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Posts in “Theology of Poverty Alleviation”

First Step in Poverty Alleviation

The First Step in Poverty Alleviation

By | March 10, 2020

When we see material poverty in the world around us, our first instinct is to do something about it. Where should we start? What’s the first step in poverty alleviation?

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Kelly Kapic

Practicing What We Teach

By | March 3, 2020

When we try to help people who are materially poor, we often focus on the habits we think they need to change. But what about our own habits? How do our daily practices affect our ministry with the materially poor?

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Light streaming through windows in a ruined building

Broken Systems, Broken People

By | February 4, 2020

Is poverty due to individual brokenness? Or is it caused by systemic injustice? The Bible teaches that the Fall really happened—and it affects both individuals and systems!

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Kelly M. Kapic

Start with the Story

By | October 10, 2019

When you’re doing ministry, it can feel like telling stories doesn’t count as “real” work. But telling the biblical story—focusing on what God has done, is doing, and will do—is crucial to poverty alleviation.

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Busy inner-city intersection

Addressing the Five Causes of Poverty

By | August 6, 2019

There are five big things that create material poverty and keep people trapped in it. Learn the five causes of poverty—and how you can begin to address them.

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Group of people listening to a lecture

Living into the Story

By | July 8, 2019

God is working out His reconciling story in this broken world. The Bible doesn’t provide us with a detailed script for this story—but it does give us the overall direction of God’s unfolding plan. What does this mean for our efforts to help people who are poor?

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Someone writing a check

God’s Battle for Your Bank Account

By | May 31, 2019

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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Woman working in a restaurant

God’s Kingdom Has a Startling Economic System

By | May 30, 2019

Every earthly kingdom has its own way of doing things, its own customs and policies regarding food, sex, family, and religion. And every kingdom has an economic policy. But when Jesus welcomes us into his alternate kingdom, something strange happens. We discover a whole new world. And we soon discover that Jesus’s kingdom looks different…

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Someone flipping through the pages of a book

Getting Our Story Straight

By | May 7, 2019

When we try to help people in poverty, we incorporate faulty ideas into our efforts without even realizing it. What are these false stories—and why do they matter?

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Congregation worshipping in a church

We Become What We Worship: Why False Stories Hurt Us—And Those in Poverty

By , | April 2, 2019

Every human is worshiping something—and what we worship shapes our entire lives, including our work with people in poverty. When people encounter our poverty alleviation efforts, what will they find us worshiping?

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Wendell Kimbrough

A Gymnasium for Our Hearts: Singing to Shape Our Love for the Poor

By | April 2, 2019

The gathered worship and liturgy of the church is key to our formation as the people of God, but too often, an element is missing. Musician Wendell Kimbrough shares how our worship services can reinforce our understanding of God’s heart for people suffering poverty and injustice.

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Man reading Becoming Whole

Interview: Brian Fikkert on Becoming Whole

By | March 5, 2019

Brian Fikkert recently sat down with staff member Laura Haley to discuss the new book he co-authored with Kelly Kapic, Becoming Whole—and how the stories we tell ourselves shape our work with the poor.

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Woman serving a homeless person soup

Why the Kingdom of God Matters if We Want to Help the Poor

By | February 6, 2019

The way that we work with people who are poor reflects the stories we tell ourselves about what it means to live the “good life.” If we get the story wrong, our efforts to help the poor can do more harm than good.

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Neighbors eating a meal together

Potluck Community: Re-Imagining the Kingdom

By | September 4, 2018

This year, we released a new book resource designed to help churches re-disciple their members around the vision of the Kingdom of God. Written by community development practitioner Michael Rhodes and Chattanooga pastor Robby Holt, Practicing the King’s Economy explores practical ways for Christians to live out the Kingdom of God in their work, church, family, and…

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