One Burning Question for Ministry Among the Poor

I learned the hard way what NOT to do in poor communities.

When I first came to Cambodia 22 years ago, the place was a mess. People were poor. Dirt poor.

Frankly, you’d have had to be a heartless zombie not to respond.

And the missionaries came flooding in. We were full of compassion and big dreams. Some were here to plant churches. Others were here to bring development. Some ambitious souls wanted to do both.

Every one of us was here to see transformation.

Now 20 years later it’s easy to see what worked and what didn’t work. And more tellingly—what worked while the foreigners were here, and what fell apart after they left.

In this circus of good intentions, no-one wants to waste their efforts. And no-one wants to prop up something that will inevitably collapse. Read More