We’ve all been in this situation:  A poorly dressed person approaches our church asking for help with buying groceries. We want to help out, but how? If we give them money, perhaps they will waste it. And if we take the time to go to the grocery store with them, what will prevent them from needing help again in about a week or two? Many of us have a sense that our efforts to help the poor often fail to bring any lasting improvement. But the situation is often worse than we may imagine:  Our efforts to help... Read the full article.

We turn on the evening news and see that an earthquake has devastated China, leaving millions without food, adequate clothing, or shelter. Following a commercial break, the news returns and features a story about the growing number of homeless men in our city, who are also without food, adequate clothing, or shelter. At first glance the appropriate responses to each of these crises would seem to be very similar. After all, the people in both situations all need food, clothing, and housing, and providing these things to both groups seems to be the obvious solution. Read the full article.

To many people, the Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya is a place with no equals. It is filthy, congested, degraded, and unfit for human habitation. Like the proverbial scriptural reference to the birth place of Jesus Christ, many people believe that “nothing good can come out of Kibera.” Therefore, most remedies directed towards Kibera are motivated by the sympathy of outsiders, who often give handouts in an attempt to cushion the residents against their perceived, gigantic problems. Read the full article.

Your church wants to minister to an individual poor person or to a low-income community. Stop and think: What is the first thing you should do to determine the best way to begin your ministry?

Most of us would probably start by trying to ascertain what is wrong with the individual or community. We might conduct a “needs assessment” by using an interview or survey to determine the best way to provide assistance. Although this “needs-based” approach has merit, it amounts to starting a relationship with low-income people by asking them, “What is wrong with you? How can I fix you?” Given the nature of most poverty, it is difficult to imagine more harmful questions to both low-income people and to ourselves! Let me explain. Read the full article.

Imagine that your church wants to minister to an individual poor person or to a poor community. Stop and think: Whom would you ask for advice? Really, stop and write down a list of the people you might consult to design your ministry.

Now look at your list. Did it occur to you to ask the poor individual or community for their ideas? If not, why not? It turns out that failing to ask poor people the simple question “what do you think?” in the design, execution, and evaluation of your ministry can be a fatal mistake. Let me explain.  Read the full article.

Well, it wasn’t a party, but it felt like one. I had been invited to an event organized by one of our savings and credit group volunteers, Pastor Rui. In the front of the room there was a paper with the letters “PCR,” the initials for “savings and credit group” in Portuguese, and the verse: “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another,” Hebrews 10:25.

To see these words and to feel the energy in this meeting made me want to party. There was so much enthusiasm in the room! The leaders of the event presented some songs about PCR, which included… Read the full article.

Almost twenty years ago, I went on my first short-term missions trip to Jamaica. I do not remember the people I met there, nor much of what we did besides running a vacation Bible School, painting something, and going to the beach. However, I do remember that this trip was part of what the Lord used in my life to shape my passion for helping the poor in the Two-Thirds world. I now live ... Read the full article.

Given the explosion of Short-Terms Missions (STM) trips to minister to those in low-income communities, it would appear that STM is the most effective way to minister to poor people. Right? Wrong! In fact, most STM trips violate basic principles of effective poverty-alleviation and have the potential to do considerable harm both to low-income people and to ourselves. However, by being cognizant of these principles and more intentional about our actions, the downsides of STMs can be reduced and there can be greater hope of long-term benefit for all involved. Read the full article.

As the Community Ministries Director at Seven Rivers Presbyterian Church in Lecanto, Florida, I spent the first year to year and a half assessing our current ministries before I realized that we were enabling most folks and potentially harming them. I could... Read the full article.