Praying for Transformation Together

Because all of us are suffering from brokenness in our foundational relationships with God, self, others, and creation, we all need “poverty alleviation,”—just in different ways. As men and women engaged in the work of poverty alleviation, our relationship to those in material poverty should be one in which we recognize that all of us are broken and that all of us need the blessing of reconciliation. Our perspective should be less about how we are going to “fix” those in material poverty and more about how we can walk together, asking God to bring healing to us all.

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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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Recognizing What People In Poverty Need

It’s easy for most of us to conceptualize a fairly simplistic picture of what poverty looks like. In turn, that overview can generate equally simplistic solutions or treatments. For many, we may have an image in our minds of a destitute population lacking necessary materials for survival. On paper, it seems as though simply providing people in poverty with what they seem to need will solve the problem. While this may provide temporary relief to those in need, it is often only a small adjustment to a much larger problem.

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A Long Walk in the Same Direction

A Long Walk in the Same Direction

Adapted from A Field Guide to Becoming Whole, 107-112. When followers of Jesus describe our relationship with God, we often use the language of a “walk with God” or “Christian walk.” That’s because spiritual growth is not a sudden jolt into greater maturity. Instead, it’s the patient outworking of the Spirit of God in our…

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Refocusing Ministry Through Innovation

Grace Chapel

When we’re walking with people in poverty, we sometimes want a recipe to follow. But real-life complexities often demand a more innovative approach. Hear how one local church has started shifting from meeting material needs to building relationships with people.

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Doing All Things Well

Doing All Things Well

The right approaches to poverty alleviation are not quick fixes, but often decades-long processes that you can’t control. That’s why it’s so important to focus on being formed into people who can walk the long road of mutual transformation by the power of Christ.

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Why We Do What We Do

Illustration of a man looking at a computer

If you’ve been following the work of the Chalmers Center for any length of time, you know that we don’t operate in quite the same way as many ministries. Chalmers isn’t an implementing organization that directly helps materially poor people; rather Chalmers equips your church or ministry to help materially poor people more effectively. To…

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How to Budget for Your Faith & Finances Class

Faith & Finances

Getting people together always requires financial resources—and Faith & Finances is no different. There are a few costs that you’ll need to plan for, such as purchasing Participant Guides, hosting meals, or providing childcare. You’ll need to create a simple budget for your Faith & Finances class and identify funding sources to cover those costs.

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Racial Injustice and Our False Gods

Image of a church steeple

What is the church supposed to do about racial injustice? Evangelism and prayer should be central tools in the fight against systemic injustice. But what else should the church be doing? To fully answer this question, we must first answer another important question: Why did Jesus come to earth?

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The Transforming Power of Work

Work Life grad

Project Connect Nashville is working to help people “get out and stay out” of poverty through relationships and connections with local churches. Check out our interview with the Project Connect team!

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