Session 3 – CARING FOR OUR COMMUNITY
Discussion Questions:1
• Why do you think the expert in the law asked Jesus the question, “And who is my neighbor?”
• Do churches sometimes demonstrate bias in terms of what neighbors they choose to help? If they do, what does this parable suggest Jesus would think about that practice?
• Why do you suppose the priest and Levite did not help their Jewish brother?
• In today’s churches, do social taboos, fear, and lack of concern inhibit churches from demonstrating care to their communities? Based on this parable, what do you think Jesus would say about that?
Caring for Your Community
Community care is the ministry of the whole congregation — not just those individuals who happen to be ordained or called into the formal leadership of the church. As members of the body of Christ, we are all called to be community caregivers.
Community care occurs when members reach out through very concrete acts such as sitting by the bedside of someone who’s ill, listening as parents describe their fears and grief when a teenager leaves home, offering hope to someone in despair, or praying for those who suffer on the margins of the church and society. To offer community care is not simply being kind to people and doing nice things for them. Instead, community care means being the Body of Christ in some concrete, tangible form as people turn to the Church and its members for assistance and guidance in living their lives.
Needs in My Community
• Family/marriage problems
• Alcoholism
• Loneliness
• Injustice
• Hunger
• Poverty
• Literacy
• Education
• Inadequate housing
• Unemployment
Using the suggestions in the paragraphs above and those that surfaced in a previous discussion, make a list of 5 to 7 community care actions in the space provided below that would meet real community needs based on your current understanding of the community where your church planting effort is located. If you have your Spiritual Mapping data with you, review it to be reminded of needs that may have surfaced in the Spiritual Mapping process. If you do not have that data with you today, review it later and revise your list if necessary.
Action Plan for Module 10
Review and revise your Community Care Actions list above with your church planting team and new church participants as appropriate. Determine which of the needs are the most urgent. Ask God to help you discern which need to address. Pray for God to provide resources for you to minister to that specific need. Select one community care action you can implement in the next month and do it. List the people and resources involved in the church plant that can help implement
this action. Make a list of partners you can engage to provide other human, material, and financial resources you may need. Likewise, make a list of community stakeholders/leaders who will need to be on board with this project. It is best to start with a small task that is likely to be successful than something big that your group might not be ready for. Be prepared to share the outcomes of your efforts during the Module 10 training.