SOCCON 2008
About The Speaker | Speaker Sessions | Workshops | Literature | Pictures

About the Speaker

Pastor Gary VanderPol has been an associate- and co-pastor at Cambridge Community Fellowship Church since May 2005. He moved to Boston in 2001 to pursue a doctorate in Global Christianity and Missions at Boston University. His dissertation examines the last 50 years of evangelical concern for the poor. Gary has focused on creating small groups who support each other in economic discipleship by living more simply for the sake of generosity to the poor. His curriculum, co-written with Mako Nagasawa and Rachel Anderson, has been used in almost 20 churches, including CBCGB. In summer of 2008, he will move to Costa Rica to teach in a seminary and also engage in research on how North American money impacts Central American churches in urban slums.

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Speaker Session:

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Workshops

ACCESS: A Partnership by Meikee Wong
For 15 years, ACCESS has served Boston’s Chinatown through adult ESL programs and a children’s afterschool program. Meikee Wong, the executive director, has been working with ACCESS since its inception. Come listen to Meikee speak about how God has challenged her to serve locally and fi nd out how you can get involved as well!

Capitalism, Philanthropy, and the Nobel Peace Prize by Beata Shih
“What’s microfinance, and why did it get the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize? A little history, how it works, how it’s philosophically different from traditional humanitarian aid. What can & can’t microfinance do? The good, the bad, the ugly – with examples. How can we participate – as individuals? In a small group? As a church? Come to this workshop and find out!”

CBCGB: Where We Serve by Melissa Wang
Curious about the social concerns ministries CBCGB has been involved in? Want to hear the testimonies of people who have served before? Come and discover the different ministries that our church serves with regularly, and find out how you can join in!

Giving Globally by Elder Ming Tsai
Interested in supporting God’s work overseas but not sure where to give? Want to know where other people in the church are faithfully giving their money so you can support as well? Come to this workshop to learn about who we can share God’s provisions with.
AIDS Orphan Salvation
A Child Is Waiting [in chinese]

Going Green by Tzeng Yang Sheng
In Genesis, man was entrusted the task of managing the earth. But our fall from grace also marked the entrance of suffering into this world. Our consumer choices and habits impact God's creation and our everyday lives. This workshop presents simple changes to our lifestyle that won't sacrificing our quality of life. Our goal is to reduce our negative environmental effects and be better stewards of God's creation.

Lazarus at the Gate by Gary VanderPol
What if someone told you that if you ate out one less time per week, you could save several lives in the poorest parts of Africa? Did you know that Jesus had more to say about money than nearly everything else? He identifi ed his own ministry and person with those who are poor. In this workshop, we’ll explore these ideas, focusing on how we can impact global poverty through our finances and lifestyle. We will examine how we spend money in order to find practical ways to give more generously and eff ectively to the poor.

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Literature

Books in the CBCGB library

The Good News of the Kingdom Coming by Andrew Kirk
Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World by Bill Clinton
The Beloved Community by Charles Marsh
Grace at the Table: Ending Hunger in God's World by David Beckmann & Arthur Simon
The Working Poor by David Shipler
Good News About Injustice: A Witness of Courage in a Hurting World by Gary Haugen
Evangelism: Doing Justice and Preaching Grace by Harvie Conn
The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time by Jeffrey Sachs
With Justice for All by John Perkins
The Dangerous Act of Worship: Living God's Call to Justice by Mark Labberton
Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty by Muhammad Yunus
The Bottom Billion by Paul Collier
Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger by Ronald Sider
Ministries of Mercy: The Call of the Jericho Road by Timothy J. Keller
The White Man's Burden by William Easterly
Second Greatest Commandment by William Fletcher

Other suggested Readings

Walking With the Poor by Bryant Myers
Good News and Good Works by Ron Sider
Churches That Make A Difference by Sider, Olson, Unruh
God's Politics by Jim Wallis
Amy Carmichael: Let the Little Children Come by Lois Dick
The Church That Never Sleeps by Matthew Barnett
Compassion by Nouwen, McNeill, Morrison
More Than Equals: Racial Healing for the Sake of the Gospel by Perkins and Rice
Lord of the Abandoned by Ray Saunders
From Time to Time by Rick Johnson
Just Generosity by Ron Sider
A Theology As Big As the City by Ray Bakke
The Urban Christian: Effective Ministry in Today's Urban World by Ray Bakke
Theirs Is the Kingdom: Celebrating the Gospel in Urban America by Robert Lupton
Who Really Cares by Arthur C. Brooks
The Persistence of Poverty by Charles H. Karelis
The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid by CK Prahalad
How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas by David Bornstein
Darfur: The Ambiguous Genocide by Gerard Prunier
The Invisible Cure: Africa, the West, and the Fight Against AIDS by Helen Epstein
Strategy of Service by June Williams
For they shall be fed - Scripture readings and prayers for a just world by Ronald Sider

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Pictures

Coming Soon

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