Today, October 19, 2010, an article (http://bit.ly/deOGHo) was published in Christian Today citing a report released on Monday from the Salvation Army (http://bit.ly/cgrnPQ), noting that 1 in 10 (2 million) Australians now live in poverty.  Other findings include:

• 70% of poor children now live in jobless families
• 57% of single parent families could not pay their utility bills in the last 12 months, with 12% going without meals.
• 80,000 people needed assistance last year for the first time
• The Indigenous Population (517,000) has much higher levels of poverty than the broader community

This week during Cape Town 2010, the delegates are being exposed to the issues of poverty in the world.  While this post is not to discredit the reality that the poverty found in much of the non-western world is much more severe than what we find in the West, the fact is that poverty anywhere affects the mission of the Church in evangelism and church planting. 

So, what will it look like to see the multiplication of disciples, leaders, and churches in the western world where poverty is on the rise?  How does the Church need to respond? Also, how to you think the issue of poverty affects people’s receptivity levels to the gospel?