Amy Sherman, senior fellow at the Sagamore Institute, directs the Faith in Communities Initiative and serves as editorial director of the Faith and Service Technical Education Network (FASTEN) Initiative, a collaborative effort with the Pew Charitable Trusts. Sherman was the keynote speaker for the Church of the Nazarene's Compassionate Ministries Conference in October in Indianapolis, during which time she dialogued with Holiness Today regarding this vital ministry in the church.

HT: Some view compassionate ministry as primarily an urban matter.

AS: Compassionate ministry needs to be done in all communities because the problems of poverty and injustice are not limited to inner-city communities. Obviously the needs in every community are great. But small towns and rural areas also have opportunities for doing effective compassionate ministries.

HT: How would you respond to people who say that we are not sure we want "those kind of people" in our churches?

AS: Jesus seemed to hang out with "those kinds of people." If we're serious about following Jesus, we have to follow His mission, being passionate about the things that He was passionate about—people who were hurting, down and out, and victims of injustice. Holiness isn't just about imitating the character of Christ. It is about that, but it's also imitating the passions and mission of Christ. Churches reluctant to be involved in this kind of ministry need to go back to the Word and acquaint themselves with God's heart for the poor and the mandate for ministry that Jesus set.

HT: People may be afraid for their security by being involved with what they view as society's outcasts.

AS: Those are very real fears. Unfortunately, particularly in the U.S., we have made idols out of safety and security. Jesus never promised us that following Him would be a risk-free path. On the frontiers of risk is where we have opportunity to be the most dependent on Christ. The discomfort we feel means we realize our human resources are limited. We feel inadequate. We feel scared. Those feelings drive us to a point of saying, "We need Jesus to help us because we can't do this on our own."

HT: Where do we begin to meet the needs of society?

AS: Jesus asks us, "What do you have?" All He requests is, "Give it to Me." Then He's in charge of making sure that it's enough.

Overwhelming need shouldn't stop us from bringing to the table whatever we have to offer, however paltry it is.

When placed in the hands of Christ, our gifts are multiplied. Also, big problems can be broken down into smaller pieces. Any church is big enough to decide, "We're going to minister to one individual. We don't have to solve the problem of homelessness, but we can help one homeless person."

Starting in November 2004 and continuing through April, the Faith and Service Technical Education Network (FASTEN) is sponsoring a 10-state contest, the Partners in Transformation Awards Program. They are looking to identify churches and faith-based non-profit organizations that are involved in cross-sector partnerships. Those partnerships exist when a faith-based organization or congregation works in conjunction with an entity outside of the faith community such as a local government agency, school, police department, or business group. In that collaborative relationship, they are running some type of program that has positive, tangible outcomes. Each of the 10 state winners will receive $5,000 (U.S.) and will be included in a report relating information about the winners, which will be sent to hundreds of private charitable foundations. States included in the contest include Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas. Details are available on-line at www.fastennetwork.org.

Holiness Today, January/February 2005

Please note: This article was originally published in 2005. All facts, figures, and titles were accurate to the best of our knowledge at that time but may have since changed.