The following principles underlie the Chalmers Center economic development training:

1. It is only natural to associate poverty with the financially poor. However, this is a fallen world and as a result, we are all poor and suffer from the fall, not just those who are economically disadvantaged.
2. Because of the fall, we all need reconciliation with God, with each other, with ourselves, and with God’s creation, and we need renewed minds that operate from a Biblical worldview.
3. The local church, the bride of Christ, is God’s primary intended instrument to serve the poor and bring about community transformation (Luke 7:18-23).
4. Economic development is a means by which a church, ministry, or missionary can bring about individual and community transformation.
5. Other holistic ministry “deed” initiatives may be needed first or may be more appropriate for a local church, ministry, or missionary to implement before economic development.
6. Poor people around the world can and do save. Outside resources are not always necessary to enable successful microfinance systems to develop.
7. Economic development can do great good if done well, but it can also do great harm if done poorly. The “...love of money is the root of all evil” biblical warning must be taken seriously.
8. Economic development within communities is not always easy to implement and maintain. It requires some orientation and training in order to avoid doing unintentional harm to people and to the church or ministry.
9. It is important for the church, ministry, or missionary to first understand the need of their target community before they can design the appropriate strategies and design the program for implementation.
10. Churches, ministries, or missionaries must understand the basics of economic development to be able to “count the cost” prior to starting an economic development initiative.