When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor ... and Yourself

by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert

Corbett and Fikkert, both from the Chalmers Center, noticed something uncomfortable about well-meaning missions and charity work. Much of it, they argue, actually reinforces the poor’s sense of powerlessness.

Poverty isn’t primarily about a lack of resources. It’s rooted in broken relationships – with God, self, others, and creation.

• Distinguishing between relief, rehabilitation, and development
• Understanding why paternalism undermines even generous giving
• Restoring relationships as the real goal of poverty alleviation
• Rethinking short-term mission trips and their actual impact

When Helping Hurts focuses on how North American church leaders are planning missions work and emphasizes that truly helping the poor requires humility, not just resources, or the help itself can cause harm.