Advancing sustainable solutions to material poverty through church missions.
The North American Church is losing ground in attendance, influence, credibility and virtually every other category that really matters. In this day and age, many see the church as the hope of the world only as it “proves” itself in practical ways that touch the everyday needs of everyday people. But that’s not a cry for more traditional forms of charity or the missionary model of the past 200 years. Instead, thoughtful people, from Millennials to Boomers, are looking for churches that have moved from simply doing good things to solving real problems in lasting ways. Churches that invest in this kind of mission work become more helpful in lifting people out of poverty and better partners to ministries on the frontlines. They also become more relevant and credible to their community, more fulfilling to both pastor and people, and more appealing to those on the margins looking for a reason to attend a church.
Our mission is to help churches reframe their missions and charitable work around sustainable solutions and create room for business-minded people who can help that happen. Our annual SATtalks and other resources highlight some of the most innovative churches and faith-based ministries around the world working to move missions in this direction. We do this because the Church needs the stories of early pioneers and innovators to inspire and help us see what could be!
Tom Bassford, Founder/President | Significant Matters & SATtalks
Breaking Free of Paternalism: Part 1
[one_fourth last="no" spacing="yes" center_content="no" hide_on_mobile="no" background_color="" background_image="" background_repeat="no-repeat" background_position="left top" hover_type="none" link="" border_position="all" border_size="0px" border_color="" border_style="" padding="" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" animation_type="" animation_direction="" animation_speed="0.1" animation_offset="" class="" id=""] [/one_fourth][three_fourth last="yes" spacing="yes" center_content="no" hide_on_mobile="no" background_color="" background_image="" background_repeat="no-repeat" background_position="left top" hover_type="none" link="" border_position="all" border_size="0px" border_color="" border_style="" padding="" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" animation_type="" animation_direction="" animation_speed="0.1" animation_offset="" class="" id=""] Breaking Free of Paternalism: Part 1 We have long known the limiting and corrosive effects of paternalism in working with the poor. Its simplest definition is doing things for people they can do for themselves. It carries with it the idea of needing to “parent” the people you are helping [...]
Foster Dignity and People Rise to the Challenge
Ministries that approach their work in a holistic way find that it fosters dignity and a deep willingness for people to step up to the challenge. A holistic approach to community development assumes a set of “catalytic” areas which help create the conditions and opportunities for humans to flourish. In other words, it’s never just one thing that people need but rather a set of four or five different but complimentary components working together. John Quinn, co-founder of The Sinapi Foundation described just such a set in his 2014 SATtalks entitled “Partnering for Sustainable Solutions.” They have found it takes a [...]
The Calculus of Compassion
[one_fourth last="no" spacing="yes" center_content="no" hide_on_mobile="no" background_color="" background_image="" background_repeat="no-repeat" background_position="left top" hover_type="none" link="" border_position="all" border_size="0px" border_color="" border_style="" padding="" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" animation_type="" animation_direction="" animation_speed="0.1" animation_offset="" class="" id=""] [/one_fourth][three_fourth last="yes" spacing="yes" center_content="no" hide_on_mobile="no" background_color="" background_image="" background_repeat="no-repeat" background_position="left top" hover_type="none" link="" border_position="all" border_size="0px" border_color="" border_style="" padding="" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" animation_type="" animation_direction="" animation_speed="0.1" animation_offset="" class="" id=""] Learning in every area of life is a building proposition. We build on foundational knowledge and experience an ever deepening and more sophisticated understanding of things, both intellectually and practically. First we learn our numbers, and then we learn arithmetic which becomes the means for solving algebra, geometry and trigonometry [...]
Beyond Relief by Gaston Warner | Zoe
Zoe helps children never need charity again. ZOE is a distinctive three-year program, developed in Africa that empowers orphans and vulnerable children around the world to overcome extreme poverty, become fully self-reliant, and learn of God’s love for them. Active in Kenya, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Liberia, Guatemala and India, ZOE has approximately 28,000 children currently enrolled.
Beyond Helping That Hurts by Tom Bassford | Significant Matters
Tom Bassford founder and President of Significant Matters and the creator of SATtalks discusses how we have moved the conversation beyond the lament of “Helping That Hurts.” Over the past 10 years I have watched as the church has wrestled with the reality that much of our helping has had the unintended consequence of hurting the very people we have been trying to help. First it was an outright denial followed by a “double-down” commitment to work harder and more efficient. But the problem has never been about effort or efficiencies, those are distractions to the harder work of facing [...]
The Bride Is the Hero by Dr. Florence Muindi | Life In Abundance, Intl.
Dr. Florence Muindi, Founder and President of Life in Abundance, reveals her initial mistakes in development and how it brought about a vital change in strategy. In this SAT talk she shares LIA's new model and findings of an independent research that proves it is working, to the glory of God. Dr. Muindi is a native to Kenya, a medical doctor by training and the key architect behind Life In Abundance’s (LIA) transformational development model. She has played an integral role in establishing a proven model and track record for LIA while laying the foundation for implementation throughout Africa and [...]
