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Weaving Ministry Design Principles into Their DNA
Branch15 is a ministry in Oklahoma City that serves women in critical, life-controlling situations. They provide their clients with transitional housing and robust rehabilitation classes. Through contextualized programs centered around connection, care, authenticity, and empowerment, they fulfill their mission of fostering healing and restoration in the lives of their clients—that every woman who enters Branch15 might experience “fresh starts, pure hope, and amazing grace.”
Anticipating the Next 20 Years of Partnership!
For over two decades, Chalmers has partnered with Five Talents as they implement RESTORE savings group ministries in six East African countries, as well as Bolivia and Myanmar. Partnering with local churches around the world, Five Talents trains men and women living in extreme poverty to form savings groups, take out loans, and build their own businesses.
Practical Advice for Churches Interested in Work Readiness Ministry
Restoring people to sustaining work is a key component of poverty alleviation. One of the most effective ways to work toward this is by starting a holistic work readiness ministry.
The Significance Of Meaningful Work
In 2022, we kept hearing about the “great resignation” and “quiet quitting.” In 2023, layoffs and inflation are the headlines. No matter the year or the economic cycle, there is great need for work that helps restore people to wholeness. But work isn’t just something we have to deal with in a fallen world. It’s part of God’s good design for our dignity as His image-bearers. This goes all the way back to Genesis 1-2, where God created man and woman and placed them in the garden and told them to to subdue the earth—to exercise their creative potential in His good creation through their work.
Why Life.Church Put a Pause on Missions
Nearly a decade ago, before Life.Church grew into the largest multi-site congregation in the country, the church paused all missions. The church was growing, but their strategy to create local and global impact wasn’t working.
Jeff Galley, Life.Church’s Leader of Life.Missions, knew there had to be a more effective framework for missions, but he wasn’t sure where to start. “There has to be a better approach to serve our communities…we really needed to think differently,” Jeff shared.
Seed Effect Brings Chalmers’ Principles to Northern Uganda
In 2009, Seed Effect set out with a commitment to bringing Christ-centered economic empowerment to South Sudan. Seven years into ministry, civil war returned to the already fragile country—forcing Seed Effect to rethink their approach as they relocated to Northern Uganda.
With Chalmers’ influence, Seed Effect made a quick pivot—they added a savings-led model—that allowed their members to flourish.
How Innovate Helped Restore OKC Strengthen Their Existing Programs
Restore OKC is a community development organization in Oklahoma City. They’re “focused on the restoration of health, environment, reconciliation, and equity with neighbors in Northeast Oklahoma City.” For the past 6 years, Restore OKC has been committed to building relationships with the people in their community and working alongside them to bring about transformation.
Stories of Faithfulness: Learning the Value of Wholeness and Sustainability Through Innovate
Based in central Oklahoma, Branch15 was founded in 2013 to serve women in critical, life-controlling situations. Their mission has always been one of healing and restoration in the lives of their clients. Branch15’s main ministry participants have little to no support systems to address crises, which range from substance addiction to sex trafficking to abusive relationships to incarceration.
Why Use Stories to Teach?
God’s work in the world unfolds to us in the big story of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Consummation, and in the individual stories told in Scripture. From the Garden to Noah to Abraham to Moses to David to the promise of the Messiah to Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to the church to the New Creation, we are so often given God’s truths in narrative, not only in didactic lessons or abstract categories.
How When Helping Hurts Influenced Water Mission
When Helping Hurts has had a lasting influence on Water Mission. In fact, the organization requires all new staff to read it, from their leadership team to those working directly in the field. It’s critical that every team member, not just program staff, understand these principles and recognize that they do not have all of the answers to “solve” poverty.
How Pastor Marty Stayed in Ministry
When Pastor Marty transitioned from a bi-vocational pastor to full-time ministry, he wasn’t confident he could live in a financially sustainable way. He wanted to live a life pleasing to God, but he didn’t know how to provide for his family and his church.
God’s Story of Change: The Fitch Family
From the doctor’s office to the dinner table.
See how Chalmers principles have become woven into the fabric of the Fitch family’s everyday life.
The Widespread Impact of Chalmers and ABCD Principles
One of Angie’s primary takeaways from When Helping Hurts was the concept of Asset-Based Community Development. For the first time, they started to look for the assets in their community before looking for what was missing.
Helping without Hurting in the Sleeping Quarters of a Rescue Shelter
A story of transformation from one of our partner ministries. When Sylvia Anderson took an interim position at Everett Gospel Mission in Northwestern Washington, she didn’t expect to still be there 20 years later. But the Lord showed her something beautiful about the opportunity to integrate her faith and work in a meaningful way. Today…
The Five Causes of Poverty—Part 1: Stories
Adapted from A Field Guide to Becoming Whole, 17-19, 50-52. Poverty alleviation is fundamentally about transformation—about walking alongside people and communities who are materially poor as they move to a better situation than their present one. Doing this effectively requires us to know where we are trying to go and how we can get there….
Partnership Highlight: STCH Ministries
Watch now for an inside look at how God is restoring marginalized communities in San Antonio, TX and beyond. “Our partnership with The Chalmers Center is a match made in heaven. We have much in common—certainly expanding God’s Kingdom.” –Jimmy Rodriguez, STCH Ministries With Chalmers’ Faith & Finances curriculum, STCH Ministries is putting…
Refocusing Ministry Through Innovation
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.
Church and City Partnerships Restore Dignity through Work
If work is foundational to human dignity and ought to be part of our poverty alleviation efforts, what does it look like in “real life” for churches to practice a commitment to work as part of their ministry life?