Director’s Note – April 2024

Apr 17, 2024

“And all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation. In other words, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting people’s trespasses against them, and he has given us the message of reconciliation. Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making his plea through us. We plead with you on Christ’s behalf, ‘Be reconciled to God!'” (2 Corinthians 5:18-20 NET)

Our mission at Love INC is to mobilize local churches to transform lives and communities In the Name of Christ. Our goal, the reason why we have that mission, is poverty alleviation. Our work is rooted in helping people grow out of a cycle of poverty to a place where they see their self-worth and understand that they have gifts, talents, and the ability to succeed in life. We know all people have worth because our Creator, God the Father, has given each person a unique purpose for their life. We find minimal comfort in providing temporary relief for someone stuck in a cycle of poverty. Giving someone a handout only offers temporary relief and keeps them stuck in their cycle of need, which is why we help people through the lens of the Redemptive Compassion® philosophy.

The philosophy of Redemptive Compassion® is based on many principles from a book called When Helping Hurts. In the book, the authors express, “Poverty alleviation is the ministry of reconciliation: moving people closer to God by living in a right relationship with God, with self, with others and with the rest of creation. (When Helping Hurts p74)”

Our ministry walks alongside our neighbors in need and helps them understand their value and know they have salvation through Jesus Christ. The authors continue to say, “Rather, the goal is to restore people to a full expression of humanness, to being what God created us all to be, people who glorify God by living in, right relationship with God, with self, with others and with the rest of creation. One of the many manifestations of these relationships being reconciled is material poverty alleviation. (When Helping Hurts p74)”

To truly understand the ministry of reconciliation that Paul refers to in his letter to the Corinthians, we must understand what reconciliation means. Merriam-Webster defines the action of reconciling as “to restore to friendship or harmony. To settle, to resolve.” (Wednesday, April 17, 2024, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reconcile )

This means reconciliation is the act of putting things back together, to bring balance. For something to be reconciled, something must be out of balance. As Christians, we know that our relationship with God became broken. We also know that Jesus’ death and resurrection restored this broken relationship. We are all broken and need the grace of Jesus.  

Most people either don’t admit it or dislike speaking about how they may play a part in their broken relationships. It is difficult to recognize when we hurt people with our actions. This principle is also true for people stuck in generational poverty. One of the harsh realities of people stuck in this cycle of poverty is they do not have strong relationships with their family, friends, spouse, children, education systems, faith, jobs, or any other type of relationship.

This reality is why we partner with our local church partners to offer our Fresh Start Program. Through this program, one of our goals is to help people learn how to have better relationships. We firmly believe that to restore our relationships with others, we must have a relationship with Jesus. Jesus is a part of all of our classes. It is difficult for us to have strong relationships with others if we don’t think Jesus wants a relationship with us. Being a Christian, or becoming a Christian, is not a requirement to participate in Fresh Start, but Jesus is there. His Word is present in the curriculum. He is among the people who greet, serve meals, lead/co-lead classes, and mentor one-on-one. Reconciling relationships with Jesus is what we are about. We desire to model Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 5:20, “Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making his plea through us. We plead with you on Christ’s behalf, ‘Be reconciled to God!'” (2 Corinthians 5:20 NET)

Have you experienced this reconciliation with God in your life? Are you passionate about your church community? Does the Love INC ministry excite you? Then, please consider becoming involved and using the God-given skills, talents, and gifts that are unique to you.

We understand that the philosophy of Redemptive Compassion® may be new to you. We welcome you to learn more by attending our six-week group study I will lead during our Fresh Start Program starting May 6. We will watch a video in each session, followed by a group discussion. A small fee of $10 is required to cover the cost of the book.

I conclude by asking everyone who reads this to pray for this ministry. Specific things you can pray for are for people to come to know Jesus through our work, the staff/volunteers who walk closely with our clients, and the wisdom of the board, myself, and the staff who lead this ministry.

A Note From Our Director

Jan 15, 2024

Jim Holmlund Executive Director, Love INC Heartland

A Note From Our Executive Director

Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. Isaiah 1:16-17 NIV

Every day, I receive a daily Bible verse emailed to me from BibleGateway. This verse was sent to me the morning I was preparing to write to all of you, our supporters of Love In the Name of Christ Heartland.

These are the words Isaiah wrote as he received a vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. The vision is a call from our Lord for his people to change their ways. Since the fall of Adam and Eve, our nature as people has been to look inward and not upward.

Verse 16 spoke to me about our work at Love INC Heartland.

Every day, I talk to the oppressed, the fatherless, the widowed, the divorced, the homeless, the confused, the hurting, and, most part, the material poor of the world. We often talk about the abandonment the people we work with feel in their lives. They feel abandoned by family, friends, and God. The people I speak to live in our communities. They are people who live amongst us. In most cases, you might never know who they are, but they are people you come across daily as you move about your community. In 2023, Love INC Heartland has grown in our capacity to serve those very same people.

As I read these two verses, looking through the lens of how we serve our neighbors in need, I am encouraged.

Redemptive Compassion® is the philosophy we use as we serve people who are struggling. This philosophy touches on two types of compassion necessary when serving the material poor. The first is charity compassion; the other is development compassion. In simple terms, charity compassion is a handout, and developmental compassion is a hand-up. Please don’t get me wrong–there is a place and a need for charity. However, charity compassion often becomes more about what we do than helping those receiving the charity. Sometimes, charity compassion to the material poor becomes a crutch that is more self-serving than it is a help for those who receive the charity. Charity compassion never really changes the status quo for the fatherless, the widowed, the divorced, etc., for anyone stuck in a cycle of generational poverty.

We often struggle to balance charity and developmental compassion at Love INC Heartland. We do our best to focus on developmental compassion. We use charity compassion to open the door to developing a relationship with our neighbors in need. We focus on working with people who have a desire to grow. They want to use the charity they receive to get to a place where they no longer need to rely on handouts. Most of that development comes through our neighbors in need attending our Fresh Start Program. In 2023, we saw our Fresh Start Program take a step forward. Here are some stats from Fresh Start this past year.

In closing, Isaiah is not just addressing Judah and the rest of Israel. He is speaking to all of God’s people. We, God’s people, are Israel.

In our broken nature, we fall into the same traps people have succumbed to since the fall of man into sin. We focus on us. It is our nature. I call on you to reflect upon ways you can be a part of developmental compassion in someone’s life. I know developmental compassion is difficult. It can get messy and consume one of our most precious resources: time. It takes a relationship with that person. Charity compassion is appealing to us because, in most cases, it requires very little on our behalf. Ask God to help you see where you can meet them where they are and help them become who God has called them to be. Yes, this speaks to more than just the material needs of people. It is about the whole person. We will continue to be about the entire person at Love INC Heartland.

In the coming weeks, we will send out our Annual Report. Our Annual Meeting is scheduled for February 20, 2024, at Delano United Methodist Church at 6:30pm. Thank you to one of our Abundant Church Partners for hosting this meeting, please mark your calendars to attend.

Thank you for being so supportive, whether financially, in volunteering, or through prayer; it has blessed us in 2023. May God continue to bless you as you answer the call to serve God’s people in 2024.

In Christ,

Jim Holmlund
Executive Director
Love INC Heartland

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