Resources

When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor . . . and Yourself

Poverty is much more than simply a lack of material resources, and it takes much more than donations and handouts to solve it. When Helping Hurts shows how some alleviation efforts, failing to consider the complexities of poverty, have actually (and unintentionally) done more harm than good.

But it looks ahead. It encourages us to see the dignity in everyone, to empower the materially poor, and to know that we are all uniquely needy—and that God in the gospel is reconciling all things to himself.

Focusing on both North American and Majority World contexts, When Helping Hurts provides proven strategies for effective poverty alleviation, catalyzing the idea that sustainable change comes not from the outside in, but from the inside out. 

Ministries of Mercy

Why would someone risk his safety, upend his schedule, deplete his bank balance, and become dirty and bloody to help a person of another race and social class?

And why would Jesus tell us, “Go and do likewise”? 

The Good Samaritan didn’t ignore the battered man on the Jericho road. Like him, we’re aware of people in need around us—the widow next door, the family strapped with medical bills, the homeless man outside our church. God calls us to help them, whether they need shelter, assistance, medical care, or just friendship.

Tim Keller shows that caring for these people is the job of every believer, as fundamental to Christian living as evangelism, discipleship, and worship. But he doesn’t stop there. He shows how we can carry out this vital ministry as individuals, families, and churches.

Join Keller as he explores the biblical way to participate in compassion ministries and deals perceptively with thorny issues of 

• balancing the cost of meeting needs with the limits of time and resources;
• giving material aid vs. teaching responsibility;
• meeting needs within the church vs. those outside;
• And more.

What Every Church Member Should Know About Poverty

What Every Church Member Should Know about Poverty is the most comprehensive and useful guide available for helping churches understand and reach out to people in poverty. Packed with relevant resources and eye-opening insights, this one-of-a-kind volume supports your heart, mind, and spirit in your efforts to live your calling. In this book you will learn:

– The unspoken cues and habits of different economic classes
– Communication and conflict resolution strategies
– Distinctive mindsets about family, marriage, and stewardship
– Who to help and to what extent
– Tips for transitioning newcomers into church membership

The White Umbrella: Walking with Survivors of Sex Trafficking

Sex trafficking. We hear about it on the nightly news and in special interest stories from around the world, but it occurs daily in communities all around us. Every year, thousands of young women are forced into sexual exploitation. Most are under the age of 18. The damage this causes to their emotions and souls is immeasurable.

But they are not without hope.

The White Umbrella tells stories of survivors as well as those who came alongside to help them to recovery. It describes the pain and the strength of these young women and those who held the “white umbrella” of protection and purity over them on the road to restoration.

This book offers principles and guidance to anyone with a heart for these hurting young women and a desire to help. It is an ideal resource for individuals or organizations seeking to learn what they can do to assist these victims in becoming whole again.

Becoming Whole: Why the Opposite of Poverty Isn’t the American Dream

We are the richest people ever to walk the face of the earth, but according to research, we aren’t becoming happier. Families and communities are increasingly fragmented, loneliness is skyrocketing, and physical and mental health are on the decline. Our unprecedented wealth doesn’t seem to be doing us much good.

Yet, when we try to help poor people at home or abroad, our implicit assumption is that the goal is to help them to become like us. “If they would just do things our way, they’d be fine!”

But even when they seem to pursue our path, they too find that the American Dream doesn’t work for them. What if we have the wrong idea altogether? What if the molds we are using to help poor people don’t actually fit any of us? What if the goal isn’t to turn other countries into the United States or to turn America’s impoverished communities into its affluent suburbs?

In Becoming Whole (building on the best-selling When Helping Hurts), Brian Fikkert and Kelly M. Kapic look at the true sources of brokenness and poverty and uncover the surprising pathways to human flourishing, for poor and non-poor alike. Exposing the misconceptions of both Western Civilization and the Western church about the nature of God, human beings, and the world, they redefine success and offer new ways of achieving that success. Through biblical insights, scientific research, and practical experience, they show you how the good news of the kingdom of God reshapes our lives and our poverty alleviation ministries, moving everybody involved towards wholeness.