Millions Of Unemployed Are Facing Years Without Jobs

Call them the new poor: people long accustomed to the comforts of middle-class life who are now relying on public assistance for the first time in their lives — potentially for years to come.  The NY Times is running a series of articles titled “The New Poor.” Articles in this series will examine the struggle to recover from the widespread strains of the Great Recession.

According to the latest article by Peter Goodman, as of January, 6.3 million people had been out of work for longer than six months, with unemployment assistance already exhausted or about to run out.  Read more on how the recession is pushing many middle class families into poverty.

We want you to be aware that this has hit too close to home.  Several Sojourn families have been deeply impacted by the economic downturn.  The implications for the church cannot be understated.  We, as the body of Christ, have a great opportunity to demonstrate the love of God to those who find themselves in physical need for the first time.  The apostle Paul reminds us,

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially those who belong to the family of believers. – Galatians 6:10

Likewise, the apostle John instructs us that,

This is how we know what love is: that Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.  And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.  If anyone has material posessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?  Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.  - 1 John 3:16-17

God is calling the church to be open handed to believers and unbelievers who struggle to meet physical needs.  God is not calling the church to meet physical needs only, but to meet physical needs in a such a way that bring together both Word and deed as we point others to Christ and his sufficiency.  I am constantly reminded in Scripture that humanity’s ultimate need is a relationship with Jesus, but God as Creator, Sustainer, and Provider also cares for our physical needs too.

Put It Into Action

Brothers and Sisters, our mercy is not an option.  Do not let this opportunity pass you by.

Pray

Pray for those families who are in need.  I spoke with a Sojourn family today, who are struggling to make ends meet.  The husband lost his job, the wife lost her job, they have a few children and they are without any means to purchase food (we have helped them with food).  Please pray that God would motivate us to be generous givers who are willing to draw near to those in need.

Family Benevolence Fund

Consider planning in advance to help a family in need by setting aside some resources into your own benevolence fund.  This way, you will be ready when a family member, neighbor or co-worker comes to you with his/her need.

Join the Benevolence Team

Join our team of deacons as we interview, assist, pray for, and come alongside families who are in financial distress.  Contact jmoss@sojournchurch.com to get plugged in.

Job Bank

Let the church know if there are any job openings where you work.  We can pass along the information as we are helping several families find sufficient income.  Email nivey@sojournchurch.com with job openings.

Sojourn Food Pantry

There has been a recent increase in demand for food.  Sojourn’s food pantry is looking more barren than ever.  Please bring canned goods and meals to the church if you are able.  You can contact mercy@sojournchurch.com for more information.

What will be the nature and impact of your aid and ministry in Haiti?  When it comes to helping the poor, the natural reaction is to do for them rather than empowering them to do it for themselves. In the past, relief beneficiaries were often seen as passive patients and victims who are totally dependent on external experts for help. The best relief programs engage and build upon the local knowledge, labor, networks, and all types of productive resources from the first day. Furthermore, the current relief work in Haiti will quickly shift to rehabilitation and development work, which demands even less ‘doing for’ the Haitian people.

How about YOU? What will be the nature and impact of YOUR aid and ministry in Haiti?

To help you address this question, the authors of a paradigm-shifting book on the causes of and solutions to the problem of poverty will host a special, three-part webinar designed to help churches, relief agencies, and individuals respond to the crisis in Haiti … by helping the Haitian people to take ownership of the rebuilding process.

Scheduled for February 17th, February 24th and March 3rd, from 1 to 2 p.m. EST, these hour-long webinars will be facilitated by Steve Corbett and Dr. Brian Fikkert of The Chalmers Center for Economic Development. The Chalmers Center seeks to “help churches help the poor to help themselves.” The book, “When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor … and Yourself,” is in its fifth printing since it was published in July.

Join your Sojourn Pastor’s and Seed leaders as we learn how best the church can address the global issue of poverty.  The Webinar is FREE!  Register and sign up here.

About six million Americans receiving food stamps report they have no other income, according to an analysis of state data collected by The New York Times.  Now that is a staggering figure.  According to the article, about one in fifty Americans now lives in a household with a reported income that consists of nothing but a food-stamp card.  Can you imagine?  Chances are you may know one, but not realize it.

Members of this group – ranging from homeless men to single moms to the elderly – live on nothing but their food stamp income, which can range from $50-300+ per month.  In this challenging economy, this group is struggling to survive.  Some live in homeless shelters, while others have moved in with friends and family.  Many find employment difficult to come by, have sold all their possessions, and rely on their food stamp card for their daily sustenance.

There is much political debate taking place trying to discern how to fix the problem.  Proposed solutions range from increasing cash support available to families to decreasing taxes that create additional jobs.

But what can the church do?  What can you do to address this staggering issue of poverty in our nation?  Is there anything that you can do that will make a difference?  Here are just a few suggestions to plug in right away.

Prayer

As it says in 1 Timothy 2, we should pray for our politicians who are in authority.  Pray that they would be given wisdom to address this systemic issue in ways that would honor the poor and glorify God in heaven.  Pray for the poor who are suffering.  Pray that God would mobilize his people to step into the challenge and into the lives of the poor and needy.  Reflect on Ephesians 1 and pray for all to come to know the spiritual blessings we have in Christ as well as the power to live out these radical implications in the world.

Benevolence Ministry

Sojourn receives between 30-60 calls per month from families in our neighborhoods seeking financial assistance.  Some of these families truly have no income except their food stamps.  Sojourn has equipped and mobilized a mercy ministry that seeks to aid these families with assistance and draw these families into the body of Christ.  You can read the benevolence policy here.  There is always need for additional servants in this ministry as the poor will always be among us (Matt 26:11) and because the work is challenging and often time intensive.  Contact mercy@sojournchurch.com for additional information.

Seed Leadership

Consider becoming a Seed Leader.  Seed Leaders influence their groups to live more externally focused lives. Their primary responsibility is to encourage their group members to embrace God’s call for every individual to live a life of service and mission towards others.  Seed Leaders organize, plan and mobilize their group to service and mission in the city. There are literally dozens of ways to mobilize a community group to serve the lost, poor, hurting, and needy.  Contact mercy@sojournchurch.com for more information and read the Seed Leader Ministry Description here.

Mercy Monday

On Monday nights, we gather in groups to visit many families in need.  We enter into their homes, listen to their stories, encourage them with the hope of Jesus Christ, and minister to their physical needs.  If you have never been on mission in the city before, join up with those who have gone before you.  There are testimonies on this blog about how God uses us and blesses us as we seek to minister to the poor in his name.  Contact Jesse Moss for additional information at jmoss@sojournchurch.com

The Humble Coffee Cup

Finally, it has been said that most of the world’s problems could be addressed by the humble coffee mug.   Sound strange? Nothing can beat a redemptive relationship with someone who is in need (physical or spiritual).  Befriending someone who is in need – sharing a cup of coffee, hearing their stories, heartbreaks, hopes and fears – can lead to lots of opportunities.  You may find that you are well connected and can assist a person or family in need in ways you never imagined.  It takes a willingness to get to know a new friend, come alongside them, carry a burden, pray for them and encourage them as you yourself have been encouraged by your Christian brothers and sisters.

To speak to a deacon who can assist you in addressing the needs of the poor and needy, email mercy@sojournchurch.com.  We would love for you to embrace God’s call to care for the poor and needy (1 John 3:17-18).  You can also join us next Sunday when all Seed Leaders will gather for a meal, encouragement, and equipping.  REGISTER HERE.

When you drove into Germantown/Shelby Park this weekend, did you take note the poverty all around us? Or if you are like many, have you grown numb to this reality?

Did you notice the boarded up house on Mary Street?  Did you take note of the broken windows, peeling paint, cracked sidewalks, trash on the streets?  Did you think about the elderly shut-ins who live in fear and isolation?  Did you see any of the neighborhood children running around without parents and guide-less?

When you drove to Sojourn East this weekend, did you take note of the poverty all around us?  Or have you thought of poverty as only existing in the inner-city?  Did you think about the people who are living in those nice homes and how they are facing loneliness, domestic violence, emptiness, and household debt?

If not, I invite you to wake up to reality.  Poverty is all around us.  Why do you think there is so much poverty?

Let’s consider a biblical description of poverty:

Poverty is the result of relationships that do not work, that are not just, that are not for life, that are not harmonious or enjoyable.  Poverty is the absence of shalom (peace) in all its meanings.

As God’s ambassadors, representing God’s kingdom[1] and all that it entails to a broken world, how are we as Christians to set the pace in addressing the poverty around us?[2]

To address poverty one must engage in the ministry of reconciliation[3]:  moving people closer to glorifying God by living in right relationship with God, with self, with others, and with the rest of creation.

Therefore the reconciliation of relationships is the guiding compass for our mercy efforts, profoundly shaping both the goals that we pursue and the methods we use.  We must engage the marginalized, the poor, and our neighbors with loving redemptive relationships that point them to Christ, who reconciles us to God.[4]

So what does all this mean? Bottom line, mercy begins and ends with relationships.  Our neighbors and the poor do not need a cold and sterile program to help them through their struggles.  No though helpful, a program is not enough.  They need a Person and they need the church.  They need Jesus Christ and his family to bring about lasting genuine change.

When you think about mercy and poverty – do you think about a 2 hour service project or do you think about Bob, who struggles to make ends meet, care for his children, and who calls you when he needs advice, help or someone to celebrate a victory with?

Sojourn wants to challenge your understanding of God’s special heart for the poor, the nature of poverty and how you can personally address it.  To get started simply join us every Monday night at 6:30pm at the 930.  We visit homes of the elderly, the marginalized and the poor.  You won’t go at it alone.  Join us and discover the joy as well as the gifts that God has given you as you serve families in the city.  Contact Jesse Moss at jmoss@sojournchurch.com for more information regarding Mercy Mondays.

If you would like to dive deeper into the nature, meaning, and how to address poverty, I encourage you to read the helpful book When Helping Hurts by Corbett and Fikkert.

[3] 2 Cor 5:17

[4] Romans 5:11