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Training on Holistic Ministry to the Poor

The Chalmers Center for Economic Development is offering its "Foundations and Principles of Holistic Ministry" course in an e-mail-based distance learning format on January 2 - 27, 2006. The course is designed for anyone doing holistic ministry among the poor, including church members, community ministry staff, and missionaries.

The course lays the foundation for understanding appropriate goals and strategies for Christian economic development in low-income communities. Topics covered are: Understanding poverty, when to do relief and when to do development, harm that can come from inappropriately doing relief or development, the response of the local church to poverty, and how to integrate Biblical principles into development programs.

The course is a guided-reading program with weekly written assignments and peer-to-peer interaction with the other course participants. Because it is e-mail based, slow dial-up speed will not limit participation in the course.

To learn more or to register, visit the Chalmers Center web site, www.chalmers.org, or contact the Chalmers Center by phone at 706-419-1805 or by email at chalmers@covenant.edu. Group registration discounts are available.

For those ministering in the Two-thirds World, follow-on distance courses in economic development are available. Prior financial or economic experience is not required to participate in these courses. The second course is offered on Jan. 30 - March 17. It orients students to the range of microfinance and microenterprise development services and interventions available, and helps them select the approach that is most appropriate in their context. This course is also offered in a self-study format. The third course is offered on March 20 - May 12. It teaches basic principles of Savings and Credit Associations (SCAs) and how SCAs can be used as a ministry tool. The "Foundations" course is a prerequisite for the second course and the second course is a prerequisite for the third.


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