Problem Profiles

We curate expert research on the world’s most important problems to help you plan an impactful career.

Our in-depth profiles explain what you can do in each area to have a radical impact for God’s Kingdom.

AI Risk

AI Risk

There are significant risks associated with advanced AI and there are career paths to mitigate these risks. Good stewardship should ground the Christian approach to developing and governing AI.

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 Global Poverty

Global Poverty

Over 600 million people still live in extreme poverty (under $2.15 per day), per the World Bank. This is associated with vastly reduced standards of health and education. Christians everywhere, but especially in the West, are uniquely placed to serve the global poor (Luke 12:33-34).

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 Global Health

Global Health

Every day about 15,000 young children die, largely from preventable diseases. There is a tremendous amount of evidence for ways individuals can help, and substantial biblical focus on caring for the sick (Matt 25:39).

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 Global Missions

Global Missions

Hundreds of millions of people have never heard the news of the hope and love of God found in Jesus Christ (John 3:16). Many more are underserved with regard to access to scripture and pastoral care.

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 Animal Cruelty

Animal Cruelty

God gave humans animals to eat for food (Gen 9:3) but also commanded stewardship and kind treatment (Deut 25;4, Proverbs 12:10). Nonetheless, billions of animals suffer and die every year in horrendous and preventable mistreatment.

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 Catastrophic Pandemics

Catastrophic Pandemics

A single novel pandemic can cause tens of millions of deaths but experts warn future pandemics could be much, much worse. Christians in this space can save lives and prevent injustice from human-engineered pandemics.

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Exploratory Cause Areas*

*We are less certain about the impact potential in these areas compared to our top causes

Full Reports
Global Mental Health - Full Report
Global Mental Health - Full Report

Mental health conditions cause enormous suffering, affect over a billion people worldwide, and remain drastically underfunded, especially in low- and middle-income countries. But effective, affordable, and scalable solutions already exist.

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Education - Full Report
Education - Full Report

What are the best ways to increase education in developing countries?

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Human Trafficking - Full Report
Human Trafficking - Full Report

CFI’s research on human trafficking

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Climate Change
Climate Change

CFI’s research on climate change.

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Nuclear Security - Full Report
Nuclear Security - Full Report

CFI’s research on nuclear security.

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Other Cause Areas*

*We do not recommend these over our top problem areas.

Short Reports
Animal Shelters – Summary Report
Animal Shelters – Summary Report
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Homelessness (UK & US) – Summary Report
Homelessness (UK & US) – Summary Report
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Ways to Tackle

Tools to address the world’s greatest problems.

Social Activism

Social Activism

Is social activism an effective way to change the world? Which tactics and strategies work best?

Read more → Politics and Policy

Politics and Policy

There are many non-polarizing neglected problems in the world we can tackle through effective policy work.

Read more → Earning to Give

Earning to Give

A career strategy where you make an impact by donating a significant portion of your income to effective charities.

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Christians in our community tackling these problems

Connect with a Christian Career Specialist

Already know what problem you want to tackle with your career? Our specialists provide guidance to help you discern your options, take the next steps with confidence, and support you in prayer along the way.

Apply for free career advising

How we define Impact:

Good outcomes that conform with God's redemptive plans to renew our fallen world.

Read our 5-minute summary on “What we mean by impact”

  • Our goal is to help Christians discern among high-impact career paths. We’re interested in the areas where one more person’s efforts can have the largest impact relative to what would have otherwise happened.

    We think that, all else equal, you’re likely to have a much bigger impact if you work on a highly pressing problem.

  • We mean that Christians working in these areas could do a massive amount of good and we encourage readers to tackle these problems with their career, money and or time.

    These are not the only problems where Christians can have an impact.

  • Our research is influenced by:

  • Our team informally discussed a range of causes that are consistent with scripture and Christian tradition. We ultimately decided to write about eight for which there is good evidence that additional work on them can have a big counterfactual impact.

    Each of these problems has a high combination of three key factors:

    • Importance: It would be tremendously good if we solved them.

    • Tractability: We could reasonably expect to “move the needle” on the issue by dedicating more resources to it.

    • Neglectedness: Those suffering from this problem are unlikely to receive as much help if we do not intervene.

  • We do not attempt to rank these problems.

    Still, we think that some of these problems are more accessible and amenable than others to the average reader. We designate these problems as “Often Recommended” or “Very Often Recommended”

  • Wonderful!

    We recommend that you:

    1. Pray for God’s guidance in your career discernment, especially alongside other Christians seeking an impactful career.

    2. Learn all you can about the problem you’re hoping to solve.

    3. Sign up for free 1-on-1 mentorship. We’ll connect you to a Christian professional with experience in your area(s) of interest.

    4. Gain career capital, including work experience and/or additional education.

    5. Try volunteering, internships, and jobs to learn more about your personal fit.

Frequently Asked Questions