This week, we got the opportunity to sit down with humanitarian and author, Jeremy Courtney, who comes to you from his home in northern Iraq! In 2008, Jeremy and his wife Jessica founded an incredible organization called Preemptive Love, who’s mission includes providing aid in the form of food, shelter, and medical care to people caught in the midst of global conflict, as well as launching local businesses in war-torn parts of the world to bring jobs, revenue, and stability back to their communities. For over a decade, Jeremy and Jessica worked side-by-side with local partners all over the Middle East, and Preemptive Love grew to become the large, impactful organization that it is today. In late 2021, several former employees voiced complaints and concerns about the Courtney’s leadership. The organization willingly subjected themselves to a third-party investigation by Guidepost Solutions hoping to better understand the problems and how to address them. However, a couple of ex-employees went public with their grievances. Shortly thereafter, the board of directors published a statement saying that Jeremy and Jessica Courtney would not be returning to Preemptive Love. After months of radio silence, the Courtneys announced that they were partnering with many of their longtime friends and fellow humanitarians to form a new organization called Humanite Peace Collective. That’s obviously the abridged version of the story, but hopefully it gives some context…

This is the first time Jeremy has spoken publicly since leaving Preemptive Love, and we were as anxious as anyone to hear his thoughts on what happened. Whether or not you followed the Courtneys or Preemptive Love over the years, I think you’ll find Jeremy’s story fascinating. We encourage you to check out Humanite at www.humanite.org, and if you’d like to join the conversation, you’ll find a link to the official Growing Up Christian Discord server in our Instagram bio, @growingupchristianpodcast!