Communities are moving out of all forms of poverty

Physical

• Increased Incomes. Typically, incomes will increase by 5-10 times, and as much as 20-30 times. As farmers learn basic money management skills, they begin to see which of their crops aren’t making a profit and are able to better manage their money so they are less likely to get into high interest loans or pre-sell their fields at a significant loss. Communities also build roads to their crop areas. As a result, they can carry their crops more easily, allowing them to grow more crops. Farmers often start helping each other for free, so that money isn’t wasted hosting parties for those helping in the fields as was the tradition. As they understand that God expects them to work as if working for Him, they start working harder and caring for their land, becoming good stewards.
• Improved health. Another area of significant change is health. As families understand the importance of caring for their bodies, they quickly start adopting healthy practices such as sanitation, nutrition and hygiene. They also learn how to appropriately treat common illnesses like fever or diarrhea.
• Stable housing. In most areas, the church often builds stable homes for the poorest families. These simple homes are often made of mud, bamboo or wood materials that are easily accessible. Funds are raised for nails, roofing, etc. The church and sometimes other community members donate the labor for free.

Social

• Improved relationships with the community As the church starts to demonstrate God’s love towards their community, and especially the poor, they gain trust and respect. Non-believers often attend church to learn more about those who love others. 96 percent of churches reported an improvement in their relationship with the community.
• Improved family relationships Domestic violence is common. As husbands are challenged to love their wife, they start by serving them, helping them to fetch water or firewood. Wives learn to show respect and are no longer “hot tempered.” Consequently, marriages grow stronger and happier. As parents learn different techniques for parenting, they are able to raise their children in a more Christ-like manner.. read more –>
• Communities work together on projects Initially, community members tend to watch the church as it serves. They are confused by such strange activities. However, community members quickly realize the church is doing something beneficial for all of them and start to work alongside churches to accomplish projects.

Mental

Children attend school

Many communities do not have a school and in those that do, children will typically only attend the first few grades. Churches take an active role in promoting education and when there is no school in the community the church will often build one. Over the first three years of the project, children attending middle school jumped from 16 percent of to 78 percent; high school attendance grew from 5 percent to 30 percent.

Increased literacy

Illiteracy levels dropped from an average of 67 percent to 32 percent as churches ran literacy programs in their communities.