Benevolence

Weekly Update – June 12th, 2025 

It is not unusual to have multiple people stop by the church during the week looking for help. First Baptist Church is situated in the center of town and has been in the center of town before the center of town was even located where it currently is.  We have a reputation for helping others, whether it be through our clothes closet, our food pantry or through providing for the temporary needs of others.  So, the fact that people stop by and ask for help is not a surprise nor is it a burden for us.

All throughout the Scriptures there are calls for believers to care for those who are less fortunate.  In fact, this is one of the reasons why Israel was conquered by their enemies and taken into captivity.  They trampled the head of the poor (Amos 2:7) and turned aside from the needy (Isa. 10:2).  Instead, Old Testament Israel should have sought justice and loved kindness (Micah 6:8).  The same is no less true in the New Testament.  As believers, we are called to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to display our faith through our generosity (Jas. 1:27, 2:14-17). 

This is the reason why our mission as a church is written the way that it is.  At First Baptist Church, we exist to proclaim and to display the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We proclaim with our mouths the truth of Jesus Christ, but we also display with our actions and our lives the kindness of God in such a way that reflects the saving grace that he has shown to us through his son.  Some of the ways that this shows itself is through seeking to meet the needs of the poor, lifting up the downcast, seeking justice for the exploited and providing for the general good of mankind.  We ought to be a church that cares about truth, but that also lives out the implications of that truth before our community.

One of the simple ways that we can live out the truths of what we believe is through being generous with those around us.  Every time we take the Lord’s Supper in our morning worship service, we collect a separate offering afterwards that is used strictly for benevolence purposes.  The money is collected and used for the physical needs of those within our body and outside in our community.  In addition to this, we frequently collect clothing for our clothes closet and food for our food pantry.  It is also not unusual for our church to participate in other efforts associated with our community that assist in providing for the needs of those around us.

As a church we ought to view these ministries as opportunities and not burdens.  They provide us with ways to put our faith in action and to communicate to the world around us that not only do we care about others knowing and loving Christ, but we also care about them as people as well.  I am so grateful for a church that seeks to bear one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2) and I pray that we will continue to faithfully declare the name of Jesus as we demonstrate his grace that has so overwhelmingly taken over our lives.    

Serving Him with You,
Pastor Michael Nelson