He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump. Psalm 113:7 NLT
“The driving force for Christian witness in the context of transformational development is to be sure that credit is given where credit is due. We must take great care that we point not to our own sacrifices or professionalism, and not to the effectiveness of our development technology, but to the fact that the good deeds that create and enhance life in the community are evidence of the character and activity of the God of the Bible, the God whose Son makes a continuing invitation to new life and whose Spirit is daily at work in our world.”
Bryant Myers in Walking with the Poor: Principles and Practices of Transformational Development revised and expanded (Maryknoll: Orbis, 2011) 244.
Transformational development is a term that describes God’s work among the poor where He is lifting the needy from the garbage dump. When we participate with Him in this context, our driving force must always be to bring glory to God so that the world may see and know that the God of the Bible is alive and at work.
Too many ministries attribute their results to their creative strategies and their stability to financial sustainability models. Such thinking may reveal that their trust could be misplaced. They may be depending on themselves and money to make things happen and, consequently, giving credit to someone or something other than God.
God’s plan for ministry to the poor has not changed. It always has been and always will be the same. He desires His people to enjoy and openhandedly share the resources He has already entrusted to them so that their good deeds will reflect His love to the world. As God sustains and constantly replenishes this work, all the world sees, and God gets the glory.