Church helping community

As a church (the church I go to) we feel a desire to help the community.
Part of doing this, is in seeking the needs of the community.One thing we can do is help people in need, just like missionary work, but locally. Some people in this forum would call that exploitation. I don't agree with that, but I want to be sensitive to that thought.Two questions:

• How can we identify the needs of the community?
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• How can we fulfill those needs without exploiting, or seeming like we are exploiting them?
  (obivously our intentions are not to exploit, but to share the love of Christ with all)

I am interested to hear from all on this.Edited by AdminPD, : Typo

Thread moved here from the Proposed New Topics forum.

I appreciate your desire to avoid exploitation, particularly in light of the fact that you don't believe it to be exploitative.All humans have three basic needs, food clothing and shelter. Not sure where in NY you live, but I'd be amazed if there weren't many, many people who lack one or all three of those things. Start a soup kitchen or food shelf. Have a clothing drive. If your church has the resources, help a needy family get a home. We're coming up on the Christmas season, a toy drive would be nice, too. And put aside your complaints about the commercialization of this holy time. A kid without a toy to play with doesn't give a damn about commercialization.Avoiding appearing exploitative is easy. While folks are eating the food you provide or rummaging through the clothing you have gathered, don't preach. Don't pass on the word of god. The people who are there will know it's a church. If they want to hear the word, they can ask. I don't think anyone here would call a soup kitchen or a clothing drive exploitation if it's not accompanied by a sermon or an exhortation to join the flock.

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Those who would sacrifice an essential liberty for a temporary security will lose both, and deserve neither. -- Benjamin Franklin

Think super-hero.Guard your secret identity. Never let anybody know who is behind the good deeds.Don't make people choose between their hunger and your religion.
Leave them asking, "Who was that masked man?"

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You simply do it. You do not tell them why you are doing it other than that it looked like it needed doing. You leave the t-shirts and signs, the prayers and worship behind and just do the job. You do not mention GOD or Jesus or Spirit or church. You just do it. You do not invite folk to come worship with you, or to give thanks. You just do it. You encourage the members to keep their eyes open all day everyday. You do not worry about big things, you simply make each day a little more enjoyable for someone.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

ask other organizations who perform the same functions you want to do. Ask the local government( city hall, county seat) for help. Be upfront, and honest with each and every one. If you want a prayer before the commencement of eating( if you are going to run a soup kitchen), tell them. If every time you let someone have food, clothing, items and want to hand out bibles, tell them first.If you house homeless, inform each and every one before they stay what is expected, morning prays, evening prays, looking for gainful employment, chores.Edited by alacrity fitzhugh, : No reason given.

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Look to this day, For yesterday is already a dream. And tomorrow only a vision. But today We lived, makes every Yesterday a dream of Happiness and every tomorrow A vision of hope. Look well there to This day.

How about just act out of the goodness of your heart and not because you're "christian".The reason we say your missionary works are exploitative is because people who need help the most are also people who are most vulnerable to exploitation. You present a piece of bread with the words "join our church and praise jesus" on there and that's enough to exploit them. If you really are a good person, be a superhero (like someone here mentioned) and just help without any hidden agenda.And no, please don't compare teaching them how to read and write to teaching them your word of god. I've heard enough of that BS.

Good advice, thank you. Right along the lines of how I think.

I think I understand what you are trying to say, but I am not so sure that not even hinting to as who I represent, or am trying to represent is exploitation.People do not have to believe in my religion for me to help them.

and when they ask?

When they ask you ask them the right questions. You ask them how they might find something THEY can do to help the community. You invite them to help on the next project. You suggest they look for little things they might do.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

I thought you wanted to avoid the appearance of exploitation. If so, it doesn't much matter what you think is exploitation. You have to anticipate what might be perceived as exploitation. They don't have to know about your religion at all.

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Thanks for your response gasby.I don't want to turn this into the "what is exploitation" thread, but I just want to clear it up, to set the tone for any other replies.I cannot speak for any other Christian, or religion, but when I help people, out of the goodness of my heart, it is not exploitation. Most of the people I know feel the same way. I know this is true, because I helped people before I became Christian.I tell people about the love of my God, whether I am helping them or not. Some people, especially people who are down and out, can always use an uplifting word, whether it is biblical or not. Many a peoples lives have been changed for the better, by getting to know God, and many a peoples lives have been ruined from religion. They are two different ideas.My concern is that people genuinely get to know God, and not "religion". I don't want anyones relationship with God to be built upon false pretences, or through "exploitation", but I want it to be built upon love.My church does not really promote itself, and believes that it is more important to build the kingdom of God, than to build up a church. God will take care of us.I also don't want to be a "superhero". I don't want any recognition, I just want to help, and hopefully God will bless me for doing what I feel in my heart to be right.

Don't misunderstand - the reference to superheroes was to their avoiding recognition.
You don't have to wear a cape, but you don't have to carry a Bible either.I always carry a pocketful of $1 and $2 coins in case anybody asks for spare change. There's an older lady who frequently asks, and she never seems to remember me from one day to the next.One day she asked me if I was a Christian. I sensed that she meant "fundie", so I said, "No."
She said, "Well, you act like one," and she walked away.That's all she needed to know.

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Help scientific research in your spare time. No cost. No obligation.
Join the World Community Grid with Team EvC

But what is exploitation is the heart of the issue. Spreading the word of god to you is not exploitation but it is to me. Telling someone who doesn't need help your love of god is not exploitation. Telling someone who does need help your love of god IS exploitation.Here is how I see it. If you've ever owned a dog, then you should know that the best way to teach them tricks is by associating that trick with something positive to the dog, like a treat. (Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying poor people are dogs, I'm just making the point a little more obvious.) Everytime you give someone hot soup on a cold day attached with your words of how you love god, you are attempting to associate your god with a positive moment in his life. Intentional or not, you are exploiting a weakness in their lives.If you really care, just give them the soup without the annotations. If that's the case, let god do the work. Let the holy spirit do its job. Right..... Since when did superman announce to the world that he's clark, or that batman announced to gothem that he's actually bruce the super duper billionaire?The reason superheros are superheros is because (1) they help without asking anything in return, (2) they help without telling people their political and religious beliefs, (3) they help because they can, and (4) they help without telling people their identities.On the other hand, supervillains only help someone when (1) they have an agenda behind the help, (2) they help while telling people what to think, (3) they help because there's something in it for them, and (4) they help while literally having a name or affiliation stamped on their foreheads.Most church helping communities that I have seen fit perfectly with what we would call supervillains.

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