ADIEU, A TRUE SERVANT LEADER

Carter, in a February 3 statement he sent to the Fuller Centre, described Fuller as "one of the most extraordinary people I have ever known…He used his remarkable gifts as an entrepreneur for the benefit of millions of needy people around the world by providing them with decent housing…As the founder of Habitat for Humanity and later the Fuller Center, he was an inspiration to me, other members of our family and an untold number of volunteers who worked side-by-side under his leadership."
Among them is former President Jimmy Carter, who soon after leaving office joined the Habitat for Humanity team of volunteers on the Tijuana Housing Project, in Matamoros, Mexico.

Millard Fuller, founder of world renowned Habitat for Humanity, a worldwide house-building ministry, died on Tuesday February 3, after a brief illness. He was aged 74.

Fuller, acknowledged by family and friends as "a true servant leader with a genuine heart" was already 41 and a millionaire when he founded the ministry in 1976 with the objective of eliminating homelessness, which he saw as the most dehumanizing element of poverty, across the globe. And at the last count Habitat for Humanity had constructed about 200,000 homes in nearly 100 countries.

Announcing Fuller's departure on behalf of the family, his son, Chris said: "We are truly overwhelmed with the love and support from family, friends and supporters of my father's work from all over the country and the world…Despite the loss of a beloved husband, father and grandfather, our spirits are high. We know that Dad is in heaven now, and we will celebrate his life's accomplishments and continue to carry out his vision."

Fuller expanded his missionary vision for helping the poor build houses four years ago, when he opened the Fuller Center for Housing in Americus, Ga.

He dedicated the Fuller Center as "a Christ-centered, faith-driven organization witnessing the love of God by providing opportunities for families to have a simple, decent place to live."

More than thirty years of criss-crossing the globe with his unique ministry endeared fuller to people internationally, but most especially in the United States where Presidents count among his admirers.

Carter, in a February 3 statement he sent to the Fuller Centre, described Fuller as "one of the most extraordinary people I have ever known…He used his remarkable gifts as an entrepreneur for the benefit of millions of needy people around the world by providing them with decent housing…As the founder of Habitat for Humanity and later the Fuller Center, he was an inspiration to me, other members of our family and an untold number of volunteers who worked side-by-side under his leadership."

Former President Bill Clinton, is also on record as having said of the man: "Millard Fuller has literally revolutionized the concept of philanthropy."

Funeral services were held on the morning of Wednesday February 4 at Koinonia Farm in Americus, a Christian pacifist community dedicated to social justice, where he's believed to have been buried. He had been laid in state the previous night at the First Presbyterian Church in Americus, Georgia.

He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Linda Caldwell, their four children: Chris, Kim, Faith and Georgia, and nine grandchildren. KINGDOM Perspective joins his teeming admirers and millions of beneficiaries of his ministry all over the world in saying thank you and good night to a man who followed the footsteps of his Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, and made his mark where it matters most, lovingly meeting the needs of the helpless. He will be sorely missed.