Must Ministry Cost Money? by Jere Mahaffey I recently started working in a government office that works with faith communities from every tradition in my city. I had the opportunity to sit with leaders from a Muslim faith community and was amazed as they told me about how they recently helped the local school district. After hearing about the great need for computers, the faith community began looking for resources and eventually found 1,100 computers that the Census Bureau planned to recycle. They rented trucks and delivered the computers to the schools. I was touched by how this Muslim faith community was actively looking to help needs within their city, but was amazed by how they found a way to help in such a big way while incurring so little financial cost. Ministry does not have to be expensive. Instead of limiting your church’s ministry to your budget, challenge your congregation to think outside the box. Here are some tips on creating ministry that doesn’t have to cost money: ● ● ● ●
Adopt a stretch of highway to keep clean. Get a group of people from your church to volunteer once a month to pick up trash and beautify your community. Partner with local shelters or soup kitchens to volunteer serving on a regular basis. Education is ministry. Instead of simply sending money to a great social justice organization, organize an educational event to build awareness for their cause. Be a facilitator. Look for needs in your community and think of potential resources that already exist…like Census Bureau computers!
EvangelicalsforSocialAction.org/ePistle