In this episode of Glo, Blair Linne, Aixa de López, Sharon Dickens, and Soojin Park discuss how believers and church leaders can provide mercy ministry that is effective, biblical, loving, and sustainable. Drawing from the book, When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor . . . and Yourself, the hosts define "poverty" and talk about how to identify and prevent early mistakes in mercy ministry. You'll learn the importance of discipleship in caring for the poor, how to open the door to evangelistic conversations, caring for spiritual needs, and practical steps you can take to start serving the poor and marginalized in your local context.

Episode time stamps:

• When helping hurts (0:00)
• Redefining how to serve the poor (3:20)
• Poverty in Guatemala (5:29)
• Mercy ministry: serve well and thoughtfully (8:09)
• Relative vs. absolute poverty (8:54)
• Restoring relationships (10:31)
• How to discern where to give your gifts and resources (12:32)
• Knowing the needs in your community (16:57)
• The importance of discipleship (18:22)
• Identifying early mistakes in mercy ministry (20:31)
• What does it look like to trade rather than give? (22:34)
• Relational poverty in the Korean American community (25:39)
• The story of the shoe maker (29:06)

Recommended resources:

• When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor . . . and Yourself by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert
• "Why It's Better to Trade Than to Give" by Justin Lonas
• "How Can We Include the Poor in the Conversation?" with Brian Fikkert and Robby Holt from TGC Q&A's Faith & Work series