We think very highly of all of the organizations on our list, and support each of them without reservation. If we had to choose just one organization to support, our favorite among favorites, this would be the one… Continue reading
Wycliffe Bible Translators
This organization’s mission is simple and clear – translating God’s Word into the thousands of languages necessary to reach all the nations of the earth with the good news of the Gospel. Continue reading
The Frozen Pool
In the last post (Futility or Effectiveness?), we talked about the roadblocks that keep many of us from giving to help the world’s desperately poor – and noted that dismantling these roadblocks was one of the primary purposes behind our work at Givers by Design. So here’s the question: Continue reading
Futility or Effectiveness?
After reading about the Church in America’s anemic response to the problem of extreme poverty in Richard Stearns’ landmark book, The Hole in Our Gospel, we began talking with people – lots of people. And in these conversations, a common thread quickly emerged.Continue reading
Blessed: Now What?
This idea, that we are blessed to be a blessing, is a theme that is woven throughout the length and breadth of scripture – and, is one of the foundations upon which Givers by Design is built. Continue reading
Implications for Witness, part 1
Many Christian writers have recently taken the Church to task for its anemic response to the problem of extreme poverty. (Anemic? …Yes, less than 2% of the average American church’s budgetContinue reading
Extreme Poverty and the Church
The Church – the body of Christ on earth – has a 2000 year tradition of acting on the biblical mandate to help the desperately poor. Throughout the book of Acts and historical accounts of the early Christianity, Continue reading
The Least of These
The poor… have you ever really considered the fact that Jesus came into this world as one of them – and, what this might mean? Have you noticed that the good newsContinue reading
A Scriptural Imperative
As we noted in the prior post, the reality (Ephesians 2:8-10) that we are saved by grace, through faith, for something – to help build for the kingdom – forms the backdrop for our understanding of the biblical mandate for helping the poor.Continue reading
A Hole in Our Gospel
Timothy 4:3 – For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. That is, a gospel with a hole in it – Continue reading
Extreme Poverty: Hopelessness
Extreme poverty sets in motion a chain of cause and effect that ends in hopelessness. It is important to note that the hopelessness that is the defining characteristic of extreme poverty is not a character flaw in the poor.Continue reading
Extreme Poverty: Human Impact
One billion people live on less than a dollar a day; the human impacts of such extreme poverty are enormous. For some perspective, consider that the average Christ follower in America lives on a bit more than $100 per day.Continue reading
What is Extreme Poverty?
Poverty, at it’s very simplest, is a matter of “not having,” either in absolute terms or relative to others. There are many forms of poverty in our world – economic, relational, cultural, spiritual. Continue reading
Overview: Making a Difference
This archive category will contain discussions centered on the idea of making a difference. The desire to have an impact has been built into us, made as we are in our Maker’s image. Still, a creeping sense of futility keeps many of us from doing what we could. So, in this space we will highlight time-tested ways to make a real and lasting difference in the lives of the world’s poorest people. We hope you’ll join the discussion — joy awaits us as we discover what we need to know to exercise our stewardship privileges responsibly and effectively.
For an easy to use, information packed list of organizations whose programs have proven effective in helping the world’s poorest people to lift themselves out of extreme poverty, go to Best Christian Humanitarian Organizations.
Overview: Foundations for Generosity
This archive category will contain discussions exploring Christian foundations for generosity. Christian generosity has been described as living with an open hand as opposed to a closed fist — a relevant and convicting metaphor for a modern-day consumer culture characterized by independence, busyness, competition, and stress.Continue reading
Overview: The Church’s Response
This archive category will contain discussions around the Church’s response to the problem of extreme poverty. We notice that Christ did not just preach the Good News, He tangibly demonstrated it, backing His words up with action. As His disciples, we are called to do the same; in this way, the Great Commission and the Great Commandment are wedded into an undeniably powerful whole.Continue reading
Overview: The Biblical Mandate
This archive category will contain discussions focusing on the the biblical mandate for serving the least and last. Throughout all 66 books of the bible, in over 2000 separate verses, our Father reveals His heart for the poor. Ponder the fact that Christ entered this world as one of them, a manger His first bed. So complete is His identification with the poor, His compassion for them, that He considers love shown to the poor to be love shown to Him. More than a set of rules to be obeyed, we are shown that in helping the least and last we are in communion with Him.Continue reading
Overview: The Least and Last
This archive category will contain discussions focusing on the nature and extent of what has been called extreme poverty — that is, the world’s most desperately poor people. Extreme poverty is often defined as those who live on less than $1.00 per day. While poverty is present to some degree in every American town or city, most of us never witness the extreme poverty that one billion of earth’s inhabitants live in. Our discussions here will tell their story.Continue reading
Donor-Directed Giving
Article Summary: Christians wishing to address the problem of extreme poverty by giving through their churches face twin challenges. First, are the projects they support truly effective? Second is the issue of dilution: Giving to a church’s general budget results, on average, in only 2% of the gift being applied to lifting those who live in extreme poverty out of their suffering. While acknowledging that giving directly to parachurch organizations with demonstrated expertise in this field is an effective and biblically sound option, this article makes the case that there are significant advantages to allowing and encouraging congregants to direct sacrificial contributions to these organizations through their local churches. Among these advantages are the revitalization of local congregations as they focus upon a purpose outside of and larger than themselves, and the enormous positive impact on the broader Church’s witness. Accordingly, this article advocates (and urges congregants to do the same) for the inclusion of carefully selected parachurch organizations within the local church’s framework of donor-directed giving opportunities.Continue reading