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Helping Without Hurting in Short-Term Missions: Participant's Guide
When Helping Hurts is a paradigm-forming contemporary classic on the subject of poverty alleviation with over 300,000 copies in print. This stand-alone resource applies the principles of that book specifically to short-term missions. Helping Without Hurting in Short-Term Participant’s Guide aims to train and debrief team members, preparing them to do short-term missions as effectively as possible. To do this, it provides practical examples and guidelines for team members, and it creates interaction and reflection opportunities through questions and journaling. With eight units, six of which are built around free online video content, this book equips teams to avoid harming materially poor communities and to translate their experience into lasting and mutual engagement with missions and poverty alleviation. In conjunction with the separately available Leader’s Guide , it is an ideal resource for churches, Christian colleges, mission agencies, and missionaries.
128 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2013
42 people are currently reading
115 people want to read
About the author
Steve Corbett
15 books41 followersMr. Corbett is an Assistant Professor of Community Development in the Dep. of Economics at Covenant College. He also serves as a Community Development Specialist for the Chalmers Center as Director of Field Operations and Training.
Previously, Corbett worked for Food for the Hungry International (FHI) as the Regional Director for Central and South America for two years. Before assuming these responsibilities, he served as the Director of Staff Training for nine years. In this capacity, he participated in the orientation and training of 1500 staff working in 25 countries. Corbett has a B.A. from Covenant College and a M.Ed. in Adult Education from the University of Georgia.
Previously, Corbett worked for Food for the Hungry International (FHI) as the Regional Director for Central and South America for two years. Before assuming these responsibilities, he served as the Director of Staff Training for nine years. In this capacity, he participated in the orientation and training of 1500 staff working in 25 countries. Corbett has a B.A. from Covenant College and a M.Ed. in Adult Education from the University of Georgia.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 11, 2023
Absolutely needed when talking about and preparing for a short term mission trip especially when it is connected to poverty alleviation. Very helpful structure and challenging questions lead to important discussions with the whole mission trip team! 🔥
September 30, 2017
[Note: This book was provided free of charge by Moody Publishers. All thoughts and opinions are my own.]
This is a book with a great many praiseworthy qualities, especially in encouraging a sense of reflection among those engaged in short term mission projects. On the other hand, this is a book that reflects a certain biased view heavily tinged with liberal white guilt that paints too sharp of a dichotomy between the United States and the rest of the world when it comes to matters of culture, and much of it reads like the authors have swallowed the wrong sort of sociology books when it comes to coming up with a heavily schematic view of different aspects of poverty. As someone with personal experience in both short and long-term missions [1], I come here with my own experiences, and found this book to be of considerably mixed value. On the one hand, it is worthwhile to confront our own paternalistic attitudes and either to minimize the horrors of extreme poverty or to neglect to mention aspects of relational poverty that are often present in our own lives. On the other hand, though, this book misses the mark in its leftist political approach.
In terms of its contents, this is a short and practical workbook designed for people who are participants in short-term missions. After an introduction and an engagement agreement that is supposed to be signed by the participant, the authors divide the contents of the book into three parts. The first part is pre-trip planning, which makes up five chapters called "units" on the fact that poverty is deeper than it would first seem to be, that the poor include all of us who have experienced brokenness in some aspect of our lives, namely everyone, that the poor are not helpless, that the Kingdom of heaven is upside down, and that it takes a great deal of effort and skill to be a blessing to those whom we serve. The second part of the book consists of on- and post-field engagement, and takes up three chapters that deal with our experiences on the ground, unpacking the experience and what it means, and making our service count, often through engaging people to help themselves or serve their own communities. The last part of the book looks at discussions of fundraising as well as some rather biased and overly simplistic views of cultural norms that pit the United States more or less gainst the rest of the world in a harsh dichotomy that does not reflect a more complicated and nuanced reality.
This book is therefore one that requires a mixed approach. There is a lot that is useful in this book, especially to those who are sensitive to questions that probe the level of motivations and in putting ourselves in the place of others and seeking to understand them and their need for dignity. Where I think this book fails is largely due to the political worldview of its authors. The authors make a few jabs at our president that are contrary to the biblical command to respect and honor our own authorities in Romans 13, and demonstrate throughout a surprising tone-deafness to the commonality of human nature in their efforts to make people feel guilty for their wealth and for the blessings of God and the habits of mind that lead to success. When it comes to writing, it appears as if the authors wanted to influence the conduct of missionary efforts by smuggling in leftist ideology rather than to engage from a biblical perspective, and that political agenda is ultimately why this book cannot be recommended for readers.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2010...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
This is a book with a great many praiseworthy qualities, especially in encouraging a sense of reflection among those engaged in short term mission projects. On the other hand, this is a book that reflects a certain biased view heavily tinged with liberal white guilt that paints too sharp of a dichotomy between the United States and the rest of the world when it comes to matters of culture, and much of it reads like the authors have swallowed the wrong sort of sociology books when it comes to coming up with a heavily schematic view of different aspects of poverty. As someone with personal experience in both short and long-term missions [1], I come here with my own experiences, and found this book to be of considerably mixed value. On the one hand, it is worthwhile to confront our own paternalistic attitudes and either to minimize the horrors of extreme poverty or to neglect to mention aspects of relational poverty that are often present in our own lives. On the other hand, though, this book misses the mark in its leftist political approach.
In terms of its contents, this is a short and practical workbook designed for people who are participants in short-term missions. After an introduction and an engagement agreement that is supposed to be signed by the participant, the authors divide the contents of the book into three parts. The first part is pre-trip planning, which makes up five chapters called "units" on the fact that poverty is deeper than it would first seem to be, that the poor include all of us who have experienced brokenness in some aspect of our lives, namely everyone, that the poor are not helpless, that the Kingdom of heaven is upside down, and that it takes a great deal of effort and skill to be a blessing to those whom we serve. The second part of the book consists of on- and post-field engagement, and takes up three chapters that deal with our experiences on the ground, unpacking the experience and what it means, and making our service count, often through engaging people to help themselves or serve their own communities. The last part of the book looks at discussions of fundraising as well as some rather biased and overly simplistic views of cultural norms that pit the United States more or less gainst the rest of the world in a harsh dichotomy that does not reflect a more complicated and nuanced reality.
This book is therefore one that requires a mixed approach. There is a lot that is useful in this book, especially to those who are sensitive to questions that probe the level of motivations and in putting ourselves in the place of others and seeking to understand them and their need for dignity. Where I think this book fails is largely due to the political worldview of its authors. The authors make a few jabs at our president that are contrary to the biblical command to respect and honor our own authorities in Romans 13, and demonstrate throughout a surprising tone-deafness to the commonality of human nature in their efforts to make people feel guilty for their wealth and for the blessings of God and the habits of mind that lead to success. When it comes to writing, it appears as if the authors wanted to influence the conduct of missionary efforts by smuggling in leftist ideology rather than to engage from a biblical perspective, and that political agenda is ultimately why this book cannot be recommended for readers.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2010...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
March 30, 2022
I loved this book! My missions team went through it in preparation for a one-week missions trip to Puerto Rico, and this book really helped me get away from the savior complex that can be so easy to get away from in short-term missions! Highly recommend for anyone considering short-term missions!
November 19, 2024
Just remembered that I read this. 4 stars from what I remember. Helped me deconstruct some unhelpful beliefs and postures. Read this before an internship in Uganda with a non profit.
June 29, 2024
I've gone through this book two times now in preparation for mission trips and it has been so helpful! It's so easy to get caught up in trying to help people that it's easy to also unintentionally hurt them in the process. This book definitely helps by giving awareness to potential areas that this could happen in and how to best avoid them.
November 5, 2015
This book definitely makes one think more about short term missions and how to accomplish goals without making the recipients more dependent.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews