My first full-time ministry position was Director of Hope for Families. It was during the welfare reform era of the 1990’s, and my job was to connect families in poverty from social service agencies with churches who were willing to help them go from “welfare to work.” Part of the process was to provide training for church members on what to expect. Like clockwork there would always be a point in the training where a rant would happen from one of the attendees. All ranters shared the same premise. It was the people in poverty’s fault they were poor, and if they would only act right morally they would get out of their situation.
Certainly, one of the causes of poverty is unwise moral choices. Yet it is not the only cause. For example, Luke 16:19-31 points out a person could be poor because of neglect. It’s not hard to find examples where the citizens work hard, but the people are exploited by corrupt leaders of industry and/or government. Among other poverty causes we find in Scripture are the weather, sickness, being old, unexpected loss of a spouse – the list is lengthy. We all are affected by the fall described in Genesis 3, and poverty is one of the results. The first step in empowering the poor is to realize poverty is a condition, not an identity. Viewing poverty this way is essential.
If this is our philosophy, then how does one empower? The common understanding of the term is to give someone the ability to do something. We should adopt the old Home Depot slogan: “You can do it, we can help.” The assumption should be the poor have the gifting, talent, and ability to walk with God amid their situation. Empowerment of the poor is a collision of three events:
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A Willing Participant. Like those who empower, citizens in poverty must not take their financial condition on as an identity. There needs to be a belief that her or his situation does not determine their destiny. God loves and can use them like anybody else.
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Spiritual Mentoring. We were given a simple command by Christ to go and make disciples. The command does not change when talking about the poor. They need to belong to a life-giving church to give them a proper understanding of the Bible, and a community of believers to do life together with.
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Vocational Development. Society is not set up for those in poverty. Many have been given the worst of everything. Bad schools, city services, housing – you name it. Proper investment needs to be made to rectify the situation.
I just attended the wedding of a young man whom my church family and I have applied these principles for over a decade. He should be a statistic, i.e. in jail, dead, or living a life of crime. Instead, a different story has been written. This is not a Disney movie, so he’s not perfect. But he is one of the few in his family to get married. He’s very connected to his church. And this past week he started his own business. In short, he is empowered.
Read more from Alvin Sanders.