







































Christian Relief, Development, and Advocacy 3(2),  Winter 2022  

i 
Hoksbergen and Bronkema, Editors’ Introduction 

 

Editors’ Introduction: Gangs, M&E, Special 

Issues, and Editorial Changes 
Roland Hoksbergen and David Bronkema 

 

 

 
We open this sixth issue of CRDA with notes 

about the two articles in this issue, announcements on 

future issues, and information about changes to the 

editorial team and editorial board. We encourage you 

to look at what lies ahead and to consider participating. 

 

Two Articles 
The first article addresses the difficulty of 

implementing transformational development strategies 

in gang-entangled communities like the ones in El 

Salvador. Author David Bueno, who grew up in El 

Salvador and has engaged in development work there 

for thirty years, realistically conveys the trials of 

development work interventions when gangs seem to 

control the communities and have penetrated even 

churches and Christian schools. He lays out the 

challenges, and ultimately asks others to join him in 

discovering how to be a redemptive presence in gang-

controlled communities. What combination of work 

with individuals, community action, and advocacy for 

structural change should churches and Christian NGOs 

take on? Bueno closes the article by inviting “the broad 

development community” to join him in the 

conversation about how best to go about this work. 

What ideas do you have? If you feel moved to respond 

to Bueno’s article, we invite you to send us your 

thoughts and comments at CRDA@accordnetwork.org. 

We plan to publish a selection of this 

commentary/discussion in an upcoming issue. We are 

also planning for at least one virtual conversation with 

Bueno and those offering additional ideas after that 

issue comes out, opening up the conversation to a wide 

range of interested parties. 

The second article, written by Subodh Kumar, 

Chief Data Officer at World Vision International, 

makes the case that Christ-centered organizations 

(CCOs) should engage in monitoring and evaluation 

(M&E) work that intentionally aims at extending God’s 

kingdom here on earth. After explaining how important 

such M&E work is, Kumar argues for a seven-point 

theological foundation upon which kingdom-oriented 

M&E work should be based. Building on these 

foundations, he argues, CCOs can structure M&E 

efforts according to what he calls a “Kingdom Impact 

Measurement Framework.” Kumar is responding to the 

many advances in M&E strategies in the secular 

development community, many of which are excellent 

and helpful for Christian organizations, but he still 

wonders how Christian organizations are different in 

their mission, their work, and the way they evaluate 

their work. 

While some CCOs are already working hard to 

implement M&E strategies that are faithful to their 

Christian mission, for many others this is relatively new 

territory. In this first of two articles, Kumar lays the 

groundwork, but much of the work of building practical 

methods upon these foundations remains to be done. 

In the second article, to be published in the summer 

issue, Kumar, along with some colleagues, will draw 

from their experiences at a variety of CCOs to present 

practical examples of methods that measure kingdom 

impact. 

 

Special Issues 
The most fundamental issue for the CRDA 

community is how a holistic gospel inspires, motivates, 

and shapes our mission to love our neighbors as 

ourselves, love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and 

strength, integrate the spiritual with every other part of 

life, discern the character and role of evangelism, and 

learn how to make disciples of all nations in a 

multicultural world. The integration of faith and life has 

been addressed throughout Christian history, including 

in recent decades, in both practice and theory, and it is 

vital that we continue this tradition of continuous, 

prayerful, Spirit-led reflection and discernment, partly 

because we must keep up with the ever-changing world, 

but also because each new generation needs to keep 

learning from the best of what has come before, even as 

they generate new ideas and bring their Christian faith 

to life in their own times. 

 

A sample of relevant questions to be addressed 

include the following: 

 

• What guiding principles and strategies are the most 

useful in this integration?  

• What are the major struggles organizations face in 

their attempts to be faithful to their Christian faith 



Christian Relief, Development, and Advocacy 3(2),  Winter 2022  

ii 
Hoksbergen and Bronkema, Editors’ Introduction 

in their work, and what are the reasons for these 

struggles?  

• What is unique about the Christian response to 

present-day challenges in social change and 

transformation?  

• How does Christian faith lead us to face such 

challenges differently than would secular 

organizations, or those of other faiths?  

 

In our first special issue, likely to be published in 

the winter of 2023, the journal will tackle this topic 

straight-on. If you have done some serious thinking 

about how Christian faith impacts our approach to life 

and mission, please consider submitting an essay for 

this special issue.  

Beyond this foundational special issue, we are also 

aware of how perspectives on faith and development 

are activated in the real-life issues that face us every day. 

As we consider the relevant issues, we are amazed at 

how much the development landscape is changing. For 

example, COVID-19 burst onto the scene in 2020, the 

impacts of climate change grow every year, and now the 

Russian invasion and war in Ukraine seem destined to 

change global relationships everywhere and at all levels. 

In an effort to develop a list of key contemporary issues, 

our January CRDA board meeting held a brainstorming 

session on the many issues we need to address more 

intentionally and more faithfully. We came up with the 

following topics around which we are planning a 

number of special issues in coming years. Each issue 

CRDA takes on will wrestle with the overall question of 

faith integration as it comes alive in practical, real-world 

ways:  

 

Refugees, advocacy, and resettlement. These are big 

issues the world over, both in countries that have 

received much press, such as now in Ukraine, but 

also in less-publicized situations like Lebanon and 

Uganda.  

Decolonization and racism. These are 

uncomfortable topics, but often seem to be 

lurking behind many of the interactions between 

North and South. Can we discuss these openly? 

Honestly? Inclusively? Redemptively? 

The impact of COVID-19. How it impacts the poor 

and the possibilities for development, especially 

among specific groups including those of different 

faith traditions. 

Youth, gender, and development. Many in the 

CRDA community work specifically with youth in 

development, while others emphasize programs 

that work with women/girls. What is, or should 

be, unique about our Christian efforts in these 

fields?  

Efforts around the world (e.g., India) to restrict 

religious institutions. This includes, but is not 

limited to, Christian institutions. Such 

suppression is often witnessed in how 

governments restrict funding from abroad for 

religious institutions. How are Christian NGOs 

responding? 

The rise of Christianity around the world. While not 

a new topic for mission organizations, how 

Christianity has been taken on, owned, and then 

modified by Christians from many cultures is a 

topic of interest for CRDA organizations. This is 

what happened with African American 

Christianity, but is happening now with 

Christianity in Africa and elsewhere. What does 

relief, development, and advocacy look like 

through the lenses of these still-forming Christian 

traditions, and how does this relate to issues of 

decolonization and race? 

Troublesome trends in wealth, inequality, migration, 

and authoritarianism. NGOs have long battled 

poverty, but that fight has often taken place at a 

micro level. Do we need to take a more macro 

look, and focus on the broader context within 

which communities exist, especially in the context 

of trends toward authoritarianism and the decline 

of democracy and civil society, in which 

evangelical NGOs might be in some 

unintentional ways aiding and abetting these 

trends? 

Changes in mental health. These can be related to 

the loss of meaning, hope, and purpose, the 

interior life, and the life of faith. This is a problem 

in some countries of the Global North. How 

about in the Global South? How should the 

Christian community respond? 

Environmental health.  Disease, climate change, 

melting glaciers, and climate adaptation in urban 

areas all are issues that need to be addressed in 

one way or another. Some argue that there is no 

more fundamental issue. Are we dealing with it 

adequately? 

Urbanization, shelter, and homelessness. As cities all 

over the world expand, are they becoming more 

livable? Are we finding solutions for the people 

who seem simply to be cast aside by the workings 

of our urban centers? 

Transition of many churches and small NGOs out of 

orphan care. Orphanages are closing around the 

world and many of these organizations are shifting 

toward integral community development. How 

are Christian NGOs handling this transition? 

Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS). Do Christian 

NGOs affirm and accept the nine commitments 

of the CHS? Do they live up to them? Are there 

commitments beyond these that motivate 

Christian NGOs? 

Cryptocurrencies. What new possibilities for the 

CRDA community are cryptocurrencies 



Christian Relief, Development, and Advocacy 3(2),  Winter 2022  

iii 
Hoksbergen and Bronkema, Editors’ Introduction 

introducing? What ethical and other challenges 

might exist? 

Wildlife and farm animal welfare. What are our 

ethical and practical commitments toward the 

animals God created for us to live among and, in 

some cases, to shepherd and care for? As global 

food needs push the world toward factory 

farming, how is the Christian community 

responding? Can the Global South teach the rest 

of the world how to live harmoniously with the 

animal kingdom?  

Technology development. How are today’s 

ubiquitous technological innovations, such as 

television, antibiotics, the interstate highway 

system, automobility, commercial aviation, the 

pill, A.I., the Internet, rampant digitalization, the 

Human Genome Project and genetic 

screening, in vitro fertilization, organ 

transplantation, personal computers, 

smartphones, and instant messaging, changing 

our lives? What role do and should they play in 

the integral development or people everywhere? 

How do we channel these great forces for good 

and avoid misuse? 

Inter-religious cooperation. The world is divided into 

several great religions. How can/should we work 

in such a multi-religious context? Can/should we 

collaborate? How do we address the thorny issue 

of Christian/Church exclusivity?  

Role of the Church in responding to the shifting 

burden of disease. In recent decades, the global 

burden of disease has shifted towards non-

communicable diseases (NCDs), resulting in 

more than two-thirds (71%) of deaths caused by 

NCDs, which kill 41 million people each year. Of 

this number of deaths, 15 million people are aged 

between 30 and 69 years. Many of these 

conditions are preventable through early 

interventions and prevention activities (see the 

World Health Organization website). How can 

the Church respond to this shifting burden of 

disease?  

School education post-COVID-19. We saw 

encouraging statistics on primary education in 

2020 when 90% of the world population 

completed primary education. But this 

percentage was only 66% when it came to 

attending secondary education, and it continues 

to decrease for the higher levels of education (see 

Statista website). How has COVID-19 affected 

this situation, and what should be the strategies to 

address this apparently new normal?   

 

This is, of course, only a partial list. Many more 

could be mentioned. Do you have something to say 

about any of these or other important topics? Are you 

engaging in research on any of them? If so, please 

contact us at CRDA@accordnetwork.org so that we 

can start thinking together about how to construct 

some special issues on these and other topics in years 

ahead. 

 

Changes to the Editorial Team 
Six years ago, when CRDA was little more than an 

imagined possibility, David Bronkema was among the 

group of half a dozen collaborators who led the journal 

through the birthing process. He now joins Roland 

Hoksbergen as co-editor. David is an anthropologist, 

bringing the skills, knowledge, and wisdom of that 

disciplinary perspective to join the economics 

background that Roland brings to the table. David 

currently serves as an associate professor in Eastern 

University’s Organizational Leadership Program, 

where he spends much of his time mentoring Ph.D. 

students as they research and write their dissertations. 

In years past he has worked with a number of Christian 

development NGOs and has spent many years working 

in countries throughout Latin America. Over the last 

decade he has become well-known in CRDA circles as 

a leader in the area of spiritual metrics. To contact 

either David or Roland, write to 

CRDA@accordnetwork.org. 

At our January board meeting, we also welcomed 

the following scholars and practitioners to the CRDA 

editorial board: 

 

Sharon Gramby-Sobukwe, Associate Professor, 

Political Science; Chair, Department of Social 

Transformation; Director, Campolo Institute for 

Applied Research in Social Justice, Eastern 

University, St. Davids, PA. 

SP Kalaunee, Country Representative in Nepal, 

BlinkNow Foundation. 

Subodh Kumar, Chief Data Officer, World Vision 

International. 

Nina Kurlberg, Theology Development Officer 

(Diversity and Inclusion), Tearfund UK. 

Mike Mtika, Professor of Community, Economic, and 

Political Sociology, Eastern University, St. David’s, 

PA. 

Rebecca Redfield, Senior Listening, Monitoring, and 

Evaluation Manager, HOPE International, 

Lancaster, PA. 

Kurt Verbeek, Professor of Sociology, Calvin College; 

Founder and President, Asociación para una 

Sociedad más Justa (ASJ). 

 

As CRDA co-editors, we are thankful for the 

opportunity to serve the Accord Network, the CRDA 

community, and our sisters and brothers around the 

world. 

 

 

Roland Hoksbergen and David Bronkema 

https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/topics/topic-details/GHO/ncd-mortality#:~:text=Noncommunicable%20diseases%20(NCDs)%20kill%2041,%2D%20and%20middle%2Dincome%20countries
https://www.statista.com/topics/7785/education-worldwide/#:~:text=Around%2090%20percent%20of%20the,had%20attained%20a%20secondary%20education.
about:blank
about:blank

