St Peter's Anglican Church East Lindfield

The Christian and Poverty

0 comments | Posted by Steven Layson on 13 Mar 2011 in From Steve's Study :: Christianity

Over the next three weeks, I thought I’d catch you all up on some of the discussion from the Weekend Away. There were some great ideas put forward about what we, as individual Christians, can do to show Christian love to the world around us. So here are a couple of the ideas that were suggested:

Awareness – educate yourself about the extent of poverty throughout the world & how we as individuals can help. When donating to charities, it is important to choose those that give the highest proportion of donations to those in need (ie what percentage of your donation is lost in admin etc). You might also consider choosing those charities that work alongside local churches as they seek to care for the poor and share the love of Christ.

Sponsor a child through World Vision or some other Christian organisation, or perhaps encourage your kids to sponsor a child with their pocket money. Also, consider how you can continue to support them even beyond school.

Go to Crossroads in your holidays – if you’re looking for a different holiday experience that will also help you and the kids understand the great needs in the world, consider going to Crossroads Hong Kong to help in the process of sending goods to those in need.

Tithing & regular giving – as our church gives 1/10th of our income to mission, as you give to church, you are also supporting the work of the gospel throughout the world.

Don’t drink alcohol for a month (or give up some other luxury item) and put the money aside to send to those in need.

Be as generous with others as you are luxurious with yourself – if you spend $20 on a movie, send $20 to a Christian charity that supports those in poor areas etc.