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Support a Church. Transform a Community.

You can help end extreme poverty by supporting local churches to transform their communities.

Please donate

Your gift of $800 could transform a whole community

Today, about 689 million people live in extreme poverty. Most of them are undernourished, unemployed and without access to basic services like water and education. This is not God’s plan.

The United Nations have made eradicating extreme poverty a pivotal goal of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

At Tearfund, we know there’s a solution to extreme poverty: local churches who transform their communities spiritually, socially and economically. We call this Church and Community Transformation (CCT).

Our vision

Tearfund works alongside local churches, equipping them to identify the needs in their communities and lead lasting change.

These churches bring together groups of people to study the Bible, support one another, and build their savings. These people become catalysts for spiritual growth, entrepreneurship, business development and economic growth in their communities.

By March 2025:

  • 57,128 churches were trained to address extreme poverty in their communities.
  • Approximately 14.3 million people benefitted from community projects and initiatives led by local churches

But poverty is still stopping people around the world from reaching their God-given potential.

That’s why Tearfund is on a mission to equip 250,000 churches to become centres for transformation in their communities by 2030.

By donating to Tearfund, you can play a part in reducing extreme poverty for 250,000 communities – that’s 62.5 million people (based on an estimated 86 participants and 164 people benefitting for each community)!

How you can help

It costs about $800 for a church to transform their community. Your donation could make this happen by providing Bible-based training that helps people identify the resources God has given to lift themselves out of extreme poverty. We can’t achieve this vision on our own. Will you join us?

  • Your donation of $800 could support a church of about 200 people* to reduce poverty in their community.
  • Your donation of $4,000 could support five churches to reduce poverty in their communities.

Will you give today to show God’s love to communities around the world?

* Based on a recent impact study across four countries where the average church attendance in the week prior to our survey was 193 adults and children. (See https://learn.tearfund.org/en/resources/impact-reports/cct-local-church-lasting-transformation)

Help lift a community out of extreme poverty through their local church.

Donate now

USA based donors could give through the Tearfund USA website at https://www.tearfundusa.org/cct_mission

The impact of CCT in communities

Recent research across eight countries shows that the approximately 14.3 million people benefitting from community projects led by local churches are better off on average than those living in communities not yet taking part, in 27 different ways.

They’re more likely to:

  • be in good health, feel like they belong to their community, and believe they will be better off in a year's time;
  • invest in assets (like animals, land, homes or businesses) which can build a foundation for income generation, financial stability and a life beyond poverty;
  • regularly practise their faith, help others in need, and take action to care for the environment.

In each community where Church and Community Transformation training has taken place:

  • 250 people experience transformation, with broken relationships restored and better economic, environmental, personal, social and spiritual wellbeing.
  • Overall:

  • 85% of churches started initiatives to reduce poverty in their communities
  • 78% of churches experienced an increase in church attendance, with an average of 145 people growing in their discipleship in each community
  • 72% of churches saw an increase in financial giving to the church
  • 51% of churches started savings and other social support groups that become catalysts for business development in the community
  • There are now over 19,000 new or improved roads, 19,000 new or improved places to get clean water, more than 18,000 new or improved schools, and 9,000 new or improved health clinics*

*based on the 57,128 churches trained to address extreme poverty in their communities.

How does the church help lift people out of poverty?

In Rwanda, Leonille’s life was completely transformed when she started a group for people living with disabilities. Watch her inspiring story below.

Illustration of a person wearing a headset, sitting at a desk with a laptop, and a speech bubble indicating communication

Need help with something?

If you have any questions that haven’t been answered here, please email [email protected] or contact our lovely Supporter Care Team on 020 3906 3906.

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