Are we like social services?

I’ve said it and I’ve heard others say it. “The danger is in serving our local community that we can land up being social services to our local community and not talking enough about Jesus. “

Social services and others in similar rolls on the whole do a great job and I have considered it a privilege to work with these professionals. Below is not an attempt to knock their vital work, it is however an attempt to reflect on how like social services the church isn’t.

We’re not like social services because………………….

We live and share the same community.

We are in it for the long term.

We don’t call people ‘our clients’ or ‘service users’.

We don’t have two mobile phones one for work and one for friends.

We don’t have a high turn over of staff.

We call those we serve our friends.

Most of us don’t get paid to do it.

We don’t judge people even if we’ve seen similar sets of circumstances in other people’s lives.

We are open after 5:30pm

We don’t make, coerce or threaten people to engage with us.

Those we serve have met our children.

We don’t count people, results or outcomes.

I guess if the church is being the church I can’t see why people would think we were like social services.

I guess if the church was like the above it should scream Jesus without saying it.

I guess if we think like we’re being like social services it not that we not talking about Jesus enough, rather we not serving enough like Him.

As I’ve reflected on this I’ve realised I was wrong to say could we could be seen as an extension to social services.

I’m sure we’ll continue to work along side socials services, but not as an extension, as the church of Jesus Christ.