Our Work
Spiritual Integration
 HOPE is committed to meaningful spiritual integration. As a microfinance organization, we have the opportunity to build sustained relationships with individuals living in poverty. This puts us in the unique position of having a long-term, comprehensive influence and impact on the lives of thousands of people. It is our prayer that each client with whom we interact will find reconciliation in the following areas: 1) reconciliation with life as God intended, 2) reconciliation with fellow human beings, and 3) most importantly, reconciliation with God.
Biblical Perspective
Genesis 1, the very first chapter of the Bible, makes it clear that God did not design this earth to have people living in scarcity and poverty. Microloans enable individuals to have the opportunity to live the type of meaningful lives that God desires. Around the world, one primary reason for the breakdown of relationships is finances. Loans facilitate the restoration of families and communities. Furthermore, the community banking method largely practiced by HOPE and other microfinance institutions fosters collaboration, solidarity, and relationship building.
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More than a Loan
 But loans and business training alone cannot restore people to a right relationship with God. Believing that a right relationship with God is of paramount importance, HOPE practices intentional spiritual integration. By issuing microloans and offering business training, we have gained two valuable aspects of effective ministry: 1) credibility (people know we care about their lives and their needs) and 2) time (we have access to people who need to know God loves them). Building on the positive relationships and credibility gained through microfinance, HOPE is able to lovingly and effectively share the Good News of Jesus Christ. We do so without coercion but with the full conviction that people need to know and live out spiritual truth. We issue loans to individuals of any faith background (or no faith background) and do not discriminate on the basis of faith. HOPE offers no incentives for clients to convert to Christianity.
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Process and Accountability
Each of HOPE's countries of operation has collaborated with HOPE's Director of Spiritual Integration to develop a contextualized spiritual integration plan to guide its efforts in bearing witness to Christ. Specific spiritual integration plans have been developed with prayer and reflection by full-time staff working in each local context. Those who develop the plan are those who best know the situation and the culture – and also those who will be responsible for carrying it out.
Each spiritual integration plan is designed to identify areas of strategic investment as well as areas that the microfinance ministry can come alongside where God is already working. The plans encourage reflective and analytic thought to help HOPE's staff members identify opportunities that may have otherwise been overlooked. For example, HOPE staff might invite a local church to offer weekly devotions to clients, effectively utilizing an available resource in the local church and also exposing clients to a place where they can go for further discipleship and spiritual development. A plan might also include more forward-looking and costly initiatives in which we can invest such as hiring spiritual integration facilitators who will train loan officers, additional staff, and clients to train others. Spiritual integration plans ensure that we are being intentional in our pursuit of a Christ-centered ministry.
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