How are we being called to address poverty?
Faith and Poverty: A Biblical Response guides participants in exploring the Gospel’s call to respond to poverty in our local communities, equipping participants with practical tools to take action in effective and sustainable ways.
Program Overview
Faith and Poverty: A Biblical Response, the first small group program in this three-part JustFaith series, lays the theological and biblical foundation for responding to poverty in our communities, so that we might respond in a way that honors the image of God in those we seek to serve.
In this faith and justice program, participants explore these two questions: 1. What tools does my faith have to offer regarding huge questions around poverty and injustice?, and 2. In light of poverty and other forms of human suffering, what is the Good News of the Gospel? Participants will emerge from this program with a transformed understanding of who they are as God’s child and how God is calling them to use their lives.
Each small group program in the JustFaith series contains eight 2-hour sessions and an immersion experience with an organization working to alleviate poverty. Faith and Poverty: A Biblical Response also contains a retreat between Sessions 2 and 3. All sessions contain prayer, dialogue, active listening, weekly spiritual practices, and relationship-building. You can stop after the first 8-session program, or you can offer the second and third as well.
Goals for Faith and Poverty: A Biblical Response include:
To learn about the foundational postures we must assume in order to alleviate poverty in a way that honors God, ourselves, and those we seek to serve
To learn about who we are as children of God, and what it means to participate in building God’s Kingdom
To develop a biblical understanding of the word “justice” and what this word means for our lives and our communities
Faith and Poverty: A Biblical Response consists of 8 2-hour sessions, an immersion experience, and a retreat (3 hours for virtual groups, 6 hours for in-person).
Recommended group size is 8-14.Program Framework & Session Topics
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Session 1: Holy Conversation vs. Debate
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Session 2: Compassion vs. Tolerance
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One-day retreat
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Session 3: Awe vs. Judgement
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Session 4: Abundance vs. Scarcity
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Session 5: Equity vs. Equality
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Session 6: Ministry To vs. Ministry With
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Immersion Experience in your local community
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Session 7: Reading Scripture with the Poor
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Session 8: Action vs. Apathy
Sessions include:
Prayer and reflection
Discussion of reading
Videos & group activities
Spiritual practices
Integration of faith
Want to know more?
An overview, sample session, and program booklet are available for free download.
What you’ll need for this program
There are three books used in Faith and Poverty: A Biblical Response, all available through the JustFaith Ministries bookstore.
Need help inviting people to your small group?
This program promotion kit contains sample social media posts, bulletin announcements, email invitations, and more.
We believe strongly in making our programs inclusive and available to everyone
Cost should never be a barrier to participation, and we are committed to working with individuals and organizations to ensure meaningful access through flexible pricing options. Why do we use a sliding fee scale?
There are Two Registration Options:
Option 1: Individual Participant Registration
Participants register and pay individually using a sliding-scale fee of $45, $60, or $75 per person, based on ability to pay. If $45 is still inaccessible, participants can choose the Pay-What-You-Can option to choose a price that is right for them.
- There is no charge for up to two facilitators.
- A minimum of 8 participants is strongly recommended.
Option 2: Organization-Sponsored Registration
A church or organization may choose to cover registration for all participants using a sliding fee scale of $45, $60, or $75 per person, based on ability to pay.
- The organization will be billed a flat rate of the amount chosen below, which covers up to 8 participants.
- For groups larger than 8, the organization will be invoiced an additional $45, $60, or $75 per participant when the group begins, price depending on the chosen amount below.
- If the lowest fee is inaccessible to your organization or ministry, choose the Pay-What-You-Can Rate to learn about shared-cost or reduced-fee options.
What the Registration Fee Includes
- Comprehensive materials for each session (instant download upon purchase)
- Facilitation scripts, guidance, and training resources
- Retreat and immersion planning assistance
- Adaptations for virtual groups
- Direct access to program staff for ongoing support
- Books are an additional cost and may be purchased separately through the bookstore.
To ensure our programs remain accessible while remaining sustainable, we utilize a sliding fee scale of $45 to $75 for our registrations. We invite you to choose the registration tier that best reflects you or your faith community's current financial reality. Paying on the higher end allows us to keep the program affordable for all.
We also offer a Pay-What-You-Can Rate. If the lowest rate does not seem accessible to you or your church at this time, don’t let this be a barrier to participation. Contact our staff here to learn about shared-cost or reduced fee options.
What our program participants are saying
What is different since I completed JustFaith? The way I pray; the way I eat; the way I shop; the way I parent; the way I serve; the way I view community; the way I view neighbor; the way I view enemy; the way I participate in church and community; the way I participate in policy issues; the way I begin and end my day.
JustFaith was a major conversion in my life. The lens through which I look at the world—politics, economics, relationships, etc.—changed. I now see the world through the eyes of those who live on the margins, and ask myself how I can better serve my fellow members of my human family. Every segment of JustFaith awakened something deep within me that helped to form me in new ways, ways that were noticeably more compassionate than what I had previously been living.
JustFaith Overview, Sample Session, and Program Booklet
To get access to this program's overview, sample session and program booklet, complete the form below and you will receive an email with the downloadable materials.
JustFaith Promotion Kit
To get access to this program's promotional materials, complete the form below and you will receive an email with the downloads.