Simple HOPE is the best place to start for anyone interested in learning about HOPE International. The core elements of HOPE’s teams and programs are explained simply and succinctly within this document.
In Created to Flourish, Peter Greer and Phil Smith explore the Church’s call to respond to families living in poverty and discuss practical ways to get involved. Great for personal or small group use, the Created to Flourish study guide can help you and your church cultivate a deeper understanding of employment-based solutions for poverty and God’s heart for the underserved.
The Chalmers Center wrote this book as a follow-up to When Helping Hurts. The book unpacks the principles of how to design effective microfinance and savings ministries and avoid common pitfalls. HOPE follows many of these principles in our programs. This is a practical resource to move forward in microenterprise development as an organization or church.
The following links lead to organizations and networks with many resources relating to microenterprise development.
The mission of the Listening, Monitoring, and Evaluation team at HOPE International is to better understand all stakeholders and HOPE’s relationship with them in order to improve mission fulfillment. The resources below include an overview of these activities at HOPE and a copy of the manifesto that guides LM&E activities.
Ideal for small groups, Christian education, or personal growth, Perspectives on Global Poverty is an eight-week study that draws on the experience of development experts to provide a holistic framework for understanding and addressing global poverty.
The following books are great resources to learn more about microenterprise development.
Developed in collaboration with the Chalmers Center, the Restore: Savings church facilitator guide equips congregations to start savings groups as a church ministry. The biblically based curriculum covers group formation, training, meeting structure, and all of the financial transactions that take place in a savings group. HOPE uses this guide with our international church partners. This curriculum works in a variety of contexts, including very low-income areas.
Highlighting the difference between aid and development, this e-book by Peter Greer discusses the impact of job creation in alleviating poverty. Follow the link to download the free e-book!
Poverty is more than simply a lack of material resources, and it takes more than donations to solve it. When Helping Hurts, by Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett of the Chalmers Center, shares a biblically based approach to poverty alleviation. This book is a great starting point for those interested in serving others through microenterprise development.
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