THE VISION The accelerated transformation of Guatemala via an innovative Christcentered, multisector integral development model that, when it becomes successful, will be replicable in other countries worldwide. The Biblical Base Examples: • Deuteronomy 28 – Summary: If we fully obey the Lord our God and carefully follow his commandments we will be blessed and prosperous. That is the basis for development. If we do not obey, development will be greatly impaired and we will suffer calamities. There are implications for the individual and for the community. • There are numerous Proverbs about how we are to follow the Lord and his teachings in how we live, what we do, how we are and how we relate to others. If we follow the Lord and his teachings, we will receive wealth and blessings. Our lifestyle and character and our family life affects development. There is individual responsibility. • Numerous Psalms extol the blessings and better living that come from obedience to the Lord and living righteous lives. • Matthew 25: 3146 – When we serve others, we serve the Lord and we will be blessed. If we do not serve others we will be separated from the sheep and condemned. Serving others is a Christian obligation 24/7. God will help us as individuals accordingly. • Luke 16:13 – You cannot have two bosses and serve both God and money equally. It follows that we must not put economics above God. We must put God first. Development and better living must be Christcentered. • James 2 – Faith must be accompanied by deeds. • In general, the Bible gives guidance on how to achieve true development. The Process: • Transition from general, macro, longterm to specific, micro, shortterm. • Transition from creative ideas to effective concrete actions to constructive, practical results • A combination of toptobottomand bottomtotop. • Both nationaltolocal and localtonational. The essence is local. • The reaching of tipping point in select communities with a process of expanding success to other communities throughout the nation.
The model will lead to specific, concrete actions and results. Its implementation will be a combination of spontaneous contributions and wellstructured programs that effectively channel individual desires to contribute into specific activities that they can participate in and produce results. The Innovative Aspects – Why This Model is Different and Better: • Development will be Christcentered and not moneycentered (economics). See the Biblical examples above. • The focus will be integral. Development and true prosperity is integral; it is not primarily economic. Development means living better, more harmonious, more joyful, more prosperous lives. It is not having more money as a goal at the sacrifice of more important aspects of a better life. • Development will be an organized, multisector effort. Development should involve everyone in some capacity. It is not just political in essence. It is not just a government responsibility. • The participating churches will play a unified, collaborative, crucial, constructive, direct and indirect leadership role. Their most important task is to build the body of Christ and make the process Christcentered. They will teach Biblical values and principles and exhort that they be applied in the daily lives of its members. Directly, participating churches will help organize, coordinate and execute activities without losing sight of their primary function. Directly, they will support with prayer and crusade activities. Indirectly, their members will be taught and exhorted to actively serve in development projects of their interest and choice. Churches have national coverage. Scientific studies have shown that the church is the only institution in Guatemala that has the trust of the populace. It is best able to provide leadership. The traditional role of the churches inside four walls as a place to go to be with the Lord must be transformed. • The primary motor of development will be the responsible individual with an active, servant mentality. Development must escape from the mindset of the government creating a beggar mentality and then giving handouts for personal political gain. The government is simply an important player among many. Each individual is important in this scheme. • Development will be based on participatory longterm local planning. • Development will be achieved through countless, continual nanoprojects and improvements at the institution, family and individual levels. It is not essentially achieved through sporadic, enormouslycostly megaprojects. • The program will apply a new process: The process will lead to the strategic concentration of efforts and resources to transform community after community, reaching tipping point to make a permanent difference
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instead of spreading scarce resources superficially and ineffectively nationally or internationally. Special attention will be given to the psychology of development Development will be productivityfocused. Greater productivity of existing resources, especially human resources, will be sought instead of requiring costly new resources. Guatemala will serve as the pilot project for many advantageous reasons There will be a carefullydesigned structure through which ideas are converted into action and results. The structure design: o Incorporates many functional components so that integral development is achieved. o Permits the participation of each individual in a way that best adapts to the individual’s interests, talents and timeavailability. o Takes maximum advantage of existing organizations and institutions. It does not create a huge new bureaucracy. Community mapping will be undertaken to develop an inventory of institutions and resources potentially available. o Development efforts will therefore be highly decentralized and adapted to the specific situations of each community. The central function will be one of coordination instead of doing everything. o Development will be based on local models that can be replicated locally on a national and then an international level. Each community will be transformed until it surpasses tipping point instead of trying to transform the entire nation at the same time. o The guidance of an international advisory board will be incorporated. For planning and control purposes, the program will use synergy centers and balancedscorecard technology and methodology. The model will incorporate important aspects of existing programs that have demonstrated success.
Components: True to the integral nature of development, the project will have multiple components. These include: • Education • Religion, values and principles • Economics, business, finance, entrepreneurship
• Sports and entertainment • Health, nutrition, cleanliness • Family • Government, security, justice There will be special programs for • Leadership development at many different levels and scopes • Youth development (especially the rescue of youth at risk) • Communications strategies at the local, national and international levels Examples of Local Activities: • School repair activities • Mentoring of needy students • Apprenticeship training • Food programs • Employment placement services • Cleanup campaigns • Better lighting • Attention to security • Entrepreneurship programs • Organized sports activities with integrated lifedevelopment training • Leadership training • Medical attention programs • Rehabilitation programs • Security improvement • Job training • A variety of youth activities with integrated lifedevelopment training • Prayer circles • Etc., etc., etc.