Christian Relief, Development, and Advocacy 6(1), Summer 2024  
 

 
Hoksbergen, Bronkema, and Kurlberg, Editors’ Introduction i 

 

 

Editors’ Introduction  
 

Roland Hoksbergen, David Bronkema, and Nina Kurlberg 

CRDA Co-Editors 
 

To open this issue, we remind ourselves of the basic 

mission of the CRDA journal, which is to contribute to 

the learning on 

how to improve the way faithful Christians, 

whether practitioners, academic researchers, or 

both, engage the world and work to create 

thriving communities, both local and global (see 

“About the Journal”) 

As editors, our understanding of what thriving 

communities look like is broad, or holistic, and 

includes every area of life and an understanding that 

Christ reigns. 

But working towards this holistic approach is easier 

said than done. As we have learned over the years, 

getting this basic mission right is exceedingly hard. On 

one side lurks the danger of over-spiritualizing 

everything, and ultimately acting as if conversion, true 

faith, prayer, and hope in the afterlife are the only things 

that really matter. On the other side, partly because 

integration is so hard, we fall into practices of focusing 

only on important, yet incomplete, material human 

needs, like agricultural yields, economic well-being, 

physical health, and the techniques and practices that 

achieve them.  

Even though it is complex and hard to achieve, a 

holistic approach to our mission is and will continue to 

be central to every activity associated with nurturing 

thriving communities. It is thus essential that we foster 

constructive conversations that address the questions of 

basic human needs directly, even as we continually 

encourage contributors intentionally to address the 

faith-based elements of their work and research around 

it. Just as the Israelites were instructed to continually 

talk about the Law as given to Moses on the mountain, 

we too must talk about these things all the time so that 

they become a part of who we are (Deuteronomy 6:4-

9). 

In the current issue, there is some of both of these 

elements of integration. First, basic questions of the role 

of spirituality and spiritual impact measurement 

methods are discussed directly in the contributions by 

fellow CRDA editor, David Bronkema, a conversation 

that continues in the curated transcript of the webinar 

CRDA hosted on the topic. Participant comments refer 

back especially to the contribution Jayakumar Christian 

made at the Accord meetings in October of 2022 when 

he expressed concern that measuring spiritual factors 

threatened a “slicing off” of spiritual issues from all the 

others relevant to thriving communities.  

The journal then turns to two topics of practical 

interest for Christian relief and development 

practitioners. First, Scott Sabin and his team at Plant 

With Purpose present an impact study of a joint 

PWP/Hope International program in Burundi that 

combines agriculture and creation care with a savings 

group program created and managed by Hope 

International. Agricultural production, increased 

savings, improved soil health, and community spiritual 

support all form part of the indicator package PWP 

finds compelling and worth measuring.  

The next article focuses on recovery from substance 

abuse. Researchers from the Meros Center analyze a 

faith-based program that combines recovery techniques 

with financial literacy training. More research is 

necessary, but this pilot study marks the path. While the 

location of this study is in the United States, which is 

quite unusual for the articles of our journal, peer 

reviewers judged this to be of interest for our 

international audience because of its generalizable 

implications. 

The issue concludes with a book review of Andrea 

Nelson Trice’s Strong Together, which encourages us 

to build culturally sensitive partnerships across the 

world’s different cultures. Roxanne Addink de Graaf of 

Partners Worldwide gives the book high marks in 

bringing forward “insights … (that) can help build 

restorative relationships that bridge divides” (p. 36 in 

this issue). 

Looking ahead, the CRDA journal anticipates a 

number of special issues on topics of great interest to 

the CRDA community. A special issue on gender 

mainstreaming and another on peacebuilding, are 

nearing completion. Other special issues currently in 

initial stages will address agriculture, WASH, and the 

role churches play church in relief, development, and 

advocacy efforts.  

There is so much more that needs our attention. As 

you are led to address CRDA issues in your own arena, 

keep this journal in mind as a venue to share your 

research and reflections with like-minded people in this 

supportive community. Please reach out to us as editors 

as you begin thinking about and planning any such 

potential research; we would love to walk with you in 

the process of publication. 

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