As an upper-income church located close to a low-income neighborhood, Christ Community Church (CCC) draws a constant stream of visitors asking for financial assistance. Local residents walk into the church office with electric bills, car repair invoices, and overdue rent notices. Like many churches, CCC struggles to help these people in a way that fosters long-term transformation and bridges historically entrenched socio-economic divisions.

Several years ago, the deacons at CCC started taking a more active and relational role in ministering to the walk-in visitors. Despite their efforts at building humble relationships with the visitors and mentoring them in sound financial practices, the deacons saw very limited results. People would disappear after receiving assistance – until three or four months later, when they returned to the office requesting further help.

Faith & Finances Facilitator Training Image Courtesy of Jonathan Meisner, LifeChurch.tv

In 2012, Rob, a deacon at CCC, heard about Chalmers’ Faith & Finances ministry. Faith & Finances trains local church and ministry leaders to facilitate an eleven-week class with low-income people. In this course, participants learn basic financial literacy principles. But most importantly, they learn that God has given them gifts – both personal and material – that they can use to His glory. “When I heard about Faith & Finances, I realized that it was exactly what we needed,” Rob shares. “We were missing the component of reshaping people’s underlying view of their finances, encouraging them to take care of what God had given them.”

Rob and several other leaders from CCC became certified facilitators, incorporating Faith & Finances into their ministry. When deacons and church members meet with people in need, they now invite the visitors to Faith & Finances as part of the process of requesting financial assistance. “The people who come [to Faith & Finances] love it. A lot of the folks just love that they have someone who will sit down and listen to them,” Rob shares. But the class also provides a safe, welcoming context for deacons and church members to serve as “allies,” discipling participants and mentoring them in practical skills like budgeting.

Faith & Finances has equipped CCC to love and serve its low-income neighbors in new ways. Michelle, who was entrapped by payday loans when she first came to Faith & Finances, gained financial stability through the relationships and knowledge the course provided. Beyond experiencing personal transformation, she is also using her God-given gifts to minister to others. She has started joining Rob and a group of other church leaders who meet with people requesting assistance. She has encouraged the visitors to come to Faith & Finances, and has started serving as an ally for a young single mom who began attending the course. In Rob’s words, “Michelle is from the same background as this woman; she knows the struggles this mother is experiencing. You could say that Michelle grew in the class to the point where she is now able to help someone else.”

This type of restoration and growth isn’t limited to the participants in the class, though. Rob and his fellow facilitators are experiencing transformation in their own hearts. For Rob, the class revealed areas where he needed to steward his money more effectively. “It has changed my life and my family’s life . . . this class could be good for someone who is a millionaire. I know it is aimed at the working poor, but if you are a believer and you need to know how to view what God has given you, this class can help.”

CCC is quick to say that they are still “figuring out” walking with people who are materially poor. “We are tweaking things as we go – it is an evolving process,” Rob explains. In the case of CCC, God began that process in the deacons’ hearts years ago, leading them to reach out in new ways to the low-income people around them. God simply used Faith & Finances to equip CCC as it brings people into an empowering, transformative community where they celebrate and steward their gifts.

The names of the churches and individuals mentioned in this article have been changed.