What is Our Response to Poverty?
I remember the first time my father took me to Africa in 2003 to see the work Partners Worldwide was doing to impact the poorest of the poor. I remember the drive from the Nairobi airport to the motel we were staying at while in Kenya. Several images are imbedded in my memory forever, seeing people digging though garbage looking for food, a mother with an infant walking 5 miles one way for filthy bacteria infested water, or a little girl sitting beside an open sewage ditch.
I remember saying “God, why? Why such poverty? Why am I blessed with so much while others are just trying to survive?” I remember feeling sick to my stomach! I remember saying to my father “what are we doing here? We can’t possibly make a difference, the problem is way too big!” My father, a very wise and compassionate man said “We can’t fix it all, but we can impact a few people and that’s what God is commanding us to do!” My dad encouraged me to look in the back of my Bible and look up the words “Poor and Poverty” and read the corresponding verses. It is amazing how much God loves the poor! Let me share a few of the verses that have shaped my view of the poor.
God’s Perspective
Isaiah 58:6-7 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Proverbs 19:17 “He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward him for what he has done.”
Proverbs 21:13 “If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.”
Proverbs 31:8-9 “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.
Partners Worldwide, the name explains the ministry. Partnering Christians in the US with the poorest around the world; to train, empower, mentor and share the love of Jesus. Give a man a fish and feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime! In our last newsletter we highlighted in more detail the work of PW. Let me just reiterate, this ministry is making a huge impact for the Kingdom!
Kingdom Capital Fund has committed a total of $600,000 to PW over four years to reach one hundred thousand people. We have given $150,000. In 2019 we have a farm project which we hope will generate $150,000. You are invited to give cash or a non cash gift towards the farm project. Contact us today about participating in the farm project. We are also looking for donation or project/investment ideas for the remaining $300,000 to make this initiative a success.
Kingdom Capital Fund believes we need to do ministry locally, here in Sioux Falls, nationally within the US and globally around the world. See the pie chart to see where KCF has given.
