as a Board Member of Eden Children’s Ministries. Her work has included manufacturing, childcare, education, and catering. She worked as a teacher’s aide with children with disabilities in Georgia, provided in-home childcare, and substitute taught in Goshen Schools. She studied at Welch University and Ivy Tech after graduating from Warsaw High School. Betty Jo has taken part in short-term mission efforts in Arizona, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, and Alabama. Her connection with Eden began through prayerful and financial support of the Fry family. She first visited Eden in 2007, soon became a sponsor to several children, and has since made eight more visits with her husband and other supporters.
Kevin Fry
Kevin Fry and his wife, Susan, founded Eden Ministries in 1998 after moving to Zimbabwe. A registered landscape architect by profession, Kevin visited Zimbabwe in 1997 and was moved by the needs of orphaned children. Together, they established Eden Children’s Village, which grew into Eden Ministries’ wider work in family-based care, education, healthcare, and farming. Eden’s 2024 annual report identifies Kevin as Founding Executive Director.
Aaron Johnson
Aaron Johnson has been part-owner of River View Farms Inc. since graduating from Purdue University in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in Farm Business Management. He was active in 4-H and FFA and served as an Indiana FFA state officer. River View Farms is a diversified livestock and no-till crop operation that raises hogs, poultry, and turkeys and operates a feed mill. Aaron and his family have supported Eden Children’s Village through prayer and giving for 25 years. After visiting Doma, he felt called to bring his agricultural experience to Eden’s sustainability work.
Keith Blevins
Mark Nichols
Mark Nichols retired from the software industry in December 2025 after a long career designing, testing, deploying, and supporting enterprise software solutions. Most recently, he served as a Sr. Partner Solutions Engineer for a software security company. Earlier in his career, Mark led large-scale design and deployment projects for Fortune 100 corporations and government agencies, and founded several businesses, including a security solutions company and an early cloud provider before “the cloud” became a common term. He brings decades of technology leadership, entrepreneurial experience, and systems-level problem solving to his board service.
Ian Fry
Ian Fry serves as Eden Ministries’ President of Operations in Zimbabwe. His career has centered on ministry, including service with Eden Children’s Village and earlier youth ministry. He studied at Regent University. Working with Eden’s staff and board, Ian helps carry forward the ministry’s care, education, healthcare, and community development programmes in Doma.
Steve Thalls
Steve Thalls grew up in northern Indiana and spent more than 40 years in sales, marketing, and sales management. He served as a deacon and elder at Goshen Christian Church, where he met the Fry family and developed a lasting connection to Eden. After his corporate career, he led Christian business owners in peer groups focused on biblical principles at work. Now retired in Florida, Steve serves as President of Eden Ministries’ International Board and is committed to helping children experience safety, hope, and a future shaped by God’s love.