Extreme poverty. If the modern world is truly a “global village,” that means everyone on earth is our neighbor—and Jesus was very clear about how we are to treat our neighbors. We have a responsibility to help them out of difficult circumstances.
While issues such as health care, education, the environment, equality for women and protection for endangered children are all major global concerns with their own particular challenges, they are also, in part, fueled by a common force: poverty.
“Since 1990, nearly 1.1 billion people have lifted themselves out of extreme poverty,” says the World Bank.
It notes that “in areas ranging from child survival to primary school enrollment, the improvements to people’s lives have advanced with a momentum that few could have imagined when the World Bank was founded more than 70 years ago.”
The trend is certainly going in the right direction. But that still leaves 1 in 10 of the world’s population—about the equivalent of every person living in Indianapolis—below that coffee-cup-poverty-zone indicator.
COON RAPIDS, MN – When I saw a headline in The Christian Post that 5,000 people from a church in New Jersey would spend December 6 & 7 packing one million meals for an annual Christmas Outreach, I had to reread it. As I was doing my usual fact-checking, I noticed that The Parsippany Patch…
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Partners Worldwide is filling a much-needed niche for Christian faith-based organizations. Their ministry is being a catalyst to help evangelical partners around the world to develop and sustain poverty alleviation efforts. Team members agree that “work and worship shouldn’t be divided.” The Lord gave us the privilege of bearing His image,…
HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL – Dr. Kevin Dyer established Missionary Enterprises in 1968 following several visits to Eastern Europe, observing many people in extreme poverty. He was particularly burdened for the people of Romania. He wanted to do something to help. Dyer realized that the local evangelical churches in those countries could be an effective network…
Noel Yeatts, President of World Help, is an active advocate for social justice and humanitarian needs around the world, discusses the women trapped in the sex industry by poverty and lack of education, and our need and responsibility to speak and act to give them a chance at freedom. For many of us, the holidays…
Yael Eckstein, president of the International Fellowship of Christian and Jews, shares her thoughts on the close of 2019 as Christmas and Hanukkah coincide, the accomplishments made, all that still needs to be done, and the need to bring more of God’s light to so many who struggle in the darkness. Friends, it is the…
WILLS POINT, TX — Millions of “unwanted” children in Asia crave “the gift of love and hope” this Christmas, missions agency Gospel for Asia (GFA) said today — as the Texas-based organization launched a Christmas season campaign to help what it calls “the forgotten ones.” Asia’s ‘unwanted children’ crave ‘Hope More than Anything Else’ at…
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) issues an extensive Special Report on extreme poverty worldwide, how alleviation and eliminating it is possible, but it is not inevitable. If the modern world is truly a “global village,” that means everyone on earth is our neighbor—and Jesus was very clear about how we are to…
COLLINGWOOD, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA – Anglican Overseas Aid is an Australian-based FBO committed to creating partnerships with like-minded organizations to alleviate poverty, injustices, and provide disaster recovery services. According to their website, their work “is inspired by the Gospel of Christ, with a vision for a peaceful, just, and sustainable world.” The Reverend Dr. Bob Mitchell…
NORTH FT MYERS, FL – “The world produces enough food to feed every person on the planet. World agriculture produces 17 percent more calories per person today than it did 30 years ago, despite a 70 percent population increase. This is enough to provide everyone in the world with at least 2,720 kilocalories (kcal) per…
Gospel for Asia’s ‘Forgotten Christmas’ Says ‘Put Compassion Ahead of Commercialism.’ WILLS POINT, TX — Faith-based missions agency Gospel for Asia (GFA) is challenging people to reject the commercialization of Christmas and instead remember Christ and His heart for Asia’s 300 million “forgotten” outcasts this festive holiday season. Last year, Americans spent an estimated $720 billion…
PORTSMOUTH, VA – Natural disasters like floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes can leave families as deprived of food and shelter as people displaced from war zones or subject to abject poverty. Having a pantry and a refrigerator full of food before a disaster strikes are useless after it has passed.Gary LeBlanc had already spent 35 years…
WINNIPEG, MANITOBA – TeachBeyond is all about transformation. In the early years following World War 2, Youth for Christ invited the Janz Brother Quartet to travel from their homes in Manitoba to participate in crusades in Germany. Those crusades envisioned sharing the hope found in Jesus Christ to transform a languishing, war-weary nation. In 1954,…
NEW YORK – On my first trip to a big city (several decades ago), I saw a sign in the front window of a home. The sign had two lines of large print. The first line said, “Rooms.” The second said, “to let.” In the naivety of my youth, I thought someone had either forgotten…
DELHI – The Indian government Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs issued a press release on October 23 that could change the lives of four million Delhi residents for the better. The Union Cabinet has approved regulations to guide the process “for conferring/ recognizing ownership or mortgage transfer rights to residents of Unauthorized Colonies (UC)…
WILLS POINT, TX — Faith-based mission agency Gospel for Asia (GFA) – on the frontlines in the fight against poverty–has released a new report declaring extreme poverty “public enemy number one,” and challenging people everywhere to help eradicate it. The release of the report – titled Poverty: Public Enemy #1: Eliminating Extreme Poverty Worldwide is…
WILLS POINT, TX – Earlier this month, Gospel for Asia released a special report entitled “Poverty: Public Enemy #1.” Author Palmer Holt of InChrist Communications shared the almost incomprehensible fact that some 736 million people worldwide earn less than $1.90 a day, less than many of us spend for our favorite morning latte. The Tip…
WILLS POINT, TX — While Americans take washing their hands for granted, thousands of children in Asia die every year because their families don’t wash their hands properly, mission agency Gospel for Asia (GFA) reported, marking Global Handwashing Day, October 15. Under the theme “Clean Hands for All,” Global Handwashing Day promotes the vital importance…
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) issues an extensive Special Report on the deadly diseases brought by the mosquito and the storied impact of faith-based organizations on world health, fighting for the Kingdom to “come on earth as it is in heaven.” It takes only one mosquito, buzzing around with ill intent, dive-bombing…
Marking International Day of the Girl Child, October 11, Mission Agency Gospel for Asia Says Thousands of Girls in Asia Saved from Possible ‘Fate Worse than Death.’ WILLS POINT, TX — Tens of thousands of girls in Asia at risk of being sold into prostitution or slave labor have been saved from a possible “fate…
BAYANA, Philippines – Hunger and lack of education appear on nearly every list of obstacles faced by the poor, disenfranchised, displaced, and underserved. It doesn’t matter where they live, hunger and lack of education are as common as the lack of clean water, sanitation. An increasing abundance of plastic waste pollution is also on many,…
NEW YORK – As we head into the fourth and final quarter of 2019 and begin the third decade of the 21st century, it seems like a good time to review the progress of South Asian countries toward reaching the United Nations’ sustainable development goals for 2030. This information originally appeared in the “United Nations’…
Some of us are old enough to remember grandparents, aunts and uncles who could not read or write. Yes, right here in the United States. Those we may recall were the children of parents who had been prevented from learning these essential skills because their survival was existential. Their progenitors had to work the family…
Resolving the Limitations Illiteracy Places on the Human Spirit WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) issues an extensive Special Report on illiteracy, the dominant disabler to flourishing for millions around the world, and the miraculous potential of literacy that is able to change the lives of men, women and children for generations. Few…
WILLS POINT, TX — With more than 250 million women in Asia unable to read or write, faith-based mission agency Gospel for Asia (GFA) cites literacy as a “miracle cure” to release women from generational poverty. To mark International Literacy Day, Sunday, Sept. 8, the humanitarian organization located in Texas announced it was publishing a…
SOUTH ASIA – Gospel for Asia (GFA) – More than 820 million people around the globe suffer from chronic hunger and malnutrition. Forty-five countries have “serious levels of hunger.” Hunger is the number one health risk in the world. Hunger is the root cause of “a staggering 3.5 million deaths” every year. Every 10 seconds,…
MUMBAI – A strange thing has been happening with the slums in South Asia. NGOs like Gospel for Asia (GFA) have been working amongst the millions of people living in extreme poverty and struggling for survival in the slums of South Asia’s major cities. Suddenly, these slums have become a remarkable tourist attraction. In fact,…
“If you could eat only one meal every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?” This is the way we often speak about food. It’s a hobby, a pastime, and a vehicle for community. For many, however, food and hunger isn’t just about fun. It’s a matter of life and death….
Special report entitled “Seeking Justice & Defending Human Rights” conveys GFA’s concerns about the impoverished in Asia. While welcoming an international day of awareness that turns the global focus on issues keeping millions in grinding poverty, missionary organization Gospel for Asia is year-round helping to bring relief to the underprivileged trapped in that cycle. In…
Poverty. You know it when you see it – but, can you define it? A World Perspective Dictionary.com defines poverty as “the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; the condition of being poor.” It defines “poor” as “having little or no money, goods, or other means of…
JHARKHAND – An Anganwadi[1] worker in Jharkhand recently praised a team from World Vision for its work with Jharkhand health officials to help reduce acute malnutrition in the state. Although the State of Jharkhand contains about 40% of India’s entire mineral reserves, nearly 80% of the people who live there are farmers. It is India’s…
Gospel for Asia Believes Alleviating Poverty Starts at School Wills Point, TX — As the world “goes blue” to mark World Children’s Day (Nov. 20) Gospel for Asia (GFA) is bringing attention to another color in its efforts to improve the lives of children at risk—the red line of poverty. The organization spotlights the desperate…
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) Special Report – Discussing the impact of education on the eradication of extreme poverty. When considering the issues of poverty and lack of education, an old saying comes to mind: “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” Poverty and low education are each self-perpetuating: Those born into…
The 410 Bridge is in Alpharetta, Georgia, a few miles north of Atlanta. However, if you were to look at a map of the area, you might be surprised to find that you can’t find a highway number 410. No highway, no bridge, right? Wrong. There is a 410 Bridge. Not a physical bridge leading…
gosNEW YORK – The Asian and Pacific regions are home to more than 50 percent of the world’s undernourished children. According to a new report issued this week by four separate United Nations agencies, the two regions will suffer “colossal human loss” if the countries there “do not recommit themselves to ending all forms of…
WILLS POINT – The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was ratified in 1948, seventy years ago. Article 4 of the Declaration says, “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.” A large number of people in the United States – perhaps most…
LONDON – The independent think tank, Overseas Development Institute (ODI) has released a shocking report that indicates that 25% of the world population – 40% of all urban dwellers – will live in slums by 2030. This is only one of the failures to achieve adequate progress on the UN’s list of 17 Sustainable Development…
UNANDERRA, NSW, Australia – Dr. Jerome Teelucksingh, who initiated International Men’s Day on 19 November 1999, recently called upon NGOs and national government leaders to celebrate an International Boys Day. May 16, 2018 will mark the first annual International Boys Day. While there is a tendency to emphasize the plight of girls and young women,…
Gospel for Asia (GFA World) Special Report on the worldwide issue of extreme poverty Written by Palmer Holt of InChrist Communications More than 80 years after George Orwell wrote in his classic Animal Farm that “all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others,” his barbed observation on disparity rings ever truer for…
NEW YORK – April 4th is the United Nations’ International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, which provides an opportunity for the world to reflect on both the progress made and the challenges that remain in clearing landmines and unexploded ordnance. The vision of the United Nations is a world free of…
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The U.S. Dry Cleaning Corp., doing business as Tuchman Cleaners, an Indiana dry cleaner chain and World Help, an international humanitarian organization, have formed an unexpected partnership to fight global poverty. Tuchman Cleaners, who has 24 stores in Indianapolis, has joined forces with humanitarian aid group World Help to help develop impoverished…
Nearly 80 million people in the U.S. workforce are paid on an hourly basis. About 700,000 who are currently paid the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour will be getting an increase as 18 states raise their minimum wage effective January 1, 2018. Minimum Wage Increase The federal minimum wage has remained at $7.25 since…
The Church tries to build healthy communities in impoverished areas, often times through hand-outs or one time gifts that do not help families out of poverty. By providing work opportunities, the Church can build communities and help eradicate poverty. Faith-based organizations (FBOs) are most often supported by the Church and its congregants in such a…
Photo by Andrew Dunn When Brexit happens, about 30% of children will be living in poverty, because of welfare cuts. Per CNN, “The number of children living in poverty in the U.K. will spike to around 30% over the next five years because of government welfare cuts, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.” This…
Alleviating Poverty By Providing Work Jesus promised we would always have the poor with us. This does not mean we should ignore the poor. But how can we help those in poverty? We should give income generating opportunities to the poor as we’re able to. Items from Gospel for Asia’s Christmas Gift Catalog help provide…
Jesus said the poor would always be with us, and he was right. Scores of impoverished people have inhabited this globe, suffering from multiple hardships. But there is evidence that extreme poverty — the estimated 1.4 billion people in countries outside the US who do not have access to clean water, enough food, sufficient clothing…
