Understanding poverty in the UK

THE LEAST, THE LAST & THE LOST:
Understanding poverty in the UK and the
responsibility of the local church
By Mez McConnell
Evangelical Press. 527 pages. £16.99
ISBN 978 1 783 973 286

There can be no doubt that this is a book that needed to be written and deserves to be read widely. It reminds me in some ways of Urban Harvest by Roy Joslin (also published by Evangelical Press and referenced by the author in this book); a before-its-time book on how to reach working-class communities with the gospel.

McConnell’s book is divided into four parts. Part one provides a carefully researched in-depth analysis of poverty in Britain. Part two explores what the Bible says about poverty. These two sections will be fairly familiar to most evangelical Christians, but the impact of having all the data gathered in one place is overwhelming and compelling.