Christian Mission and Poverty

Introduction Christianity is the faith of the poor. As Christians, we worship the Lord Jesus Christ, who “though he was rich, yet for your sake became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich” (2 Cor 8:9). This same Jesus taught his followers that the kingdom of heaven belongs to “you who are poor” and “the poor in spirit” (Luke 6:20; Matt 5:3). He also proclaimed that judgment before his throne will hinge on how his followers treated those who were hungry, thirsty, strangers, unclothed, sick, and in prison— the ones he calls “the least of these my brothers” (Matt 25:31–46). When my wife and I joined several other families in moving into the South Central neighborhood of Muncie, Indiana in February of 2004, we did so with a desire to engage in Christian mission among those affected by poverty. 1 Like many midwestern towns, Muncie has been

1 Muncie is one of the poorest cities of its size in the United States, with almost a third of its residents living below the federal poverty line and only half of the homes owner-occupied (https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/munciecityindiana).

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