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Faith Communities: the Untapped Resource for Development

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Faith Communities: the Untapped Resource for Development Kay Warren, Elizabeth Styffe, and Gil Odendaal Faith Communities: The Untapped Resource for Development Engaging, Equipping, and development because her church has provided Mobilizing Untapped Resources extensive, yet simple, training in how to be a volun­ eleste doesn’t know much about for­ teer community health worker. The humble church eign aid or development, but she’s an member calls herself a “Community PEACE Cexpert on hunger, stigma, and disease. Servant.” She represents more than 3,000 volun­ Sitting alone on a hand-woven mat in the African teers in the Western Province of Rwanda who are sun, Celeste is covered with lesions, having been improving health, influencing development, reduc­ expelled from her village due to her HIV-positive ing poverty, and changing the world, one family at status and waiting for death. a time. More than 22,000 home-health visits will Down the road, a local church resonates with be made in this rural region this month because the sound of 50 people singing, clapping, and churches are taking the lead. Empowered U.S. dancing. The pastor preaches passionately to his and indigenous churches are connecting with each small congregation about Jesus’ call to care for the other and partnering with governments and other poor and hurting in His name. A church member organizations to engage and equip ordinary people leaves the exuberant worship service and makes in local churches to actively address development her way toward Celeste’s mat under a tree. Soon, issues in the lives of real people everywhere. Celeste will feel the volunteer’s soothing touch, receive needed medications from a church-based Defining the Problem clinic or a government hospital linked to the local If the U.S. public is to be engaged in development congregation, and begin to rebuild her life. issues, global problems—as well as practical solu­ This church member does not have a medi­ tions—need to be communicated and discussed in cal degree—in fact, she is just learning to read ways that make sense to the average person. The and write—but she understands community PEACE Plan aims to do just that, by identifying 220 | USAID FRONTIERS IN DEVELOPMENT Indian nursing students hold a candlelight vigil to mark World AIDS Day in Amritsar on December 1, 2008. In the 25 years since the first case was reported, AIDS has killed 25 million people, and infected 40 million more. | AFP Photo: Narinder Nanu the development issues that affect billions of others, more about winning than wiping out people—the global “giants”—and proposing real- illiteracy, more about preserving power than pre­ world answers. venting diseases, more about controlling people The first global giant isspiritual emptiness and than caring for them. There is a severe shortage lack of reconciliation. Billions of people live with­ of servant leadership on our planet. Instead, out hope and purpose. They have little to live on many self-centered and even corrupt leaders in and even less to live for. Their lives lack meaning. both public and private sectors use their power to Conflict—on a personal, as well as tribal, national, serve themselves instead of for the good of those and global level—is an ever-present reality. Millions who need help the most. of men and women who are searching for spiritual The third global giant is extreme poverty. Three hope and reconciliation have made The Purpose billion people—half of our world—live on less than Driven Life, translated into more than 100 lan­ $2 a day. More than one billion live on less than $1 guages, a bestselling book for 10 years. People are a day. One-sixth of the world’s population lives in hungry for purpose and reconciliation at all levels. slums and in grinding, dehumanizing poverty. The second global giant is egocentric leader­ The fourth global giant is pandemic disease. ship. Egocentric leadership cares more about Although a cure is yet to be found for the 33 mil­ maintaining popularity than eliminating pov­ lion people infected with HIV/AIDS worldwide, erty, more about status and success than serving billions of others still suffer from diseases we DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE | 221 learned how to cure or prevent in the 19th and engaged, and equipped. He believed that local 20th centuries. Even though Teddy Roosevelt churches and indigenous faith congregations were was the U.S. President when an approach to end the keys to radical change. malaria was developed, 300 million people will Attempts by the public and private sectors suffer from malaria this year. Three thousand chil­ have failed to address adequately these global dren will die today—and every day—because of a giants. Even the best efforts of the United States, simple mosquito bite. the United Nations, philanthropic organizations, The fifth global giant isilliteracy and a lack and multinational corporations have not been of education. Half of our world is functionally enough. But there is hope for change: A grassroots illiterate, with 70% of the population members partner is already in place around the world—the of primarily oral cultures. What hope is there for faith community. these fellow human beings in the 21st century’s global economy if they cannot read and write? Accessing Every Solution: The Faith Community as a Surprising The PEACE Plan Partner in Development The PEACE Plan’s approach to these five Global Global crises require accessing and engaging every Giants is simple but effective: plant and partner equipped partner. Just as a stool requires three legs with churches that promote reconciliation, equip to endure as a successful seat, the best efforts to servant leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, meet global development needs require contribu­ and educate the next generation. While some tions from three sectors to endure as a success­ may scoff at this kind of simplicity, the need for ful intervention: public (governments), private greater engagement from the faith community in (businesses), and—the missing component—faith these gigantic development issues begs for a simple (local congregations). framework that compels and facilitates action. The first sector, government, represents The PEACE Plan frames problems in acces­ an agenda-setting and permission-giving role. sible terms, summarizes the challenges and opportu­ Government policy, regulations, and requirements nities, and offers a process whereby ordinary people can make it easy or difficult to help those in need. in churches all around the world can act in their But with increasingly unstable global economies own communities while working together to pro­ and shifts in administration, no government can vide human resources and human capital. It con­ adequately or consistently tackle the world’s devel­ nects U.S. churches to indigenous churches through opment problems. a network that mobilizes ordinary people who Business, the second sector, provides the would not otherwise be involved in development. expertise and capital particularly needed to address The PEACE Plan emerged in 2003 from Rick the global giants of poverty, disease, and illiteracy. Warren, Founder and Senior Pastor of Saddleback If money alone were the solution, however, we Church in Lake Forest, California. With a 23-year would have seen an end to these crises long ago. history of training global church leaders in 162 Expert knowledge and skill are limited in scope countries, Pastor Warren became convinced that and require a system of distribution. global transformation was going to happen only if Even if every dream imagined by USAID and local churches and congregations were activated, other global organizations and sovereign countries 222 | USAID FRONTIERS IN DEVELOPMENT were fully funded, the question would remain, aid, they responded 10%.2 According to the U.S. “How will the resources be distributed? Who can Census Bureau, the United States spent only 1% originate, collaborate, and implement the plan?” of the federal budget on foreign assistance 3—or The third sector—the faith community—is perhaps as much as 2.6%, if one looks at the the final leg that provides the stability. amount as a share of only the discretionary por­ The only organizations with large enough tion of the budget.4 volunteer labor forces and distribution networks While sluggish and stagnant economies, to tackle the global giants are the Christian church austerity measures, and political reality are placing and other faith communities—the grassroots fel­ pressure on foreign aid spending, faith communi­ lowships found in every community and village ties continue to ignite passion for assisting others around the world. With billions of members dis­ in need. Their compassion remains steady in the tributed in nearly every community in the world, face of uncertain economic times because of their this network of congregations is a sleeping giant deep convictions about caring for the most vulner­ waiting to be mobilized. able among us. Second, churches have the largest cadre of The Church’s Unique Resources volunteers. The greatest untapped resource in What sets the church and other faith communities global development sits in the pews, dances in the apart from other relief organizations? aisles, or gathers in some form in every church or First, the church has a history of caring. The faith congregation around the world. The global church is motivated by the central teaching of Jesus church is larger than any government or nation. Christ to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew If just half of the people in churches worldwide 19:19). This mandate to love goes beyond altruism. were mobilized, there would be a contribution by It is well documented that 40%–60% of all health- more than 1 billion volunteers. The U.S. church is care institutions and schools around the world were uniquely poised to equip and empower ordinary, first started by people of faith.
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