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-Written by Craig Waddell. Posted 6/15/2023, updated 10/12/2023
“My grandparents and parents were poor. I am poor, so my children will also be poor.” According to Juan Pablo Belmonte, field liaison manager for Food for the Hungry (FH), this often characterizes the worldview in communities which have experienced poverty over several generations. FH is helping communities in many countries depart from that kind of fatalistic thinking. Turning instead to the way God can heal broken relationships, as well as bless us with resources for change, they develop a customized, result oriented roadmap for graduating a community from extreme poverty. This is the case in Nicaragua, where FH’s indigenous team engages in long term, asset based community development. The process includes church-to-community partnerships (C2C) in which congregations outside Nicaragua can join one-on-one with communities there during a typically 8-12 year development plan. These partnerships are based on developing long term relationships, they include financial support, and most importantly, they emphasize the mutual transformation of together growing in faith in a resourceful God.
BGAV churches have always wanted to make a positive difference against poverty and other issues that make communities vulnerable, both at home and together with our international friends. Many of FH’s priorities align with the values of the BGAV, and Impact Missions has been exploring ways to connect churches with C2C partnerships in the two regions of Somotillo and Quilali. Since 2021, BGAV has sent several teams of church leaders to Nicaragua with the purpose of becoming acquainted with the local FH team, and observing partner communities at various stages of their development plans.
Providing a safe and healthy environment for children, as well as the opportunity for a bright future, is a priority that we all share. That is one reason child sponsorship is such a good way to connect people with a community. As the church in a C2C partnership embraces a specific community, individual families in that church can also embrace a specific child’s family in that very community. This is a way to be connected to the community in a way that transforms families on both sides of the partnership: It makes the mission personal, spreading the sense in the church that everyone is working on this partnership together, and helps the community’s members to be supportive of their concerted development efforts. Children are also a main focus of the work because their welfare says a lot about the community’s health. In other words, how well the children are doing is usually a good indicator of how vulnerable a community is. Moving toward being able to provide sustainably for its children is a good way to build a resilient community.
Churches that enter into a C2C partnership commit to regularly praying for and regularly visiting their partner community. However the goal is not for the church to design or do the projects for the community. As the relationship develops there is opportunity to work alongside the community on a project, but the church is clearly “the back-up singer” in the sense that the community is implementing its own vision. This can be something of a paradigm shift for churches that are used to going on mission trips in which they perform the work for someone else. The church also commits to match FH’s development contribution of $12,500 each year. The resulting $25,000 goes toward food security, clean water, economic sustainability, education, or whatever phase of the its development plan the community finds itself in. Depending on the church’s preference, this amount can also come partly or entirely from the child sponsorships in that church.
We are planning our next vision trip to Nicaragua in February, 2024. If your church is interested in a long-term relationship that is Christ centered and result oriented, contact us!
