christian development
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Rational Hope: A Way Forward
Why are some vulnerable rural communities able to thrive in spite of the pandemic? The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened our awareness of the turmoil in our world. Though we are isolated with family inside our homes, we are also increasingly concerned about the events happening outside. Extreme climate events such as flooding in Sudan and […]
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Meditations, Sustainability
We're Resurrection People, After All!
The following is a letter from our Creative Director, Philippe Lazaro, on what happens when a global pandemic runs into Easter- a day where we celebrate resurrection. What a month it’s been. To echo a Tweet by Andy Crouch I read, “Honestly, I hadn’t planned on giving up this much for Lent.” There’s something oddly […]
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Meditations, Sustainability
Restoring civility is a necessary step towards sustainability
A divisive social climate contributes to an unsustainable global climate It’s a presidential election year in the United States, and unsurprisingly political tensions and anxieties run high. There has been no shortage of words about the way our world is extremely polarized and divided. Spend more than a small amount of time online, and you’ll […]
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Meditations, Sustainability
I’m concerned about climate. Why should I support a Christian environmental organization?
“The faithful have a long tradition of ministering to and seeking justice for the most vulnerable and providing the action we need to achieve a just and healthy world. As such, the faithful are leading on climate solutions today.” –Kara Ball, Blessed Tomorrow Plant With Purpose is a Christian environmental organization. It’s a key part […]
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Sustainability
What is regenerative agriculture and why is it so exciting?
“Do you want to know the most exciting thing about regenerative agriculture? It’s the word “regenerative.” It means we actually have the ability to bring seemingly dead, practically infertile soil back to life!” –Sheryl Karas, Center for Regenerative Agriculture Systems at CSU Chico Excitement around regenerative agriculture, sometimes called regenerative farming, is booming. Perhaps it’s […]
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Meditations, Sustainability
Eco-Discipleship: How God calls us to learn from nature
We often overlook the way nature teaches us about God It’s not uncommon to hear people explain how a little time in nature helps people feel closer to God. But the idea of spending time in nature as a spiritual discipline can still be startling for many people. “I used to laugh at people who […]
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Meditations, Sustainability
Who gets left out of environmental storytelling?
Environmental storytelling has often failed to focus on the communities that are most impacted The people most vulnerable to climate change are those living in the poorest areas. This has been a consistent area of focus for Plant With Purpose. It is the reason why we work in the places where we work. The 800 […]
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Meditations, Sustainability
Loving your neighbor means protecting their ecosystem
The most important command about how we treat each other is clear: Love “This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two.” –Matthew 22:36-40 Christians widely recognize that Love is central to our purpose on Earth. […]
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All, Meditations, Sustainability
Faith, culture, and identity shape environmental efforts around the planet
What moves people to actually care for the environment at a local level? Duang Dee lives in Thailand, though he himself is Karen. The Karen are an ethinic group in Southeast Asia that do not have their own formal country. Instead, they live between Thailand and Myanmar. Historically, the areas of northern Myanmar have been […]
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All, Sustainability
Want to help provide clean water? Protect the watershed!
Dirty water is one of the biggest hazards to humans around the world Every year, about 3.5 million people around the world will die from unclean water. About two thirds of them will be children. This is the equivalent of a large commercial airplane crashing every single hour. For those of us who have easy […]
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All, Sustainability
Family values and environmental values aren’t exclusive. They actually overlap a lot.
So why does it often feel like family values are a different set of interests than environmental values? More likely than not, this is based only on outward appearances. The thought of family values might make one think of a warm home, and the thought of environmental values might make somebody imagine a dense forest. […]
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All, DR Congo, Meditations, Updates
Welcoming the Stranger: the Congolese community we could all learn from
Their past was riddled with conflict. Their future is about security and abundance. Nobody would consider Kakumba an easy place to live. Simply getting to it takes extensive climbing up steep hills and mountain sides, on trails that are often inaccessible due to rain… or worse. It wasn’t long ago that the conflicts that have […]
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All, Living Sustainably, Meditations, Resources, Sustainability, Updates
There's no such thing as a sustainable trend
Environmental concern is urgent. It is also timeless. Have you ever caught yourself thinking, wow, this sustainability trend sure is taking off, isn’t it? You’d have good reason for thinking that. Fidelity, the investment giant declared last year as the year “sustainability went mainstream” declaring that “professional and private investors alike are realizing that sustainability […]
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All, Sustainability, Updates
3 Big Reasons to Protect Small Forests
We hear a lot about the importance of preserving the Earth’s major rainforests. What about forested areas that aren’t as vast? The Amazon. The Australian brush. The Indonesian palm rainforests. The Congo Rainforest and Basin. A lot of these major rainforests are familiar names to people concerned about the fight to protect the planet. And […]
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All, Resources, Sustainability
Sustainability challenges and advantages of each Enneagram type
Perhaps you’re familiar with the Enneagram. If not, then the rest of this article might not make much sense, and it might be worth getting familiar with the personality profile system that has seen a resurgence in popularity over the past few years. With origins that go back to the church centuries ago, the Enneagram has […]
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