Christian Mission and Poverty

Introduction

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this book and this series of books in group study. This reader is especially well-suited for study by groups who are committed to Christian ministry alongside people who are poor. We envision cohorts of ministry leaders around the world reading or listening to these texts and then joining together to discuss the questions following each chapter. A group studying these resources does not need to feel pressure to answer all the questions. The questions are open-ended in order to get discussion started and to help your group understand what the authors are saying. They are designed to help you discern how the Lord is leading you to greater faithfulness and obedience in using money and ministering alongside the poor. We pray that we will become more faithful Christians as we listen to the mothers and fathers of the faith. These spiritual parents will help us see that Christianity is the faith of the poor. A Prayer for Our Reading After reflecting on God’s provision for the poor and his “immeasurable providence,” Catherine of Siena proclaimed that she was “as if drunk with love of true holy poverty” and prayed these words: O eternal Father! O fiery abyss of charity! O eternal beauty, O eternal wisdom, O eternal goodness, O eternal mercy! O hope and refuge of sinners! O immeasurable generosity! O eternal, infinite Good! O mad lover! And you have need of your creature? It seems to me, for you act as if you could not live without her, in spite of the fact that you are Life itself, and everything has life from you and nothing can have life without you. Why then are you so mad? Because