History
For many years, Brent & Chris Ralston have planted churches in the Philippines and coached Filipino church planters. A common frustration was going into squatter communities and impoverished areas and desiring to help people in practical ways but not knowing how. They wanted to meet the needs of the poor without creating dependency. They wanted to minister to the spiritual and economic needs of the disadvantaged. Along with this, they had a heart for Filipino church planters to become entrepreneurs and bi-vocational by starting their own micro businesses so that they could be partially self-supporting and not dependent on outside funding.
Microfinance seemed to be the answer. By merging the felt needs of the people (unemployment, underemployment) along with their real needs (spiritual transformation), they saw the possibility of families being reinvigorated and renewed, and whole communities being transformed. Partnering with existing churches and newly formed outreaches, the church was able to be salt and light in their communities and provide lasting change, both economically and spiritually.