“How much do clouds weigh? How does electricity move across hundreds of miles from Tombigbee to Tallahassee?”
As we drove through the winding, seemingly endless pines that lined the backroads of Alabama, my father would ask questions. I am not sure he always knew the answers himself, though often he did, but the questions made me curious, helped us wonder together, and gave a father and son something to talk about on an otherwise boring drive through the countryside.
By God’s grace, the publication of When Helping Hurts in 2009 marked a defining moment for Chalmers and the field of Christian economic development ministry. As thousands of people read the book and began exploring how they might engage differently, they began to ask, ‘Do you have practical tools to help people without hurting?’
Fifteen years after we began field testing Faith & Finances, the need for this tool continues to expand. Ministries engaged in community outreach will have noticed that the percentage of American households experiencing financial vulnerability this past year has grown.
People who’ve read When Helping Hurts have often reached out to us to ask, “What’s next?” or tell us “We’re in. Where do we start?” We’ve answered in different ways—in-depth training, a weekly blog, a video library, online courses.
Broken systems shape more than society—they shape us. Reflecting on The Odyssey and the Old Testament prophets, this post explores justice, hospitality, and our call to love our neighbors.
Bryant L. Myers, a towering figure in the space of poverty alleviation, passed into glory a few weeks ago. While I did not know Bryant personally, he had a tremendous impact on the work of the Chalmers Center, starting with an uncomfortable exchange we had during the winter of 1992…
This fall finds us building a new media team at Chalmers to produce a podcast and an animated series.
Why should a nonprofit launched by economics professors make that kind of investment?
Moving forward well means understanding what’s behind us. With more than twenty-five years to build on, we feel that the Lord is calling us to embark on a new season, one in which poverty alleviation meets deeper conversations, new ideas, and broader community.
At the Chalmers Center, we believe the root of poverty is broken relationships: with God, self, others, and creation. And this brokenness touches all of us. Only when we recognize our own relational poverty can we begin the restorative work so desperately needed in our homes, communities, and our nation.
Through partnership with Resonate Global Mission and Oasis International, Chalmers released Helping Without Hurting in Africa in 2021. Coauthors Anthony Sytsma and Jonny Kabiswa Kyazze crafted a unique training manual for ministry leaders walking alongside those in material poverty across the African continent.