“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy” (Prov. 31:8-9). 

It is a consistent theme of Scripture that those blessed with power and wealth have a special responsibility to administer justice and mercy for those who are in danger or in need. Leaders should use their influence so that the least among us—the fatherless, the widow, the sojourner, and the poor—have a faithful advocate in the halls of power.

The United States has long been a global leader in providing for the emergency needs of the world. Our citizens are generous, freely donating over half a trillion dollars annually to all kinds of causes.¹ And, historically, our government has provided significant amounts of aid to communities around the world in the forms of direct financial assistance, as well as the provision of life-saving drugs, food assistance, security and law enforcement aid, etc.

This flow of aid has been dramatically interrupted in recent days. Several foreign assistance programs have been paused or ordered to close.² The situation remains very fluid, with legal challenges and restructuring of programs making a path forward difficult to discern and causing doubt about future plans.

As a team at Chalmers, we want to pause to lament the loss of assistance that many people in poverty around the world are experiencing, and the pain many of our ministry partners are going through. Many have lost staff or had to pause or cancel plans for vital work this year. We pray with them that lives would be preserved, and that other funding sources can be found as soon as possible. 

We also see this as an opportunity for Christians to step up and stand in the gap for organizations and programs that have lost funding. 

We serve a Lord who demonstrated His compassion in His sacrificial generosity to us, who, “though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9).

Christ’s example is not just something we point to, but something we all are called to live into as His followers. We honor God when we live with open hands toward those He has entrusted to our care.

By God’s grace, untold numbers of local churches and Christian organizations are deeply engaged with those in poverty and people suffering under oppression and abuse, doing incredible work by the power of the Holy Spirit to see lives transformed for the glory of Jesus Christ. Christians in every corner of the world are living out Jesus’ example every day in seen and unseen ways.

We recognize that government aid programs aren’t perfect—they can be poorly applied, and present opportunities for corruption, require Christians to be silent about the gospel message, or restrict a holistic Christian response to the physical and spiritual dimensions of poverty. One of our core ministry design principles reminds us to “use funding sources that permit God’s story of change to be integrated into technical training.”

But through God’s common grace, government-funded programs can also do much good. Many of our ministry partners and friends have used government funds to scale humanitarian responses to global crises in ways that save lives and allow local churches and Christian NGOs to continue to work in partnership with them for holistic development.

How does the church navigate these challenges? 

We are working with many of our partners to identify next steps for Christians to take and we will be sharing those in the coming weeks on our blog. 

In the meantime, we ask that you consider the following:

1. Dig deep, give generously, and pour out compassion on those in need. It is a clarion call among American Christians that the church, not the government, is best suited to address the needs of those in poverty. Live out that conviction through giving generously to organizations affected by funding cuts.
   
2. Speak to your friends at the ministries you’re connected with and ask how you can support them in this time of urgent need and uncertainty. Encourage them and let them know you are with them.
   
3. Pray with us. God is on His throne! Even when it seems that all is not right with the world, we are praying with you that He would make His purposes known among us, and pour out His justice and mercy through His faithful servants until He returns to bring all things under His good and righteous rule. 

1. According to the National Philanthropic trust, https://www.nptrust.org/philanthropic-resources/charitable-giving-statistics/#:~:text=Americans%20gave%20$557.16%20billion%20in,4 ↩︎
2. See Emily Belz, “Is This the End of USAID?”, Christianity Today, February 4, 2025, accessed at https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/02/usaid-shutdown-musk-rubio-trump/?utm_medium=widgetsocial, and Harvest Prude, “Can Christians Save the Refugee Program?”, Christianity Today, January 31, 2025, accessed at: https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/01/refugee-resettlement-trump-world-relief-persecuted-christians. ↩︎