Addressing physical needs is just one aspect in true human flourishing. During His earthly ministry, Jesus was a perfect example of meeting physical and spiritual needs. In Matthew 9:35, we read that “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.”
Jesus combined proclaiming the Gospel with healing physical brokenness, demonstrating how these needs are interconnected. Following this example—and acknowledging our mutual need for restoration in Christ—we seek spiritual, material, personal, and social transformation.
An example of this holistic impact, Diogene (pictured with his wife) joined a savings group through his local church in Rwanda, experiencing significant change in his life:
Spiritual:
One day, Diogene heard music coming from a nearby church. Curious, he went inside to hear more, sitting in the back to hide his embarrassment over his dirty and torn clothes. Diogene became a believer, and members of the church encouraged him to join their savings group. “I am now close to God and know He is guiding my life. He taught me to be a new man, a man that loves and respects his wife, a man that does not steal but works hard,” Diogene describes.
Material:
Through his savings and loans from his group, Diogene started farming and set up a shop to sell various household items. “I was very poor before I joined the savings group. I used to steal in order to eat. I literally owned nothing. [Now] we have plenty of food to eat and water is available. We also have enough clean clothes to wear, and my kids are in school.”
Personal:
Diogene now feels a profound sense of hope for the future. “It’s like everything about me and my family changed after joining the savings group. It is as if we are a new family. I have become a new man.”
Social:
Members of Diogene’s church embraced him, sharing clothes with his family and teaching him to read and write. “Before I knew the Lord, I was not a good husband. This relationship with the church, with the savings group, and with the pastor has made me a better man and saved my marriage.”
Want to learn more about what it looks like when HOPE invests in the dreams of families? This short video will walk you through the process.
I do agree with you,that the roots (and solutions) of poverty, brokenness, and hopelessness go beyond lack of material things. Much of such a situations also point to foundations where there is no God, so taking God to people in these situations by evangelizing to them the Good news is like digging a new foundation in theses lives out of poverty and lack and eventually leading back these people to the purposes of God for their lives. And also helping these people to discover and live their lives to the full potential God has purposed for them.
Thank God for Hope International. It is really God sent organization based on holistic approach. May God remember us and send such organization through you in Sierra Leone so that the church and others will benefit from your great opportunities.
I pray that HOPE will be able to reach your country and many other countries that would definitely benefit from the services of a deeply rooted Christian organization.