Originally published: New York : Routledge, c2003.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 193-208) and index.

Introduction : an ethnography of faith-based development -- 1. Background : three perspectives on missions in Zimbabwe -- 2. Theologies of development : faith, holism, and lifestyle evangelism -- 3. Child sponsorship, evangelism, and belonging -- 4. The politics of transcendence -- 5. Participation as a religious act -- 6. Good, evil, and the legitimation of success -- App. Zimbabwe council of churches.

"Religious NGOs are important sources of humanitarian aid in Africa, entering where the welfare programs of weakened states fail to provide basic services. As collaborators and critics of African states, religious NGOs occupy an important structural and ideological position. They also, however, illustrate a key irony - how economic development, a symbol of science, progress, and this-worldly material improvement, borrows heavily from other-worldly faith." "Through a study of two transnational NGOs in Zimbabwe, this book offers a nuanced depiction of development as both liberatory and limiting. While rapt attention has been given to the supposed role of NGOs in democratizing Africa, few studies engage with the ground operations. Questioning the assumption that economic development is a move away from religious mysticism toward the scientific promise of progress, the author offers a remarkable account of development that is neither defeatist, nor comforting."--BOOK JACKET.