Bøger af Brian Fikkert

Comment une Église locale peut-elle faire une différence ? Comment pouvons-nous refléter utilement la grâce du Christ malgré les inégalités qui nous entourent ? Les auteurs de ce livre nous présentent la question de la pauvreté dans le monde d'un point de vue biblique, théologique et stratégique. Ils nous amènent à repenser la façon dont nous appliquons l'Évangile à un monde brisé. En examinant des principes bibliques liés à des situations de tous les jours, ce livre nous montre comment offrir une aide pratique et des réponses pleines de grâce aux personnes démunies. Il mène à une vraie compréhension de la pauvreté, tout en nous présentant un plan pour la réduire. Cet ouvrage s'avère un outil pratique pour tous ceux qui veulent servir adéquatement ceux qui souffrent de la pauvreté.

What if we're spreading our own brokenness to the very people we want to help?Before we try to make Uganda into the U.S. or inner cities into affluent suburbs, we have to consider what might be wrong with our own lives. Sure, our pursuit of the American Dream has made us wealthier than ever before, but at what cost? Families and communities are increasingly fragmented, loneliness is skyrocketing, physical and mental health are suffering, and overall happiness is on the decline. What if we've had it wrong this whole time?Brian Fikkert (coauthor of When Helping Hurts) 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 fundamentally reframe success and the path forward--reshaping our lives and our poverty alleviation ministries in a way that moves us all toward becoming whole.

This book offers biblical guidelines and practical strategies for ministering among the poor, helping pastors and other church leaders mobilize Christians to take the gospel to the "hard places" in our communities.

The church of Jesus Christ finds itself at a very unique moment in history. The average Christian living in the ';economically advanced countries' enjoys a level of prosperity that has been unimaginable for most of human history. At the same time, over 2.5 billion people in the Majority World (Africa, Asia, and Latin America) live on less than $2 per day, with many of these people being Christians. Ironically, it is amongst the ';least of these' in the Global South that the global church is experiencing the most rapid growth.All of this raises profound challenges to the global church. How can churches and missionaries in the Majority World effectively address the devastating poverty both inside their congregations and just outside their doors? How can churches in the economically advanced countries effectively partner with Global South churches in this process? The very integrity of the global church's testimony is at stake, for where God's people reside, there should be no poverty (Deuteronomy 15:4; Acts 4:34).For the past several decades, microfinance (MF) and microenterprise development (MED) have been the leading approaches to poverty alleviation. MF/MED is a set of interventions that allow households to better manage their finances and start small businesses. From remote churches in rural Africa to the short-term missions programs of mega-churches in the United States, churches and missionaries have taken the plunge into MF/MED, trying to emulate the apparent success of large-scale relief and development organizations. Unfortunately, most churches and missionaries find this to be far more difficult than they had imagined. Repayment rates on loans are low and churches typically end up with struggling programs that require ongoing financial subsidies. Everybody gets hurt in the process: donors, relief and development agencies, churches and missionaries, and--most importantlythe poor people themselves.This book explains the basic principles for successfully utilizing microfinance in ministry. Drawing on best practice research and their own pioneering work with the Chalmers Center, Brian Fikkert and Russell Mask chart a path for churches and missionaries to pursue, a path that minimizes the risks of harm, relies on local resources, and enables missionaries and churches to minister in powerful ways to the spiritual and economic needs of some of the poorest people on the planet.The insights of microfinance can play a tremendous role in helping to stabilize poor households, removing them from the brink of disaster and enabling them to make the changes that are conducive to long-term progress. Moreover, when combined with evangelism and discipleship, a church-centered microfinance program can be a powerful tool for holistic ministryone that is empowering for the poor and devoid of the dependencies plaguing most relationships between churches in economically advanced countries and churches in poor nations.