Does Your Church Have a Benevolence Ministry?

[Nahum]

Do you....

1. Give out money?
2. Give out groceries?
3. Pay bills for people?
4. Buy clothes?
5. Give away school supplies?
6. Have a homeless shelter?
7. Help battered women?
8. Offer free marriage counseling?

My husband and I did that until we became in need of the benevolence ourselves. Just kidding. Kind of.

[ChTatum]

Yes.

[Nahum]

Originally Posted by SarahElizabeth

My husband and I did that until we became in need of the benevolence ourselves. Just kidding. Kind of.

What exactly did you guys help with?

[Nahum]

Originally Posted by ChTatum

Yes.

Yes to all of the above?

Wow! How do you afford it? We try to help but the needs are so great we can't meet all of them.

[ChTatum]

Originally Posted by Pastor Poster

Yes to all of the above?

Wow! How do you afford it? We try to help but the needs are so great we can't meet all of them.

Brother,
We maintain a "pantry" through the Ladies group for groceries. Any other requests we pass through the board of trustees and meet what needs we can, special offerings, fund raisers, and things like that.

Originally Posted by Pastor Poster

What exactly did you guys help with?

We helped people with electric bills.
We helped them to fix up things around their homes.
We took them to church and gave them gas money a few times.
We provided free counseling any hour of the day or night - if we were available.
We gave them clothes.
We visited them and their family members, upon request, if we were provided their names and addresses.
We had a pantry with nonperishable food, but most didn't want it. (They'd rather have the money for fast food.)...TIP: Always take the people to the store and buy the food with them. Don't just give them money. You'd be amazed at how they will spend it.

[Nahum]

Originally Posted by ChTatum

Brother,
We maintain a "pantry" through the Ladies group for groceries. Any other requests we pass through the board of trustees and meet what needs we can, special offerings, fund raisers, and things like that.

Do you ever hand out money?

Our biggest thing is giving away free school supplies to anyone who needs them. No kid in our school system goes without because of our program that helps them anonymously.

We also give away blankets to the elderly.

[Nahum]

Originally Posted by SarahElizabeth

We helped people with electric bills.
We helped them to fix up things around their homes.
We took them to church and gave them gas money a few times.
We provided free counseling any hour of the day or night - if we were available.
We gave them clothes.
We visited them and their family members, upon request, if we were provided their names and addresses.
We had a pantry with nonperishable food, but most didn't want it. (They'd rather have the money for fast food.)...TIP: Always take the people to the store and buy the food with them. Don't just give them money. You'd be amazed at how they will spend it.

Its hard to decipher who really needs help and who doesn't. My wife has bought a boatload of clothes for many of the kids in our town who visit our church.

[RevDWW]

Originally Posted by Pastor Poster

Its hard to decipher who really needs help and who doesn't. My wife has bought a boatload of clothes for many of the kids in our town who visit our church.

Do you live on the Mississippi?

As far as giving out cash, it might be better to just get them what they need or pay the bill for them.