We work through the local church in a number of ways. First, the vast majority of our on field partners are relief arms of local church denominations which are led by Christian leadership. Second, we empower pastors through our church-based community transformation program. This program works with pastors, providing them training and other resources, to help them understand the role the church has in addressing poverty and giving them the tools they need to help their church lift people out of poverty using programs such as agricultural training and savings groups.

Empowering the poor is all about training people to solve their own problems. Its about ensuring sustainability. Helping often implies just giving “stuff”.

In North America, poverty is seen primarily as an economic program, but in reality poverty is multifaceted - affecting all aspects of a person's life including the physical, social, mental and spiritual conditions. Therefore, we don't believe poverty can be solved by "giving" money to those who lack it. It creates a dependency rather than a sustainable way out of poverty. This is why all our programs focus on teaching the poor how to build and save wealth on their own to escape poverty using their own resources. This approach is much more effective in the long-run, helping thousands out of poverty and stay out.

Tear is an acronym which stands for "The Evangelical Alliance Relief" fund

Unlike other relief and development organizations, there is no overarching governing body or Tearfund head office. The Tearfund Family of agencies hold a common set of values and ways of working as they seek to rid the world of poverty and injustice.

 Tearfund Family are committed to:

1. A shared Christian identity grounded in the evangelical movement that places importance on biblical justice, the restorative role of the church in society and an active faith in Jesus Christ. Tearfunds’ manifest this through their approach to relief and development.
2. Partnership, working with each other and through local Christian partners (where possible), both in fundraising and advocacy and in relief and development contexts.
3. Pursuing excellence and accountability in all their undertakings.
4. Valuing each member’s diverse strengths while committing to acting with consideration for the interest of the combined Tearfund Family.

The Tearfund Family is comprised of: Tearfund (Canada), Tearfund (UK), Tearfund (New Zealand), TEAR Australia, Sel (France), Tearfund (Belgium), Tearfund (Ireland), TEAR Fund (Netherlands), Tearfund (Switzerland)