Christians know they are serving Jesus when they serve people who are disadvantaged or vulnerable. As Jesus describes in Matthew 25, when we serve the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the imprisoned,
Matthew 25:40 ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’(NIV)
How is this service expressed in our church and your life? Within our church community and circle of family and friends we have opportunities to help when times are tough. We might offer a meal, listening ear, transport. I know we also use our finances to directly support people where there is need.
The most significant needs in our world and community are not within our direct influence. How do we best help the global poor? How can we lift people from homelessness? How can we break generational cycles of violence and drug abuse? This may be your day job, but most people do not have the experience, nor skill set, nor resources to adequately address the challenge. How we do this best is to choose great ministry partners locally and globally.
One local partnership is with Baptist Care SA. Baptist Care SA is “committed to working with the State’s most disadvantaged, championing local issues and connecting with people to provide transition pathways from adversity to opportunity.” Unley Park Baptist has the heart to help the homeless or disadvantaged young person. When we work with Baptist Care SA, we match the heart with skill. Our partnership with the Westcare centre is one example of this. Baptist Care SA connects our gifts of food or blankets to people who are homeless. I highlight this as I would love for us to consider how we can strengthen our partnership with Baptist Care SA. This might be through our giving, our prayer, our volunteering, our advocacy. I wonder what you could take up?
In Him
Jason (Photo by https://www.quora.com/)
Be informed about Baptist Care SA through the Baptist Care SA month calendar