A Social Gospel?:

What part does relief and development play in the church’s mission?

Over the past decade, it has become a regular part of life: companies giving back. One for One Tom’s shoes, Warby Parker glasses, and the list goes on. Americans are generous, and the desire to help those less fortunate or marginalized by their culture is epidemic and giving back seems to have become a necessity for any business desiring to be successful.

Americans gave roughly $450 billion to U.S. charities in 2019, which was almost a 4.2% increase (or 2.8% adjusted for inflation) from giving in 2018. Many have remained generous givers in spite of the impact of Covid. This growing desire is a positive trend and it has impacted the life of the church.

While help for the poor is commanded in Scripture, and exemplified in the ministry of the Apostles and the early church, the question of where it fits in today’s missions landscape has been a subject of much debate. In this cultural environment, should missions agencies and churches engage in relief and development ministry to the exclusion of other priorities?

Consider this….

A study of 700 Protestant missions agencies between 2001and 2005 showed a definite shift in emphasis away from evangelism and discipleship and toward relief and development. When we see this, we begin to understand that some in the world of missions may be taking an either/or approach to ministry. In other words, contrary to the scriptural example, some choose to conduct compassion ministry without the component of evangelism and discipleship.

Research for my doctoral project confirmed this attitude among some pastors. One group of pastors strongly disagreed with this statement: “On compassion projects, the driving force for us is the Gospel. We are not a relief organization.” In other words, these pastors seemed to lean toward accepting and promoting relief and development ministry conducted apart from an emphasis on evangelistic proclamation and discipleship.

A Historical Conflict

To be clear, the heart of this issue has nothing to do with the merits of either side: evangelism/proclamation (word) or relief and development (deed). The differing views begin when decisions are made based on the prioritization of one over the other. To understand this better, it is necessary to look at the history of Assemblies of God Missions.

In 1914, the Movement began with a commitment to complete the task of world evangelism and for the first several decades, missionaries prioritized proclamation evangelism and discipleship and planting indigenous churches. During that time, however, they encountered realities on the field that demanded compassionate responses, and individuals felt called into the arena of meeting social needs. Some of the AG leadership became concerned that the growing need for relief and development might overshadow the passion to complete the Great Commission at home and on the mission field.

These experiences demonstrated that evangelism and discipleship in many areas of the world will inevitably lead to compassion ministry, and often compassion ministry will open doors for opportunities for evangelism. There must be room left for the Spirit to lead those serving “on the ground” to discern what is most appropriate and helpful in the advancement of the gospel. The Bible does not present a picture of an “either/or” approach to word and deed, but rather a “both/and” approach.

In the book of Acts, we see the early church ministering to widows and the Jerusalem Council encouraging the Apostle Paul to remember the poor while conducting his missionary journeys. In reality, it seems that care for the needy was an expected result of coming to Christ. However, far from conducting compassion ministry apart from evangelism, in Acts 6:2b the Apostles stated, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.”

What is the answer?

1. Whenever possible, conduct compassion ministry in unreached or least reached areas of the world in order to help provide a platform for evangelism and discipleship. No one can really predict what the post-Covid world will look like and what doors will be opened. Could it be that the gospel will penetrate previously closed areas through means of Covid relief?

2. Missions organizations should incorporate both word and deed ministries into an integrated strategy of reaching frontiers with the gospel. The either/or problem occurs when missionaries who are called and gifted to conduct frontier missions get bogged down with trying to service the national church or meet social needs. Others with a calling to compassion ministry should serve in these areas and allow the missionaries to conduct or initiate cross-cultural missions among the indigenous believers.

3. As church planting movements begin to develop on frontier fields, local believers should engage in meeting the social needs of their own communities and across lines of surrounding cultures. As stated above, when people meet Jesus and are transformed by the Spirit of God, they automatically care for the poor and marginalized around them. It is a fruit of knowing the love and compassion of our Lord and Savior. Additionally, if they have been taught and infused with frontier missions DNA, they can conduct compassion ministries across the cultural lines of the unreached around them.

God is a giver, and as His children, we have that same nature. Thank God for the generosity of the US church and the growing desire to make a difference in the lives of those marginalized with less opportunity in life. Let’s use this situation to reach more of the unreached world with the message of Jesus Christ!