FAQ

The poor and marginalized have an important place in scripture.  Again and again emphasis is given on the importance of caring for those who do not have means of caring for themselves (ie. the orphan, the widow, the poor, the sick).  However, the message is not one of promoting charity.  It is a message of promoting love, relationship, acceptance, sharing resources, and of not taking advantage through power or status.  It is important to realize that Jesus did not just give out meals, but ate with people.  It caused some problems for him.  People did not like that as much, because it was socially questionable.  But those are some of the social questions Jesus challenged.

Poverty as an issue is overwhelming.  We cannot tackle poverty.  But, we can love people who are poor into greater healing.  The healing occurs in all of us.

So, it’s great to “love people into healing,” but that phrase doesn’t give a very practical picture of what that means.  For us, first it means to love and respect them enough to get to know them.  How can we help someone if we don’t know in what ways he/she needs help?  It also means to realize how our spending habits affect the economic system (buying from local businesses, investigating real market value in a housing market aimed at speculation, etc).  We must also realize that the way we offer money affects our relationship with people (the context, the expectations of repayment, etc.).  It means to consciously learn from “the poor,” because they have a lot we can learn from.  It means to hold lightly to the things we have, realizing it all belongs to God, and we should redistribute them as He chooses.

This ministry is about encouraging people into equitable relationships that cross socio-economic boundaries.  It is through these kinds of relationships, centered  around and empowered by Christ, that the difficulties of poverty can begin to heal.