The meaning of Ananias

Our name comes from a man in the Bible that was given a mission very similar to ours:

In the Biblical book of Acts, Chapter 9, there is a story about a man named Saul who imprisoned and killed early Christians. As he traveled to the city of Damascus to make more arrests, he was suddenly blinded by a light from heaven and heard the voice of Jesus, saying “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Jesus sent him on to the next town where he would be told what to do. Shortly afterwards, the Lord spoke to a disciple named Ananias, asking him to go to Saul, place his hands on him, and restore his sight. Ananias was understandably skeptical, because Saul was well-known for the harm he did to believers and his plans to arrest more. The Lord told Ananias that he had bigger and better plans for Saul, and Ananias obeyed.

To condense the rest of the story, Saul’s sight was restored, he became a follower of Jesus, and changed his name to Paul. Paul was no ordinary follower—he became the most visible and active pillar of the new Christian church. He went on to write nearly half of the New Testament. Paul’s life changes and contributions are nothing short of a miracle, but it took Ananias to make it happen.

We at the Ananias Foundation are called to seek out and restore individuals who have done harm to others because we know they have the potential to change, then go on to do great things.

We know individuals who have done harm were created for something so much better. We want to help them discover that life.