Wednesday, June 23, 2004

A Hand-Up Not A Hand-Out

In my surfing today, I came across an article about how one church transformed their food-pantry ministry into a life-changing impetus rather then just a bag of groceries. To me, this seems an ideal model for needs-fulfilling outreach. We can not deny Christ's call to help those in need, however it would be ultimately unwise to simply throw money at problems. By providing for needs as you help people address their root problems along with results-based accountability seems to be the best way to 'help people get back on their feet'.

The additional cost of having a social worker on staff is offset by gains money being better used. Now there are certainly cases when those in need are unable to help themselves and the church must be generous towards those people (remember what Christ said about the care of widows).

Link to Article: Food for Self Sufficiency - Using Food Pantries as a Restoration Ministry

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