But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? (1 John 3:17)

Absolutely essential to our church vision is to love the poor. There are too many biblical passages to cite, but one that I find particularly arresting is Galatians 2:10. There, Paul relates how the Jerusalem apostles affirmed his mission to the Gentiles (a seminal moment in church history), and foremost in their discussion was serving the poor – “only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.” Essential to the mission of the church is to serve the economically vulnerable.

Our guiding principle is to engage the poor through relationships. It’s too easy to simply write a check. But the deepest need of the poor is social capital, not just financial capital. One of the most helpful books the mercy ministry leaders and I have read is When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. Their basic argument is that Western aid has been, for the most part, one-sided and condescending, rather than collaborative and empowering. This has created cycles of dependency and deepened the problem of poverty.

Our commitment is to partner with charitable organizations, providing not only financial grants, but also gospel-driven relationships. We have done this by supporting foster and adoptive families through Foster the Bay (we have three families in the church we support, see picture on right), partnerships with College Avenue Presbyterian in Oakland and First Presbyterian in Hayward to serve the homeless, a partnership with East Bay Orphan Care, and volunteering on work projects at Marshall Elementary School through Project Peace. We are also committed to deploying at least 10% of our budget outside of the church (towards missions, church planting, and mercy ministries). For 2020, we gave away $56,500 (11% of budget).

We recognize there are many more opportunities to serve the poor. The Coronavirus pandemic has severely limited the ability to do face-to-face relationships. (The most recent commitment we’ve made is a $5,000 grant to the PCA Unity Fund.) But we’d like to find another local partnership, in which we can do long-term friendships and relationship-based rehabilitation. The elders have started some preliminary discussions about engaging with a re-entry program for ex-cons. We know that the greatest need for ex-prisoners is a loving community to walk with them as they reintegrate into society. Our church is rich in such community and friendships. Another idea that was proposed is to partner with an organization serving single mothers who have decided to go through with their pregnancy and raise the child. They are especially needy of the benefits and help of community.

This is a conversation that will continue in our church, with the Mercy Ministry team (Marianne, Joe, and Jane), in the leadership dinners, and with the church community. This is our commitment as a church. May God give us strength and wisdom and love.

Pastor Michael

Image: Our church's three adoptive families, the Murrys, the Lees, and Eugene Alfaro, along with their "support friends."