EVANGELISM AND SOCIAL INVOLVEMENT: THE POWER OF THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY

[Editors Note: This is the fifth installment of a 5-part series from collective member Tim Chester on the relationship of Evangelism and Social Involvement.  This has been adapted from his book Good News to the Poor, IVP, 2004.  Availabe in the UK here and in the US here.]

The power of the Christian community
At a poverty hearing organised by Church Action on Poverty Mrs Jones, a mother who has lived in poverty all her life, described the experience of poverty like this: ‘In part it is about having no money, but there is more to poverty than that. It is about being isolated, unsupported, uneducated and unwanted. Poor people want to be included and not just judged and ‘rescued’ at times of crisis.’ Poverty is about marginalization and this marginalization often leads to powerlessness and passivity.

Recognising that poverty is about marginalization and exclusion presents a clear opportunity for the church. The first responsibility of the church in terms of social involvement is to be the church. The church is to be a community of love and inclusion. We are to offer welcome and belonging to people, especially people who are marginalized by society. That’s what Jesus did:

Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 30 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and “sinners”?’ 31 Jesus answered them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’  (Luke 5:29-32)

Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering round to hear him. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them.’ (Luke 15:1-2)

It is striking that in the New Testament there is no talk of social projects, nor for that matter is there much on evangelistic methods. Instead the New Testament talks about the church being the church; about the church being a caring and inclusive community with a message to proclaim.

This means that the first responsibility of the church towards the poor is to offer them a place of welcome. That does not necessarily mean inviting them to a Sunday meeting. It means including them in the network of believing relationships. In this way we offer them dignity, belonging and inclusion. We empower them by valuing their contribution and their role within the community. They are no longer isolated, but people with connections and people with a contribution to make.

So you don’t need to start big projects with government funding. You need to welcome the poor, eat with them, drink tea with them, live among them, make them part of your community, become part of their community.