Week 1: Disrupting Generational Poverty

Written By Lyssa Kirwan
Printable Guide

LONG VERSION
For groups that enjoy guided conversation and reflective Scripture discussion

WATCH
Cold open: Fugi and Adrian

Questions to ask immediately after watching. The goal is to have everyone FEEL the experience of generational poverty, not to draw conclusions, critiques, or fix people:

  • What was the strongest emotion you felt while watching?

  • What was the moment that had the greatest impact on you?

  • Did this short film connect to anything you have experienced or personally witnessed?

  • Did you have any epiphany while watching, even a small one?

OPEN IN PRAYER

REFLECT

Read aloud:

Learn to do right; Seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; Plead the case of the widow. — Isaiah 1:17

Read about the context of this verse:

"Isaiah begins his prophecy with a warning of impending judgment on the People of God. Isaiah warns that empty worship is not enough and lays out a vision of what God longs for from His people. This verse is part of that longing."

Read it again (if appropriate, ask everyone to close their eyes):

"I am going to read this passage again. Listen prayerfully: listen and see what word or phrase jumps out for you." Learn to do right; Seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; Plead the case of the widow. — Isaiah 1:17

Question: What jumped out?

Question: What does this verse say about what God values?

DISCUSS

If applicable: this is also a follow-up on the SET FREE Sunday sermon #1, "Disrupting Generational Poverty." If that was the topic of last Sunday's sermon, invite people to add those thoughts to this discussion.

The title of this lesson is "Disrupting Generational Poverty."

Question: What does that phrase mean to you today?

Consider (from READ):

Injustice, oppression, and poverty—without intervention—quickly become generational. The pain, lack of opportunity, and limitations are passed from parents to children.

  • 1 in 7 children in the US currently live in poverty

  • 1/3 to 1/2 of children who were poor growing up will remain poor as adults

Randy Frazee says: "In the Bible, poverty, debts, and indentured servitude were passed from parents to children to children's children and so on. To break this generational cycle, the Law taught the Year of Jubilee to ensure that these generational chains were broken every 50 years: Debts forgiven. Slaves set free." (Reference: Leviticus 25)

Question: Something like 3,500 years ago, a system was initiated to make sure that any hurting family had a fresh start every 50 years. How did this system affect all of society? How does it amaze you? How does that concept make you feel?

Question: Where do you see the generational impact of poverty, debt, wealth acquisition, and opportunity in our world today?

Question: Do you have any thoughts about how the People of God might respond TODAY to the generational impacts of poverty, debt, etc.?

Consider (additional statistics — optional):

  • A mother's reading skill is the greatest determinant of her children's future academic success. — National Institutes of Health

  • 40% of 4th graders are below basic reading level

  • 80% of low-income 4th graders never reach reading proficiency

  • 75% of state prison inmates did not complete high school or can be classified as low literate

  • 130 million adults in the United States struggle to read basic sentences

Question: What do these statistics evoke in you? How are these related to generational poverty?

APPLY

In Jesus' first sermon in the Gospel of Luke, He said:

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. — Luke 4:18–19

Question: Where do you hear the Year of Jubilee in Jesus' words?

Question: No bad ideas — how could the People of God bring the Jubilee spirit to this place, this day, and this time? In what ways do you see the People of God actively bringing the Jubilee spirit to this place?

What can you commit to doing today to be a part of bringing this Jubilee spirit to your community?

Question: What do you know about ReadKC? (ReadKC descriptive paragraph)

Question: What do you think about ReadKC as a possible answer to the question "What do you think the People of God could do?"

CLOSE in prayer

SHORT VERSION
For groups that like to jump into conversation with fewer prompts

WATCH

Fugi and Adrian (7 minutes)

Questions to ask immediately after watching — the goal is to have everyone FEEL the experience of generational poverty, not to draw conclusions, critiques, or fix people:

  • What was the strongest emotion you felt while watching?

  • Did this short film connect to anything you have experienced or personally witnessed?

REFLECT

Read aloud:

Learn to do right; Seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; Plead the case of the widow.
— Isaiah 1:17

Question: What do you hear in this single verse from Isaiah? Let's talk about it.

DISCUSS

Option One (if your small group is meeting the week following a sermon on this same theme)

Question: What did you hear in the sermon on Sunday? What stuck with you? Let's help each other remember.

Question: Why do you think our church cares about this topic?

Option Two (if you are meeting apart from a sermon series)

Question: What does "Disrupting Generational Poverty" mean in our world today?

Consider:

  • 1 in 7 children in the US currently live in poverty

  • 1/3 to 1/2 of children who were poor growing up will remain poor as adults

Randy Frazee says: "In the Bible, poverty, debts, and indentured servitude were passed from parents to children to children's children and so on. To break this generational cycle, the Law taught the Year of Jubilee to ensure that these generational chains were broken every 50 years: Debts forgiven. Slaves set free." (Reference: Leviticus 25)

Question: Where do you see the generational impact of poverty, debt, wealth acquisition, and opportunity in our world today?

Question: Do you have any thoughts about how the People of God might respond today to the generational impacts of poverty, debt, etc.?

APPLY

A mother's reading skill is the greatest determinant of her children's future academic success. — National Institutes of Health

Question: What do you think about churches volunteering as Reading Mentors in local schools?

CLOSE in prayer

REFERENCES

READ: How God's People Can Bring Justice Through Literacy Authors: Tony Kriz & Jeff Martin · Publisher: Children's Literacy Project, 2023 · ISBN: 1612063160 Bite-sized chapters designed for daily devotion. A "clarion call to all people-of-compassion to love your neighbor through literacy." North American Book Award recipient. Available on Amazon or bulk through CLP.

Tony Kriz — tonykriz.com Co-author of READ. Speaker, writer, public intellectual with 20+ years experience. Self-described "provoker of goodness, truth & beauty." Executive Producer of the Sentenced film. Also hosts the Off The Highway web-show and a Substack newsletter. His work sits at the intersection of faith, theology, and social justice.

Sentenced Film — sentencedfilm.com Documentary produced by Stephen Curry & Erick Unanimous Media. Directed by Connor Martin & Mark Allen Johnson. Tony Kriz is Executive Producer. Follows families across the Bronx, LA, and rural NC. "A forceful yet tender tale of how literacy can free children from cycles of generational poverty." Goal: launch 1,000,000 volunteers. Now streaming on Peacock.

Children's Literacy Project — childrensliteracyproject.org Nonprofit that connects volunteer reading mentors with local literacy nonprofits nationwide. Produced the READ book, the Sentenced film, and short educational films. Offers church campaign kits, faith-based program support, training, and a national network map. Core stat: 1 in 4 children grow up without learning to read in the U.S.

Nation's Report Card — nationsreportcard.gov The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) — assessing student knowledge since 1969. Provides reading data for grades 4, 8, and 12 broken down by demographics, state, and district. The source for the literacy statistics used throughout the series materials.

Data:

Lyssa Kirwan https://5five.design
Next

Week 2: It’s for the Children