What Is Poverty?

This video makes the point that no one who has true friends could be considered poor. It could also make you think that, “I am truly wealthy when I have the best friend of all, Jesus Christ.” The video poses the biggest challenge in helping a poor person as being a friend to the person, because of all the complexity that such a relationship entails. By comparison, giving money is easy. But...

Volunteering May Help You With Your Next Job

Volunteering has a meaningful, positive impact on the community you sow into. But as the headline suggests, volunteering is often seen as an opportunity to acquire job-related skills and improve your job getting ability. The ABC newscast video below talks more about this. Volunteering indeed helps with communication skills, interpersonal skills, such as understanding people better, motivating...

Business as Missions

No dichotomy People in business may sometimes see themselves as not giving back as much as, or not being as spiritual as those serving in NGOs, social enterprises or in Christian ministries. A hierarchy can develop that places pastors, missionaries and para-church workers at the most spiritual end of the spectrum, and business people near the other end. Thinking like this is dualistic. Does not...

Because You Can

It’s really simple to be extending micro loans or credits through KIVA to lend to the working poor. KIVA is said to be the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website, “empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world” Their mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty. Each loan is for an amount of...

Businesses To Transform Communities

From the beginning Good business is rooted in God. Consider God’s character, activities and the objects of God’s actions. God is the Creator. God creates for himself and for others (Genesis 1.1). We are created in God’s image so the stamp of God’s character is in us. When God created he evaluated his work each day and concluded, “It is good.” Two aspects...

Releasing Resources For Community Development

Paradigms change to release resources for community development One aspect of community development is concerned with the development of public or communal wealth (services such as schools, clinics, roads, market-places, water supplies, sanitation and even access to human settlements facilities). The other looks more at private (individual or family) wealth, and how an individual or small group...