Many people are taught at a young age that they shouldn’t give money to people who are homeless. “They will buy drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes with it.” “Don’t talk to them, especially late at night. They are dangerous.” “Giving money to them only encourage their laziness.”
While these statements might carry some truth, they certainly draw abhorrent caricatures of people living in poverty: lazy, dangerous, and incapable of making sound decisions. These stereotypes severely limit the Kingdom-making impact our churches can make in our local communities.
We end up defining the poor and the downtrodden according to their condition, not their potential. We view them as burdensome projects at best and at worst, irreparable debacles. Although humanitarian effort and generous donations are essential, God wants His people to go beyond what the world can mimic as we maximize the potential of local missions.
We Are Missing Out
Numerous churches (including my own) participate in local or national initiatives or create their own programs to aid impoverished communities. We bring bags full of toys, food, hygiene kits, and the Four Spiritual Laws. At the end of our trips, we celebrate how many people we reached and how great of an impact we made in the community. We leave feeling like we should be more grateful for the luxuries we enjoy. We quickly post all our photos on Instagram to recollect how blessed of a time we had.
We rarely leave with deeper lessons or see growth in our Christian walk. But do we even expect to learn anything from this experience and the poor? Can such people teach us anything of value? After all, aren’t we more educated, better resourced, and well-informed about the world and life than the people living on the streets?
But if the only lesson we’ve learned from our volunteering, short term mission trips, and partnership with impoverished communities is “we should be more thankful for the things we have,” then we missed out on God’s invaluable lessons and Kingdom impact. Our outreach has merely become humanitarian aid, not the building of a relationship that leads to Gospel transformation for both the church and the local community.
How can we change our attitude towards these activities? In my limited experience of working with communities defined by poverty, crime, and drugs, God has taught me three unforgettable lessons to make a lasting impact for his Kingdom.
1. Prepare to Learn
I once took a group of high school and college students to a city known for its gang violence and homelessness. Since this was my third time participating in the trip, I knew exactly what to do. I was perfectly programmed to passionately play with the local children, generously distribute care packages to the homeless, and diligently prepare for the next program.
However, one encounter with a homeless man thwarted my otherwise well-planned short-term mission. Instead of handing out a care package and reading Four Spiritual Laws booklet together, I ended up listening to his life story and the history of his city. He was no longer a homeless man in need of my aid, but a historian and guru of enduring poverty.
I was no longer a generous volunteer from an affluent neighborhood, but a student enrolled in a class full of unique lessons and deep knowledge. The man taught me the impact of gentrification and gang violence, the history of corruption and injustice, and the consequences of the drug epidemic and broken families. But he also shared his unwavering passion and love for the city and his community.
My care package was an unworthy tuition fee for an invaluable lesson. The man was no longer the caricature my community inculcated; he was a guardian and irreplaceable leader equipped with hope, passion, and wisdom. I learned a valuable lesson that day: I had very little to give and much to receive from these people.
This encounter changed my attitude on local missions. I no longer entered these under-resourced communities with irresistible care packages or perfectly formulated programs, but rather with a desire to learn from and partner with the locals. Unilateral donations became ministry partnerships. Instructional programs converted to intimate companionship. Brief interactions turned into mutual edification. Such momentous transition took only one simple step: Instead of thinking, “How can I successfully run the program?” I asked, “What can I learn from them?”
God changed the way I viewed the local population. They were no longer helpless victims of poverty and systematic oppression, but my co-heirs with authentic narratives and leaders in training for Kingdom purposes.
When you go out for community projects, seek valuable lessons. Ask questions about the local’s lives and listen. Walk away with personal lessons of the wise historians of the community, desire for further partnership and continuous relationship, and great expectancy to see the Kingdom redemption led by the local leaders.
2. Emphasize Relationship Over Resources
Many churches feel pressured to bring the most innovative programs and valuable resources to the local communities. I remember filling care packages with every single necessity imaginable and preparing countless sandwiches for street evangelism. Don’t get me wrong, the locals deeply appreciated the gifts. However, the bigger blessing occurred after we ran out of supplies.
Instead of immediately returning to the base, one of the students pulled out her guitar and sang praise songs with the locals. What began as a good humanitarian effort turned into spontaneous worship of our Father in heaven. As we prayed and introduced ourselves to the local homeless population and spent the greater part of the afternoon in laughter, prayer, and encouragement, there was no ethnic, racial, or socioeconomic divide; we were worshiping one God in one faith.
As we were leaving the park right before the sunset, the locals asked us to come back with our guitar and sing with them again. No one asked us to bring more food or care packages. Instead, they asked for deeper relationships to make them feel human. When we returned to the park the next day with smaller care packages because we ran out of supplies, no one complained. Although the resources did crack the barrier between the locals and us, it was genuine fellowship that broke it down.
“Will you be back tomorrow?” one local asked. “Yes, we will,” we replied. “Make sure you bring your guitar again!”
More praise circles and jam sessions ensued after this encounter. Our relationships were no longer defined as the donor and beneficiaries of care packages, but as the partakers of the praise to our Father.
We are often tempted to define our ministry effort by the abundance of resources and quality of products. However, if the emphasis and attention were given to the authenticity of interactions and depth of relationships, then our ministerial impact will go beyond the exchange of resources and into a Kingdom community.
3. Be Consistent: Faithfulness Produces Fruitfulness
Going to the same outreach on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis often seems mundane, repetitive, and tedious. The temptation is to make flashy moves, extravagant events, and one-time attractive projects to enhance the relevance and promote the vibrancy of the ministry. However, faithfulness is often monotonous and tedious. It takes time for a tree to bear good fruits and so does local missions; faithfulness is a prerequisite for fruitfulness.
In my previous church, the high school ministry went to a local residential facility for adults with developmental disabilities every Saturday. Our program was nothing special: singing same 5 songs, doing coloring books, and paying bingo every week.
In the beginning, both students and residents felt awkward with each other. It certainly wasn’t easy communicating with people with developmental disabilities. We often wondered if all our effort was making any significant difference in the residents’ lives. However, our years of faithfulness led to fruitful relationships as the residents and students built special connections with each other. Whenever we would cancel our weekly trip, the facility managers would tell us how disappointed the residents were.
Over the years, the volunteer numbers increased steadily, holidays celebrated together, and relationships strengthened. One of the most memorable residents who shared his last name with me was only capable of saying, “Yes” or “No”. Whenever we sang, “Do you love Jesus? Deep down in your heart?”, he would droll with a resounding “No”.
Despite the continued rejection, the team sang the song every week without fail until one day he shouted out a “Yes”. It took us years to get a “Yes” from him, but even in those repeated moments of rejection, the Spirit was slowly working in his heart. A few months before I moved to California, I was told the resident passed away. But when I see him in our heavenly home, I will sing to him one more time, “Do you love your Jesus deep down in your heart?” I am certain he will declare, “Yes, I love my Jesus deep down in my heart”.
Go with Power, Not Wealth
Whenever I look at the powerful miracles and momentous transformations in the Bible, I recognize that the resources at hand were often insignificant.
Jesus used five loaves of bread and two fish to feed 5000. He made some mud out of spit to heal the blind. John and Peter had no gold or silver when they raised the invalid.
When we look at our local outreach today, do we believe we have the same power? Do we believe in creating relationships, even with those who are different from us, the way that Jesus and his disciples did? Can we show unrelenting faithfulness in the face of repeated rejections? Can we remove the lasting caricature of the broken and marginalized and embrace them according to the love of Christ?
God encourages us to build a powerful ministry, not a resourced one. Jesus didn’t promise great strategies, resources, programs, or advertisement when He sent out His disciples into the world, but He promised all of Him. He didn’t come to drop off a care package — he came to make us part of his family.
You don’t need to wait until your ministry is equipped and resourced enough to make an eternal impact in your local communities! You already have the promise of the Son and the power of the Spirit. Go, and be a part of your neighborhood as a true neighbor — loving them as we love ourselves.