In 2003, a small manufacturer with plants in Canton, SD and Cedar Falls, IA was making preparations to close down. Hundreds of jobs would be lost and the facilities would sit idle as the international conglomerate which owned the company moved its operations elsewhere.
All the while, this company's Chief Engineer began to develop a vision, not only to keep the plants open, but to grow the company and serve the less fortunate as well. The only challenges were to reverse the momentum of a multi-national corporation and then figure out how to buy the company.
"To say that 'God's hand was all over this' would be an understatement," says Mike Adams, Founder and CEO of Adams Thermal Systems. "God was in my vision, God was in my employer's decisions, God was in the financial resources, God was in everything. I could not have strategized or planned the way that everything came together," says Adams. "The Lord let me see a small portion of His future plans, and then He gave me the wisdom and the courage to take each step."
In January of 2004, Adams Thermal Systems was founded and the adventure began. In its short ten-year history, Adams Thermal Systems has doubled in size, TWICE, and has donated more than $6 million dollars in order to 'ease the suffering of the most vulnerable in our society.'
In 2013, the vision began to grow as a pair of schools in southern Ethiopia was scheduled to close. Both schools provided high-quality educational opportunities for the 'poorest of the poor'. But the organization which ran the schools was pulling out of the country due to shrinking financial support. Once again, the threat of closure was met with a God-sized plan. Adams Thermal Foundation was formed to keep the schools open and broaden the scope of the original vision.
Adams Thermal Foundation became a 501(c)3 organization in February of 2014 and established a board and staff equipped for the mission of 'alleviating the suffering of the most vulnerable, confronting all forms of human poverty in our communities, our nation and our world.' Will you join us?
Mission
We will strive to alleviate the suffering of the most vulnerable - confronting all forms of human poverty in our community, our nation and our world.
Vision
We envision the "least of these" among us being lifted up, honored, comforted and cared for. Matthew 25:34-40, James 1:27
We envision a community of servants who affirm a Biblical worldview regarding both the cause of suffering in this world and the ultimate solution. Romans 6:23, James 3:16, Isaiah 40:8
We envision the collective power of prayer fervently applied to the cause of suffering of this world. James 5:16, Philippians 4:6
We envision brothers and sisters, friends, colleagues, co-workers, employees, donors and supporters who recognize a higher call on their life and respond with their time, talent and treasure. Matthew 6:24-25 and 33, James 2:14-17, Matthew 5:16, Galatians 5:14, James 4:13-15
We envision the sacrificial giving of caring people who hold loosely to the world's earthly treasures and choose instead to invest in eternal outcomes. Matthew 6:19-21, 1 John 3:17
We envision the growth, development and prosperity of new leaders who choose to do the work of serving those in need. Colossians 1:10, Ephesians 4:15-16
We envision Godly leaders serving the Foundation, seeking to follow and imitate Jesus Christ in the power of His salvation. Mark 9:41, 1 Peter 2:21
We envision the needs of the most vulnerable being met in concentric circles of influence, reaching outward from our neighborhoods to the furthest reaches of civilization. Acts 1:8
We envision a community of "Every-Day Good Samaritans" within our midst who take notice of needs and care for their co-workers, neighbors and friends. Colossians 4:1-4, Leviticus 19:18c, Luke 10:30-37
Values
Christ-Centered - In all endeavors, we acknowledge the centrality, authority and dominion of Christ.
Wholistic - As we carry out our mission, we seek to affect the "whole" person – body, mind and spirit.
Gracious - Individually and as an organization, we will practice mercy, compassion, benevolence and kindness in remembrance of the grace which we first received.
Excellence - As we offer ourselves to the mission, we bring nothing less than the highest and best of our talents, our intellect, our creativity and our abilities.
Stewardship - Our personal and corporate focus is the most efficient and effective use of resources.
Statement of Faith
The Adams Thermal Foundation Statement of Faith is intended to be used as a benchmark and a unifying commitment for both staff and volunteers of the Foundation.
- We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.
- We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.
- We believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful people, it is absolutely essential to repent and intentionally surrender both heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ.
- We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.
- We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.
- We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.
