Almost a quarter century ago a group of scholars, relief and development practitioners, and missionaries gathered near L’Abri Fellowship in Villars, Switzerland, to discuss, debate, and reflect on the state of global hunger and poverty and the Christian response to the chronic and tragic situation. The result of their work was THE VILLARS STATEMENT ON RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT. Reading it again almost 25 years later, I realize both how accurate it was in terms of assessment of the problems and how correct it was in the solution it proposed. This statement is as relevant today as it was the day it was written.
In reflection, this is the “soil” from which the Disciple Nations Alliance (DNA) grew.
The statement is included in Freedom, Justice and Hope: Toward a Strategy for the Poor and the Oppressed, general editor Marvin Olasky, (Crossway).
If you are interested in issues of poverty, justice, and development, you will find the statement a helpful guide for evaluating and establishing policies and programs of poverty relief.
– Darrow Miller