Going Beyond the Four Walls of the Church: The Impact of Community Ministry

One of the biggest mistakes local churches can make in poverty alleviation ministry is to introduce divisions in our work that Scripture doesn’t invite us to make. When we separate evangelism—telling God’s story of change—and service to others or “technical” ministry programming around life skills, we communicate the false story that God has created a disjointed world.

For example, in Chalmers’ Helping Without Hurting in Benevolence Ministry training, we talk about how the work of benevolence isn’t something that should simply be “tacked on” to the church or to parachurch ministries in the community. Rather we should see it as a tangible demonstration of the gospel message that we are declaring as believers. The character of God is full of mercy, supremely demonstrated in Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 8:9). As believers being conformed by God’s Spirit into the likeness of Christ, we should reflect God’s mercy both in what we say and what we do.

Churches (and the parachurch ministries they support) often struggle to do this, though. This may be a practical struggle—feeling compelled to provide relief for urgent needs and not knowing how to begin walking alongside those in material poverty and seeking to do good, long-term developmental work together with them. It can also be an intellectual (maybe even a theological) struggle, in that we see benevolence ministry as separate from the “true” ministry of gospel proclamation and discipleship.

But pitting outreach work or evangelism against benevolence or mercy ministry is not doing our churches and parachurch ministries any favors. What if seeing these as two sides of the same coin could lead to greater flourishing and even more tangible ministry outcomes in both areas of ministry? Let’s look at a few new ways to think about this:

Do We Limit Benevolence to Our Congregations?

The work of the Lord through the church certainly includes care for the material and spiritual needs of members (Rom. 12:13, Gal. 6:10). This is part of our witness to a watching world. Often however, churches only look as far as the horizon of their current membership for this part of their ministry. This can tend to contract the work of benevolence from a whole-church activity to a responsibility of a handful of staff, officers, or volunteers and shift the mindset of members called to participate in ministry to that of “customers” for the services of the church.

Getting whole churches (from regular attenders all the way to pastoral staff) engaged in this work is vital to the long-term health of our benevolence ministries, but also to the long-term health of our churches themselves.

At a practical level, if the church leadership highlights and teaches on mercy, it’s easier for everyone to see the demonstration of the gospel as part of what it means to be part of the church. This will make it more realistic to recruit, equip, and support long-term volunteers in ways that help avoid burnout. At a spiritual level, having more and more of the church body connected to struggling families and neighborhoods motivates compassion, prayer, and dependence on Christ.

Do We Think Missiologically About Our Communities?

Many Christians understand that church planters or missionaries often spend years learning the language, culture, and values of a country or community and slowly contextualizing a gospel presentation that people there can understand before they see measurable fruit. Far fewer Christians are willing to walk through their own neighborhoods with the same patience and focus. We often try the same strategies over and over again without taking time to listen and learn from those we hope to introduce to Jesus.

A healthy benevolence ministry that is informed by and connected to evangelism and outreach can go a long way toward helping church members see a bigger picture of the experiences and circumstances of people in the communities where they live and worship. For many middle- to upper-income church members, this entails looking deeper at the ways their communities function for those with fewer resources.

Engagement with a holistic approach to benevolence can be a key step toward bridging differences and getting into real conversations and real relationships that God can use in mutually transformative ways. Knowing who we serve can guide how we bend our ministry activity and spending toward those left out of other community conversations, make them feel welcome in our churches, and help our churches better advocate for the needs of our neighbors.

Do We Think of our Churches as an Island?

Another way that we can unintentionally introduce divisions into our ministry as local churches is to think of every idea in isolation. You’re likely already realizing how your ministry cannot serve all the individuals and families coming to you for help with all the needs they may have. Once you do get more engaged in relationship with those around your community, the burden of needs and problems can quickly feel overwhelming. You need partners in ministry to carry the load.

First and foremost, this includes prayer. The Lord has placed your church and church members where He has for a reason. Are you lifting your benevolence ministry up to Him as surely as other more “spiritual” aspects of the church’s work? Secondly, odds are strong that your church is not the first church in your town or neighborhood to try a given program. There may be community nonprofits or even government offices that offer similar services to what your benevolence ministry wants to undertake. Get to know what else God is up to through others in the community before launching out on your own. The work of benevolence through your local church is much more effective when you work together with other churches and community organizations to find ministry gaps and fill them in ways you are uniquely gifted to do.

What Should We Do Next?

Ministry is always complex, and every community has its own blessings and challenges. Wherever you are, though, Chalmers has tools to help. If this post has encouraged you to think about where to begin, we’d love to invite you to join our upcoming cohort of Helping Without Hurting in Benevolence Ministry, a 6-week training in best practices for a holistic approach to benevolence ministry that will equip you to move from transactional meeting of immediate needs toward long-term relationships.