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From Dependence to Dignity - How to Alleviate Poverty through Church-Centered Microfinance (Paperback)
Loot Price: R596
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From Dependence to Dignity - How to Alleviate Poverty through Church-Centered Microfinance (Paperback)
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List price R686
Loot Price R596
Discovery Miles 5 960
You Save R90 (13%)
Expected to ship within 10 - 15 working days
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The church of Jesus Christ finds itself at a very unique moment in
history. The average Christian living in the "economically advanced
countries" enjoys a level of prosperity that has been unimaginable
for most of human history. At the same time, over 2.5 billion
people in the Majority World (Africa, Asia, and Latin America) live
on less than $2 per day, with many of these people being
Christians. Ironically, it is amongst the "least of these" in the
Global South that the global church is experiencing the most rapid
growth. All of this raises profound challenges to the global
church. How can churches and missionaries in the Majority World
effectively address the devastating poverty both inside their
congregations and just outside their doors? How can churches in the
economically advanced countries effectively partner with Global
South churches in this process? The very integrity of the global
church's testimony is at stake, for where God's people reside,
there should be no poverty (Deuteronomy 15:4; Acts 4:34). For the
past several decades, microfinance (MF) and microenterprise
development (MED) have been the leading approaches to poverty
alleviation. MF/MED is a set of interventions that allow households
to better manage their finances and start small businesses. From
remote churches in rural Africa to the short-term missions programs
of mega-churches in the United States, churches and missionaries
have taken the plunge into MF/MED, trying to emulate the apparent
success of large-scale relief and development organizations.
Unfortunately, most churches and missionaries find this to be far
more difficult than they had imagined. Repayment rates on loans are
low and churches typically end up with struggling programs that
require ongoing financial subsidies. Everybody gets hurt in the
process: donors, relief and development agencies, churches and
missionaries, and--most importantly-the poor people themselves.
This book explains the basic principles for successfully utilizing
microfinance in ministry. Drawing on best practice research and
their own pioneering work with the Chalmers Center, Brian Fikkert
and Russell Mask chart a path for churches and missionaries to
pursue, a path that minimizes the risks of harm, relies on local
resources, and enables missionaries and churches to minister in
powerful ways to the spiritual and economic needs of some of the
poorest people on the planet. The insights of microfinance can play
a tremendous role in helping to stabilize poor households, removing
them from the brink of disaster and enabling them to make the
changes that are conducive to long-term progress. Moreover, when
combined with evangelism and discipleship, a church-centered
microfinance program can be a powerful tool for holistic
ministry-one that is empowering for the poor and devoid of the
dependencies plaguing most relationships between churches in
economically advanced countries and churches in poor nations.
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