It is wonderful to see individuals and the global church awakening to the needs of the poor and wanting to help.  Unfortunately, good intentions are not always enough. Churches and individual Christians sometimes have faulty assumptions about the causes of poverty and, because of this, often do not realize that their efforts to help the poor can actually do more harm to the poor than good.  Many times these efforts to help the poor simply put a band-aid over the problem and do not address the root causes of the problem of poverty.  Instead, the church needs to adjust its perspective and approach to poverty and begin to implement practical strategies and programs that truly help the poor and not harm them.

The following outlines these practical approaches and strategies that evangelical churches can employ for poverty alleviation and for a more effective and transformational ministry among the poor:

1. Have a Biblically-based Understanding of Poverty — In order to help people in poverty we need to have a biblically-based understanding of poverty as being rooted in the effects that Original Sin and the "fall of humanity" have had on our four foundational relationships - our relationship with God, self, others, and creation
2. Implement the Type of Intervention Most Appropriate for the Situation — Too often we engage in "relief work" when we should be doing "development work." Relief has its place, but if we do relief when development is called for, we do more harm than good by creating dependency.
3. Take an Asset-based Instead of Needs-based Approach — An asset-based approach focuses on leveraging mobilizing the gifts and strengths the person or the low-income community has to offer as they participate in their own recovery, rather than focusing on their disadvantages, weaknesses, or deficiencies.
4. Implement “Participatory Instead of “Blueprint” Interventions — For churches to engage in successful poverty alleviation, it is less about money and more about relationships. Christians need to engage poor individuals and low-income communities in their development and recovery processes. Rather than imposing solutions on the poor, the poor are empowered to propose their own solutions of recovery, starting with their own assets that God has given them.

Learn more about each of these strategies »