Current Demand
We have seen a strong demand for our training activity.  For example:

1. Our distance learning courses are booked many months in advance.
2. Requests for our Christian Economic Development Institute (CEDI) are approximately four times the present capacity without our even advertising them.

Anticipated Growth
We anticipate this trend to continue based on the following:

• Interest in the Church for Social Action — There is a greater interest within the evangelical church for social action than at virtually any time in the previous century.  Factors contributing to this interest include:  1)  A theological shift in the evangelical church in North America that no longer associates compassion with the theological liberalism of “the social gospel”;  2) An explosion of the church in the Global South, where poverty predominates, is bringing the issues of compassion to the forefront of global Christianity; 3) A growing acceptance of a “kingdom theology” in parts of the Global South that unleashes the church for social action; 4) An increase in the desire for personal relationships—partly as a result of post-modernism—is moving churches in the U.S. to take a more direct role in missions and relief and development work and is contributing to an overall decentralization of these tasks away from traditional, large-scale organizations; and 5) A reduction of costs of international transportation and communication is making it easier for the churches around the world to partner in ministry.
• Inefficiency of Short-term Missions — There is growing recognition that short-terms missions is an extremely inefficient and even harmful way for churches in North America and Europe to partner with churches in the Global South, so alternative strategies will be desired.  The Chalmers Center’s current and future products and services uniquely position the Center to train churches in both the Global North and South on more effective strategies to alleviate poverty in the Global South.
• Growth of Microfinance and Microenterprise Development — The microfinance/microenterprise development industry continues to mushroom, continually generating new innovations and increasing the scale of its impact.  This will naturally create both greater interest and opportunities for churches and missionaries to use these interventions.
• Changes in Christian Relief and Development — A number of leading Christian relief and development agencies are realizing that their strategy of owning and operating traditional, credit-led, microfinance institutions is not viable in an increasingly competitive industry in which there are significant economies of scale.  As a result, these agencies are turning towards the alternative strategy of promoting user-owned and user-managed savings and credit associations¹ — an approach which is more cost effective, which does not require massive scale to be viable, and which can reach poorer people, including those in rural areas.  The promotion of these savings and credit associations has been the Chalmers Center’s premier strategy since its inception, and a number of major Christian relief and development agencies are interested in accessing Chalmers’ curricula and training at unprecedented levels.
• Interest in Chalmers' New Initiative — Christian relief and development organizations are expressing significant interest in the Chalmers Center’s new “microfinance with education” initiative, which will complement savings and credit associations with biblically-based curricula in the areas of small business, household financial management, and a range of health topics.  These curricula are specifically designed to be used in the context of the regular meetings of savings and credit associations.