This guest post first appeared on David Westlake’s blog in 2014. It is a timely reminder to us to consider our patterns of consumption during the…

Forgiving others is not optional for Christians; it is a command. In Matthew 6:12, Jesus taught us to pray, ‘Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us’. He made it clear that God’s offer of forgiveness is inseparable from our willingness to forgive others. So what is the nature of this link?

Discipleship courses. The need to disciple Christians – especially new Christians – is very important. We are encouraged to do this in many places in the Bible – for example, Matthew 28:19–20 and 2 Timothy 2:2. The church often gives more attention to preaching and teaching. These are very important but, to enable people to grow in their faith, discipleship courses in small groups are also of great benefit. Such a course was developed at Kagando Hospital, Uganda by Louise Potts and ...

Our approach to community health and development by Stan Rowland.  Many Christian groups are concerned with meeting either spiritual needs or physical needs.

Placing God first For our work in development to be successful, we need to place God first in every-thing we do. However, material things often take first place in our lives in such a way that sometimes these become our god. Instead, make the book of Proverbs the standard for your action. It suggests numerous principles which may help our work for God to prosper.

Who’s in charge of your life? ‘Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven.’ Matthew 5:16

I have been thinking a lot recently about keeping Christ at the centre of our organisations. So many organisations find that they are ‘less…

This is part 2 of David Westlake’s reflections on sustaining the Christian distinctiveness of Christian organisations. You can read part 1 here.…

This is part 3 of David Westlake’s reflections on sustaining the Christian distinctiveness of Christian organisations. You can read part 2 here.…

by Stan Rowland.   Many Christian organisations are concerned with meeting either people’s spiritual needs or their physical needs. Too often, Christians separate the needs of people. 

Glossary of words used in this issue

As we host this blog, we want to make it as easy as possible for you to find material and resources that will be helpful to you. One of the ways that…

Jesus never asked us to serve the poor. He asked us to do something far more radical: he commanded us to seek his kingdom. It is impossible to seek…

A viewpoint on Christian development work The Knotty Problem in Footsteps No 14 asked for ideas which could help a Christian community development group beginning work in Namibia. Farmers in the area had lost confidence in their own traditional knowledge and new methods, recommended by extension workers, were no longer bringing good yields. Here, Roger Sharland shares a thoughtful and provoking reply.

by Gary Swart

By Joe Harbison.   Rarely a day goes by when we don’t pick up the paper to find more startling news about the spread of AIDS. No matter where the disease came from, or who the high risk groups are, we can all be sure of one thing: AIDS will soon affect every person in one way or another. Everyone needs to be educated about the spread of AIDS and how to prevent infection.

At Tearfund, we think carefully about the work we do and the way that we do it. In addition to our Quality Standards and commitments to various…