One of the incredible blessings of equipping the church to empower the poor is developing relationships with church and ministry leaders around the world. It is an honor to see God take Chalmers’ work and graciously multiply it through the service of His people. In addition to Chalmers’ relationships with local churches in the Majority World, Chalmers is blessed to serve churches in Canada and the United States. In early 2012, Chalmers began equipping ministry leaders from Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA with Chalmers’ savings group curriculum.

Saddleback is developing and launching The PEACE Plan, a holistic ministry initiative targeting unreached people groups, in twelve strategic “base” cities around the world. In several locations in the Majority World, members of the PEACE team are training local church leaders in Chalmers’ church-centered savings group curriculum. As part of this ministry, Joel Assaraf, a businessman and lay leader at Saddleback, started a savings group with pastors in Rosarito, Mexico. The group, called the “Alianza de Pastores de Rosarito,” consisted of ten pastors and was led by Pastor Fernando Piña. In this group, members studied Scripture, shared life together, deepened their understanding of biblical stewardship, and saved their financial resources.

Image Courtesy of Joel Assaraf

Joel recently shared a glimpse of what God did through this small group. The ten pastors saved almost $500 over the course of sixteen weeks. As Joel interviewed the participants about how God used the savings group in their lives, he found that pastors felt empowered to share what they learned with their congregations. “Our culture is not one of savings,” one pastor offered. “The savings group curriculum showed us that we can save.  We have shown this to our congregations and been good examples to them.” These pastors plan to create savings groups in their ten churches over the coming months, contributing to the spiritual and economic health of their communities.

The pastors also grew closer to each other and God. Reflecting on the small group, one pastor said that the program “gave me security and trust in my fellow pastors.” Another shared, “The savings group program showed me that we can save money to the glory of God.” Ultimately, the group served as a channel for the reconciling work of the gospel. In the words of one pastor, the small group “taught me that we must be made whole by restoring relationships in Christ.”

Through people like Joel, God is equipping the local church to demonstrate the healing work of Christ. This message both challenges and empowers believers, leading to lasting spiritual, social, and economic transformation. As one pastor described it, “God cares about our finances and our obedience in them to Him. This was difficult, but with God’s help, I did it!”