What did Peter tell Paul in Galations 2 before they set out to go abroad to reach their chosen people groups (Jews/Gentiles)?

“Remember the Poor”

Paul’s response was that is was the very thing that he was eager to do.

There are countless references to taking care of the poor in scripture…by some counts, as many as 2,000.

That we need to take care of the poor is probably pretty clear to most of us reading this. What’s less clear is how we should go about it…particularly when looking overseas.

For my money, it’s MicroFinance, and more particularly Christian Microfinance.

All of that has been made all the more clearer to me after hearing Peter Greer, President of Hope International who spoke 3 times over the past 24 hours in Durham and Raleigh.

Why is Microfinance such a good answer? Well because microfinance gives the poor dignity…..a hand up, rather than a hand out. They borrow and then pay back the loan that allows them to become an entrepreneur. In an environmnent where many money lenders give out money at 20% interest PER DAY!, reasonable interest rates (typically 20% per annum) allow new entrepreneurs to buy the raw materials that they need to make a living and provide for their family….........they do so using their hard work.

They repay their loans at a rate of better than 95%. Why?, because while they don’t have traditional collateral with items of monetary value, they do have social collateral. Social collateral means that entrepreneurs in a small town each co-sign each other’s loan with the result being a powerful joint accountability.
Microfinance is not new, but it’s pace of growth has picked up dramatically.

What is newer, is the concept of CHRISTIAN MICRO FINANCE. It’s effectively giving out the cup of cold water in the name of Christ. The best example I’ve seen of this yet comes from Hope International. www.hopeinternational.org (though their are others that are Christian based, but a bit less overt like Opportunity International) Their president, Peter Greer, sums it up by saying that Hope acts with the understanding that SPIRITUAL poverty is just as pervasive, if not more so, than FINANCIAL poverty.

Hope has grown quickly since 2005 and now has more than $25 million in loans outstanding in 13 countries. Their average loan is $92, and their repayment rate is 99.6%.........more importantly, during a recent survey they found that fully 60,000 of their clients had first heard of Christ from their interaction with Hope International!!!

Say I have $10,000 that I’d ordinarily look to give to overseas charities.

That $10,000 would make a material difference in the lives of 105 entrepreneurs, they’d hear about Christ and then after 5 months (the term of the average loan).....I’d get my money back.

That’s scale….that’s leverage…..that’s results….that’s witnessing….that’s heeding the lesson of the Parable of the Talents while honoring the 2,000 passages on poverty.

All while delivering DIGNITY not DEPENDENCY.

and all to the Glory of God!

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