Where is the Pain? What is In Our Hands?

How can our churches make a difference in our communities?

In order to be a church that is impacting the neighborhoods we are in, we need to ask two questions: Where is the pain? What is in our hands? When these two things come together, ministry happens.

Where is the pain?

There is pain all around. People all around us are hurting and in need. Where are the people in our neighborhoods hurting? Where are our church people hurting?

Unless the church is able to discern and identify where our people and the people in our community are hurting and discern tangible ways to bring healing, it won't matter what our churches say. Words are meaningless and powerless until our words and deeds begin alleviating the pain people are going experiencing.

The second question that we must ask is "What is in our hands?"

What tools and resources has God given the church so that we can begin working towards healing? I believe God has given to every church the very resources she will need to bring healing to those who are hurting.

So leaders, what is in our hands? What tools, what resources do we already possess that we can start allocating towards the pain that our community is experiencing?

When what is in our hands is used to alleviate the suffering in our communities, the gospel can make all the difference in the world.