Acting on Faith deftly examines the role of religious discourse in processes of economic development by exploring a case study based on twelve months of intensive qualitative research examining the role of small, Catholic non-government organizations (NGOs) in indigenous communities in northwest Argentina. The difficulty facing the communities and their associated NGOs is how to create conditions that ameliorate poverty, without undermining cultural values.

Every year, an estimated 1.6 million Americans participate in short-term mission trips, spending over one billion dollars--figures that have increased exponentially in the last two decades. About one third of U.S. congregations sponsor such trips each year. While they are referred to as "mission" trips, many trips focus not on conversion or evangelism, but on service projects--building a playground, providing medical care, or serving free meals to the poor. Short-term mission participants have a genuine desire to transform conditions of poverty, yet they don't always know how to go about it;...

Every year, an estimated 1.6 million Americans participate in short-term mission trips, spending over one billion dollars--figures that have increased exponentially in the last two decades. About one third of U.S. congregations sponsor such trips each year. While they are referred to as "mission" trips, many trips focus not on conversion or evangelism, but on service projects--building a playground, providing medical care, or serving free meals to the poor. Short-term mission participants have a genuine desire to transform conditions of poverty, yet they don't always know how to go about it;...