Christians’ Responsibility to the Needy
by: Dwayne Hastings - Jul 1, 2006 - comment
While there is a general expectation among many people that government is responsible for addressing the problems of poverty and hunger, Scripture indicates otherwise.
For those radically transformed by the love of Christ, there is an obligation to care for those who are in need. When the Apostle Paul and Barnabas were sent out to preach to the Gentiles, they were encouraged “only that we would remember the poor, which I made every effort to do” (Gal. 2:9-10).
It is a fact that the vast majority of efforts to aid the hungry are faith based—nearly 74 percent of the food pantries, over 64 percent of the kitchens, and 43 percent of the shelters, according to a 2006 study conducted for America’s Second Harvest. Over 68 percent of agencies operating emergency feeding programs are affiliated with religious institutions.
Southern Baptist disaster relief efforts can be traced to 1967, when a small group of Texas volunteers served hot food cooked on small “buddy burners” to victims of Hurricane Beulah.
Southern Baptist disaster relief work has developed over the years into a well-oiled machine that coordinates the efforts of trained volunteers from the United States and Canada. In 2005, those efforts included the preparation of 17,124,738 meals, 14.5 million of which were in response to the hurricanes that devastated parts of Florida and the Gulf Coast.
The SBC’s North American Mission Board distributed $1.6 million for hunger needs in 2005, while receiving only $1.4 million for the cause. While contributions to the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund are not typically used for disaster relief, the hurricanes that plagued the U.S. last year prompted NAMB to tap domestic funds to aid those in need. With this redirection of hunger funds and an increase in requests for SBC-related hunger ministries in North America, many projects went unfunded or underfunded.
Human needs and suffering are most visible during a major natural disaster, but there are families facing malnourishment and starvation every day of the year in the U.S. These stories of despair don’t make our morning newspapers’ headlines. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported in 2004 that 11.9 percent of all U.S. households were “food insecure.” In other words, there were times they didn’t know where their next meal was coming from.
Since 1999, food insecurity has increased by 3 million households, including 1.4 million households with children. In 2004, 38.2 million people lived in households experiencing food insecurity, compared to 33.6 million in 2001 and 31 million in 1999.
Across the country, missionaries and others are ministering to many of these hungry people through the gifts given to the World Hunger Fund.
In Gainesville, Georgia, Good Samaritan Ministries serves over five thousand families a year, according to ministry coordinator Mike Walston. This ministry relies on hunger funds generously provided by Southern Baptists to provide families in need with non-perishable food. He said those served include the elderly on fixed incomes and shut-ins who would be in desperate straits without the ministry.
Walston said Hispanic immigrants coming into town to work at one of the area’s chicken processing facilities often come to the center when they first move to Gainesville and are trying to make ends meet before they get a job.
Most of the people who come into the center are unemployed, said Walston, estimating less than 25 percent have a job, but one that does not pay enough to provide for their family.
Volunteers are the heart of the ministry, Walston related, noting the seventy churches in the association all participate. “All they get in return is the satisfaction of knowing they are doing God’s will,” he added.
Every person who is given a box of food gets to hear the Good News of the Gospel, Walston said. “We share Christ with everyone who comes in,” he explained. “We don’t force it on them; we just want to know where they are in their walk with the Lord. There is no pressure put on them at all.” Walston said every year an average of seventy-five people accept the Lord at the center, which is staffed by volunteers from churches in the Chattahoochee Baptist Association.
SBC World Hunger Fund monies are used domestically by the North American Mission Board and abroad by the International Mission Board. You can be a part of these vital ministries by making a contribution to the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund.
Unless otherwise designated, twenty cents of every dollar is sent to the North American Mission Board to support hunger projects in the United States and Canada, including the Good Samaritan Center in Gainesville. Eighty cents of every dollar is sent to the International Mission Board for hunger and relief projects including food distribution, job skills training, water well drilling, education in agricultural techniques and nutrition, livestock, and water purification.
Because personnel and volunteers are already in place and promotional expenses come through other budgets, 100 percent of your gifts is used to minister to the hungry in Jesus’ name.
How You Can Help
Give Through Your Church.
Designate your offering for the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund.
Give Through Your State Baptist Convention.
States vary in how hunger fund gifts are distributed. For more information, contact your state Baptist convention.
Give Directly to North American Hunger Efforts.
Send your gift to:
North American Mission Board
Ministry Evangelism Department
4200 North Point Parkway
Alpharetta, GA 30022
Give Directly to Overseas Hunger Projects.
Send your gift to:
International Mission Board
World Hunger and Relief Ministries
P.O. Box 6767
Richmond, VA 23230
Learn How You or Your Church Group Can Adopt a Hunger Project.
Visit http://www.namb.net/hunger and http://www.imb.org/worldhunger .
Further Learning
Learn more about: Citizenship, Hunger/Homelessness