Community development and mission efforts have sometimes caused more problems than they have solved. One of the things that we are learning these days is that the way we go about trying to help is key to whether the results are actually good. The book When Helping Hurts was written by two professors at Covenant College, one of whom is a Dordt College graduate. You can see a review of the book here.
A healthier way of going about working with a poor community is illustrated in this video of a World Renew-Classis Quinte connection with the community of Ulungu. It shows a patient seeking after the most important needs in the community. Instead of assuming that we in the West know best, we must listen to community members carefully.
A second video that was recently posted, contrasts an earlier medical effort, which did not see the resources within the community with a more recent one that did and does. The second approach is often a longer road, but it more often gets to the destination of sustainable development rather than something which is dependent on continual outside resourcing.
These videos come with discussion questions and would be valuable for an adult or adult/teen Sunday school class.
