Core Principles

Seven core principles form the foundation of the TCT program. You can learn more about the core principles on our website frameworkfortransformation.org

depending-god

Depending on God

There is no program—including this one—that can bring the transformation we long for. It comes from God. The Bible is very clear about what produces success: delighting in God’s Word (Psalm 1:1-3), abiding in God (John 15:5), and obeying God (Joshua 1:7-8). We are reminded in Psalm 44:3 that, “It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them.” As program leaders, we must put our trust in the right place—not in the program but in God. We need to be listening to Him and coming before Him in prayer and fasting. Transformation can happen, but only with Him.

Churches Depending on God

Partner churches also need to grow in dependence on God. When we see communities facing difficulties, we want to jump in and solve their problems. But we need to be careful. Maybe God is teaching the community or leaders something through this problem. If we intervene too quickly, the community could miss out on God’s best for them. Oftentimes God’s solutions are beyond what we could imagine. (See story: Out of Debt)

The story of the prodigal son challenges us because of what the father did not do. He did not pursue his son. He did not use his resources to coax him home. Instead, he waited. Struggles and trials can be healthy. We need to imitate the father’s patience, remembering it takes time for communities to overcome the poverty that has crippled them for so many years.

nurturing

Nurturing Truth and Confronting Lies

Our beliefs significantly impact how we behave. Our program begins by identifying the key lies that hold communities in poverty and aims to combat those lies by bringing an understanding of God’s truth.

In the areas where we work, the lies that often hold people in poverty include:

We are born poor and will die poor. In almost all the communities where we work, the people are fatalistic. They believe they are born poor and will die poor, so they make no effort to try to change their future.
We are subject to the gods. People often believe that gods or spirits control everything–the quantity of the harvest, illness and health. Many families end up in debt from sacrificing animals to appease false gods.
We are too poor to give. Many who are poor believe they are not required to give, but should instead receive from others. They miss out on the blessing of giving.
We cannot do anything without outsiders to help us. Often, the poor are unable to see the many resources God has given them, including their own creativity, resourcefulness, time and energy. When mobilized, each of these gifts can help them make significant differences in their communities.
We are insignificant. This belief prevents the poor from even trying to solve problems. However, as they begin to understand their value before God, they start to believe that they can also have dreams for the future.

God has promised us that His truth will set us free (John 8:31-32). As people understand and begin to apply truth to every area of life, they start to move out of poverty.

To learn more about how ideas have consequences, visit the Coram Deo website (coramdeo.com).

Integrating Physical and Spiritual

One of the great lies to affect the church is that of the sacred-secular divide—the belief that some things (our spiritual and moral lives) have greater importance to God, while others (agriculture, health, work…) are of less importance. However, the Bible teaches that everything belongs to God. The way we do anything, including how we eat and drink should bring glory to God (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Understanding this Biblical truth changes everything from our goals to our methods of addressing poverty.

New Goals– The goal of this program is to call churches and communities to glorify God in everything and to build His Kingdom. As they do, we’ve seen Him strengthen churches and lift communities out of poverty.
A New Approach: Loving and Serving – This program reminds churches of the Bible’s command to love and serve others (Matthew 5:43-44, 22:35-40). As His people show love to their neighbors, God multiplies their sacrificial efforts.
New Teachings: Obedience and Stewardship – God’s word contains many promises that those who walk in obedience will flourish (Deuteronomy 30, John 14:23). One area of obedience is stewardship. Our land, houses, skills, talents, relationships…everything belongs to God and must be treated accordingly. In every village where the church has sought to be obedient and steward well, there are stories of blessings, answered prayers, and miracles.

Mobilizing Local Resources

We teach churches and individuals to use what God has given them to serve others through Acts of Love. Asking this of poor, rural villages can seem absurd. Yet the Bible has promised that in the same measure as we give, it will be given to us (Luke 6:38), not to make us rich, but so we can “be generous on every occasion” (2 Corinthians 9:11).

Acts of Love are key to transformation. As vulnerable people learn to recognize what God has already given them and begin to use it to benefit the community, they shift from seeing themselves as “beggars” and “needy” to “givers” and “stewards.” As they learn to look to God (rather than outsiders with resources) as their provider and give in obedience to Him, they experience things like healed relationships, favor with authorities, and provision for their needs. People draw closer to God as they experience His faithfulness.

We’ve seen that growing in stewardship is a major part of our discipleship. Because of this we mobilize other types of local resources as well. We encourage facilitators to consider volunteering, we challenge churches to provide their own meals at trainings, and we encourage the leadership team to think creatively about raising resources.

Pursuing God’s Ways

God’s ways are higher than our ways, and so we constantly seek God through prayer, scripture, and wise Christian advisors. We don’t ask you to launch your local TCT program with strategic planning sessions, but with prayer and fasting. We often find God redirecting our plans or asking us to do the unexpected when we take time to seek Him. It doesn’t always make sense to us. But pursuing God’s ways is the only way we can hope to see transformation.

Another element of pursuing God’s ways is seeking to build His kingdom rather than our own. That’s why we freely share this program and support those who are looking to apply it. Likewise, we ask you to share. Part of becoming a member is agreeing to share your experiences and translations freely.

Partnering with Churches

At its heart, TCT is a discipleship program. The emphasis is on obeying God and depending on Him. It is within the church that people are best able to work together, pray together and mobilise the gifts and talents that God has given them.

This principle has a couple of key implications:

We need to train church members, not just pastors. If you are training groups of pastors, be sure to follow-up to make sure they are actually training their churches. The whole church needs to be committed to depending on God and being more obedient in every aspect of life.
We need to keep things simple. The materials are very simple and we encourage you not to add too much and make them more complex. If needed, we have a set of small groups materials which are simpler. These materials can be found in the membership area.

Focusing on the Vulnerable

This program is designed to reach the most vulnerable churches—rural, impoverished, and with little education. From the very first lesson, the curriculum teaches that even the most vulnerable are created in the image of God, called to steward the earth, and commanded to love one another. We seek to help open their eyes to all that God has given them—things like land, relationships, knowledge, and strength. We seek to help them regain the dignity of being fully human—valuable and capable and able to contribute to the Kingdom of God. And we challenge them to love and serve those who may be even more vulnerable in their community, including widows, orphans, and people with disabilities.

Introduction

Results

Simple practical training
to help churches
experience God’s
transforming power in
every area of life