Book excerpt: This is not a how-to manual… (it’s a field guide) We all want to know, "How can I help without hurting in this specific situation?" But there’s no one answer, and there’s definitely no short cuts, but there are key principles—or ministry design principles. Think of these like the rules an improvising actor learns—the principles are crucial—but the actor must decide how to put them into practice based on the complexities of the situation. This book contains and explicates 20 ministry design principles developed over decades of observing, studying, and experimenting. They’re in no way perfect, but they represent the very best ideas we have to date for how to do effective poverty alleviation in the kingdom of God.