Story number 4 for 10 Apr 2001

(USA)–Meanwhile, faith-based initiatives have raised the question of whether or not the church can rise to the occasion. The answer, according to New Focus National’s TJ Akin, is ‘yes!’ Akin uses the New Focus program in Wichita, Kansas to help people manage their resources. He says change is a matter of perspective. “We show people that, under their own power, that’s how they got where they were…and, God is still in the business of changing people’s lives. He provides an opportunity and then His people walk them through the process, which is not something you can do outside of the Gospel of grace.” Akin adds that through New Focus, the church can be more effective in sharing the hope of Christ. “The truth is, the social welfare program in the United States needs people to be poor in order to exist. Hopefully, when the church enters into it, it’s because we love God and we’re obedient to His call. We hope that someday we would be out of a job, that the problem of poverty would be eradicated.”