Make Poverty Personal (ēmersion: Emergent Village resources for communities of faith)

Poverty is one of the great challenges of the 21st century. But poverty is not new. And neither is God's deep concern for the poor--it is a theme deeply woven throughout the Bible. Yet sadly, churches and individual Christians have too often been blind to this emphasis, or they have been paralyzed into inaction by feelings of helplessness.

In this urgent, provocative book, Ash Barker offers both challenge and hope. Pulling out and reflecting on significant passages from both testaments, he reveals what the Bible says about both the nature of poverty and about how God calls his people to respond. These studies, ideal for either individual or small group use, are interlaced with personal reflections--first-hand accounts from fifteen years of ministry among the poor.

From the Back Cover

God is concerned about poverty. Are you?

In a world of plenty, poverty abounds. But poverty is not new. And neither is God's deep concern for the poor; it is a theme deeply woven throughout the pages of Scripture. Yet, sadly, churches and individual Christians have too often been blind to this biblical emphasis, or they have been paralyzed into inaction by feelings of helplessness. It's time for this to change.

In this urgent, provocative book, Ash Barker offers both challenge and hope. Working his way through both testaments, Barker reflects on significant passages related to God's concern for the poor. These studies are interlaced with personal reflections--firsthand accounts from fifteen years of ministry among the poor. Whether you read this book alone or with your small group, you'll be challenged to make poverty personal.

"Ash Barker and the UNOH revolution invite us to hear, smell, and touch Jesus in his most distressing disguises, in the slums, with the poor, in the most abandoned places of empire in which we find ourselves."--Shane Claiborne, The Simple Way, Philadelphia

"A harrowing, deeply personal manifesto on our responsibility to the poor. Humane, grace-filled, and literally reverberating with prophetic vigor, Make Poverty Personal deserves to be read by a wide and grateful audience."--Alan Hirsch, author of The Forgotten Ways

"An invitation to unlearn so much of conventional church faith and to learn afresh about God's good news for the world. There is a clarity that will let many readers come to grips, perhaps for the first time, with the revolutionary, subversive intention of the Bible."--Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary


Ash Barker has served the poor for nearly twenty years. He is the founding director of Urban Neighbours of Hope (UNOH), a missionary order founded in Melbourne, Australia, in 1993 to work among the poor. Since 2002, Ash and his family have been involved with planting UNOH's first overseas community in Klong Toey, the largest slum in Bangkok, Thailand.