Poverty

Some evangelicals talk as though personal evangelism and public justice are contradictory concerns, or, at least, that one is part of the mission of the church and the other isn’t. I think otherwise, and I think the issue is one of the most important facing the church these days.

First of all, the mission of the church is the mission of Jesus. This mission doesn’t start with the giving of the Great Commission or at Pentecost. The Great Commission is when Jesus sends the church to the world with the authority He already has (Matthew 28:18), and Pentecost is when He bestows the power to carry this commission out (Acts 1:8).

The content of this mission is not just personal regeneration but disciple-making (Matthew 28:19). It is not just teaching, but teaching “them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20). more >>

Going from an accomplished music career to being surrounded by immense poverty is enough to make anyone do a double take on their life. Seven-time Dove award nominee and accomplished songwriter Shaun Groves experienced this firsthand.

It's been six years since Groves' last album in 2005, but he hasn’t been sitting back and enjoying the splendors of his success. For those six years, Groves has been traveling with Compassion International, a Christian organization that sponsors children living in poverty and provides them with their spiritual and physical needs.

He has visited countries such as El Salvador and Ethiopia, and has seen some of the most destitute people content and filled with a giving heart. Full of new experiences, heartfelt memories and the most challenging and molding times of his Christianity, he’s back with his new album Third World Symphony, which expresses the lessons that he has learned. more >>

A new film, based on God's call in Isaiah 58 to “loose the chains of injustice” and provide for the poor, puts a face on the problem of global poverty and oppression, and calls Christians to act on their faith.

“58: The Film” was filmed over the course of two years in 15 different countries, and is set to begin showing in October in select theaters, on iTunes, on television and in major church screenings.

It features powerful stories of the poor and of those who are out to help them. Audiences will be introduced to individuals who live on the drought-ridden Ethiopian plains and in the slums of Kenya. There are also stories of people surrounded by gang violence, chemical addictions, the sex trafficking trade and more. more >>

Social justice advocate and influential progressive evangelical Jim Wallis wants to clarify that he believes debt is a moral issue, even as he staunchly oppose any cuts to federal programs for low-income people as an option to reduce the national debt.

In an interview with The Christian Post, Wallis, CEO of Sojourners, asserted that the Christian anti-poverty coalition, Circle of Protection, which he is a member of, has been misrepresented by another Christian group, Christians for a Sustainable Economy (CASE), as endorsing a “blanket defense” of government programs for the poor and not considering the national debt as a moral issue.

“They shouldn't say that the signers of the Circle say that debt is not a moral issue, because we say that all the time. … Every time we talk about this, we say 'debt is a moral issue,' so they shouldn't say that we don't say that because we do,” Wallis maintained. more >>

Providing fresh fodder for the increasing number of Americans that believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday that the nation’s poverty rate rose in 2010 to its highest level in 27 years, while the median incomes of U.S. households fell to the lowest level in 15 years.

Some 46.2 million people were living in poverty last year, 2.6 million more than the year before. The poverty line in 2010 was $22,314 for a family of four and $11,139 for an individual, as calculated by the federal government.

The 15.1 percent poverty rate reported by Census – which works out to 1 in 6 Americans – may actually understate the breadth and depth of poverty across the land. more >>

All over the world, 340 million people are without a single verse of Scripture today. More people live without a complete Bible in their language than without enough food and clean water combined.

Bible poverty is a big deal, one company affirms. “The Bible brings life, and for every day that passes, enough people ... die without hearing the Gospel in their own language,” The Seed Company, a Wycliffe Bible Translators Affiliate, said in a statement.

Their solution? Translate God’s Word into every language on earth, one sacrificial cup of coffee or tea at a time. more >>