Helping Without Hurting in Church Benevolence: A Practical Guide to Walking with Low-Income People

The book gives you a lot of insight as well as directions for setting up a benevolence ministry. However, if you really really want to get into understanding poverty you must read When Helping Hurts by the saame authors. I've learned that there is so much more to poverty and to alleviating it. I look at it now like a cancer we will never be rid of it. Only by the grace of God can poverty be elliminated, and by His power we can minimize it's impact on His followers. Jesus tells us in John 12:8 "You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me."

This book is so good! (1) It redefines poverty from being strictly about money to a fuller understanding of poverty. (2) It is incredibly practical. I recommend this book to anybody thinking about how to care for the people in their benevolence ministry.

I have been involved in homeless services via a weekly meal for at least five years. Our church hosts an overnight shelter for women and children and every morning our church hosts a warm up breakfast for street people. One of my frustrations has been that it appears that these types of ministry seem to be ineffective at rehabilitation. It is not totally a loss as just yesterday one of our long term guys stated that it was time for him to get sober. But these small victories are rare (for us). I've also always felt that the church should not have to reach out to retailers and government for a hand outs. We should be going to the government offering to help solve the problems of poverty. After all we serve a good and generous God. I've also felt there should be a way truly rehabilitate these guys and gals. Well there is, and the way is outlined in this book. I also recommend the book "Charity Detox" as a companion to this. My biggest take away from this book is learning that I have been misdiagnosing the symptoms and responding in the wrong way.

The book arrived in good used condition as advertised.

These guys know what they are talking about when it comes to serving and helping others, but then actually hurting them. The whole series of these books are amazing and if you are in any role at a church should be read by someone. For some reason money is the focus on everyones mind when we think of helping someone out, this will help you realize it is so much more!

I like how how everything comes back to restoring relationships, especially people's relationship with God.It is filled with practical suggestions to not only get started in a more comprehensive benevolence ministry but also to develop a fully functioning benevolence ministry.This book is for church staff and lay leaders who want to do more than just help the materially poor pay rent, utilities or buy food.

I am wrestling through Mercy Ministry (Grace Ministry) at our church. The principles in this book are very helpful in our situations.

The authors extend their participative redemptive theory of development they set forth in Helping Without Hurting, 2nd ed, to one of the most practically difficult arenas of church life today. They strongly resist the default position of just giving handouts to those who come asking for help, especially those who come regularly with the same need or are making the rounds of local churches. While their aim is to get beyond enabling the demeaning, dysfunctional cycle of handouts alone, some thoughtful church stewards of benevolence funds might find the suggestions for ways to ensure that giving actually promotes change to be beyond the time and resources available. What the book does do well is stimulate thought and discussion among those who want to do more for the economically poor than merely throw money at them. I imagine that their ideas for "development" in a community might be more effective if undertaken by a group of local churches who want to agree on an approach. At any rate, the authors are to be commended for an ultimately compassionate, reasonable approach to an overwhelming need.

Yes, it is possible to attempt to help someone, but that help actually caused harm . This book will give you practical advice, wise insights and useful tools you and your Church can utilize and start the process of helping the poor learn how to take responsibility for the changes that they want to make in their own lives.

Very informative, and an eyeopener for anyone involved in Church Benevolence.