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Good News Goods brings Fair Trade* products to churches all across Texas and seeks to fight poverty through ethical spending.  Purchase of these goods relieves suffering, and benefits the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger.    Our premier partner and product supplier is Trade as One*.   Through events at churches, Trading Posts where Fair Trade goods will be sold regularly in churches, and www.goodnewsgoods.com, we hope to provide simple, sustainable, and effective ways for church members to bring “good news to the poor.” (Luke 4:18)

So why is this initiative important?

Seldom do we know how the goods we purchase impact other people around the globe.   Some of the clothes we wear and things we own are made by slaves, some of the chocolate and fruit we eat is harvested by indentured laborers, and some of the carpets we walk on are made by women and children, who realize almost no return for their work.   As Christians, we are called to use our money to provide hope, dignity, and freedom to such people, not further enslave and exploit them with our everyday purchases.  Good News Goods connects us to the people who make our products: purchasing bags and jewelry gives freedom, restoration, and purpose to sex-trafficked women in Thailand and Cambodia; Divine chocolate from Ghana alleviates the forced slavery of women and children working on cocoa bean farms; and coffee provides peace and prosperity to farmers in Uganda who have struggled with constant conflict and extreme poverty. The goal of Good News Goods is to transition beyond simple charity to justice that not only breaks the cycle of poverty but plays a vital role in job creation, sustainable development, and the restoration of dignity and security to women, men, and children in the developing world.

How does this initiative apply to Texas churches?

Good News Goods gives Texas churches the opportunity to host Market events and establish on-going Trading Posts where fair trade products are made available to your church and community members.   By simply redirecting spending to help the people Jesus called “the least of these,” (Matt. 25:40), we support His mission to “bring good news to the poor,” (Luke 4:18) which is so central to God’s Kingdom.

I leave you with this question and hope to spark a conversation about our ethical actions, our personal responsibilities to “the least of these,” and our call to bring about the biblical justice that Jesus envisioned in His Father’s Kingdom:

What if every time we did something for ourselves, we did something for someone else?

For more information, contact Charlotte Bumbulis at charlotte.bumbulis@bgct.org or (512) 473-2288

*Fair Trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach to empowering developing country producers and promoting sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a fair price to the producer as well as social and environmental standards in areas related to the production of a wide variety of goods.

* Trade as One is a Fair Trade company founded in 2006 to equip American church members to use their spending power to help free captives, release the oppressed and bring good news to the less fortunate.  They partner with producers from all over the world such as Guatemala, Nicuaragua, Colombia, Morocco, Kenya, Ghana, Turkey, Pakistan, India, Cambodia, and Thailand, in order to bring their products to the West.

We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.

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