From Dependence to Dignity

From Dependence to Digniity

From Dependence to Dignity Learn how local churches in the Majority World can alleviate poverty through church-centered microfinance. Get the Book Get Free Resources Learn the basics of various microfinance models Discover principles for successful microfinance ministry Explore resources and tools for Majority World churches Can poverty be solved through the local church? Brian Fikkert…

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Racial Injustice and Broken Systems

Illustration of a woman riding her bike in a neighborhood

If we want to truly love our neighbors, we need to recognize the ways that our neighborhood might be contributing to their plight. Broken people make broken systems, and these broken systems inflict more pain and brokenness on individuals. How can churches address broken systems here and now?

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The Complexities of Unemployment and Underemployment

Complexities of unemployment and underemployment

What happens when someone wants work but can’t find it? What happens when “the one who has been stealing” wants to do “something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need” (Eph. 4:28), but can’t get a job? What happens when they find work, but it is so temporary, unsteady, or poorly paid that they can’t even get off government assistance, much less have something left over to share?

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Work Life for Citygate Members

From the creators of When Helping Hurts Helping people on the margins find and keep meaningful work Get resources and training to address poverty at the roots—and bring lasting change to your community. Get Certified Develop Your Staff Give your team the skills and confidence to help clients move out of poverty and truly flourish.…

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Redefining “Success” for Poverty Alleviation

Interview with Brian Fikkert: Redefining Success for Poverty Alleviation

What’s the best way to help people who are poor? We can talk about techniques, but the truth is we need more than that. To really help people, we have to take a look at the stories that we tell ourselves about what success really looks like—both for you and the people you are trying to help.

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Faith & Finances Sample Curriculum

Faith & Finances Training

Financial Stewardship Designed for Low-Income Adults Start a financial education class for low-income adults with Faith & Finances. Get a FREE Curriculum Sample Gain skills and confidence with our online training Help people in poverty steward their money well Address poverty in a biblical, effective way Get a sample of Faith & Finances curriculum Name* First Last Email*…

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Fostering Change

Fostering Change

Adapted from Chalmers online training Helping without Hurting in Benevolence Ministry. The ultimate goal of poverty alleviation and development is the restoration of people to all that God has created them to be—priests and rulers who proclaim His glory to the world and call others to worship Him. A nearer-term goal is change. We long…

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A Field Guide to Becoming Whole

A Field Guide to Becoming Whole

A Field Guide to Becoming Whole Discover a biblical framework for lasting change—for yourself, and the people you seek to help. Get the Book Learn 5 key themes of effective poverty alleviation, with real-world examples Think through helpful questions to uncover what these principles mean for your context Explore innovative ways to apply these principles…

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Facilitation as Reconciliation: Adult Education and Poverty Alleviation

Facilitation as Reconciliation: Adult Education and Poverty Alleviation

Many poverty alleviation ministries include some type of training for their participants. Of course ministries would want to provide instruction in skills and habits that lead to long-term growth out of material poverty! But we have to be careful—a lecture-based teaching style in which the teacher tries to pour content into students’ brains is not only ineffective but can be harmful in the space of poverty alleviation.

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Restored Ministries Restore People: The Story of Medford Gospel Mission

Medford Gospel Mission

Fourteen years ago, when Jason Bull accepted a position as an Associate Director of Medford Gospel Mission, he realized he needed to learn how to faithfully operate a nonprofit ministry. He remembers, “I didn’t know anything about nonprofit management or working with a board of directors. I had to educate myself!” He began reading various books to sharpen his ability to lead the organization and to faithfully serve the homeless community of Medford, Oregon.

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God’s Battle for Your Bank Account

Someone writing a check

The tomatoes caught me off guard. Sitting in a small Anglican church in Kenya, I was prepared for the invitation to put some money in the offering plate. I was not prepared for tomatoes. But that’s what the members of that farming village brought. Tomatoes, avocadoes, maybe even a chicken or two, all brought up…

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Building Community on Tiny Screens?

Building Community on Tiny Screens

“Are you going to adapt the 12-week Faith & Finances class into a virtual format that we can offer our participants?” In light of the coronavirus pandemic, the Chalmers staff have been asked this question a number of times over the past few months. Man, we get it. We’ve all had to scramble to pivot…

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Doing Benevolence Ministry in Your Unique Context

Doing benevolence ministry in your unique context

In our Helping without Hurting in Benevolence Ministry training, we share principles and tools to help you build a ministry that leads to real change. But there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution for every church. In order to create a benevolence program that works for your specific church context, you may need to make adjustments to fit your church’s specific capacity.

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