Ruth Powell was born and raised in Zambia. She is a missionary, ordained minister, international conference speaker, and trains teachers for children’s ministries.
Ruth is Teacher, Trainer, and President of Village Hope International and Celebration of Ministries Incorporated. Ruth joined Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) in 1984 and became the first CEF National Director of Zambia in 1994. While serving as CEF National Director of Zambia, she sponsored the current CEF National Director of Zambia, and the current Director of education for CEF Ministry Institutes in Kenya and South Africa. Her sponsorship was to ensure the continuity of strong CEF ministry in Zambia after her departure. Ruth and her husband, Rev. Artis Powell Jr. and their children now live in Cleveland suburb in Ohio, USA.
In 2013, Ruth left CEF to pursue the God-given dream of reaching orphans and vulnerable children in her home area of Kasempa, Zambia. She had a dream to build a trade school where skills and trades can be taught, so orphans and vulnerable children in the village can sustain themselves when they become adults. In this part of Zambia, there are no colleges of any kind, young people who finish grade 12 have nothing to do. There are no industries in the area, and there are no jobs. As such, God led Ruth and her family to start Village Hope. She later formed Celebration of Ministries Incorporated, a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization that promotes and administrate “Gospel Outreach Bible Clubs”. There she conducts after school programs in public schools. She started working in Cleveland, Ohio USA. As the Bible Club ministry grows, Ruth introduced Village Hope Ministries to her circle of influence to start the Village Hope fundraising endeavor.
In the summer of 2019, Ruth recruited volunteer staff to expand the communication activities of Village Hope, and later, organized a mission trip to Zambia which took place in August 2019.