Ministry Partner Encouragement: By Nate Poetzl
We love partnering with the church. The relationships we’ve built with local bodies have been integral to the work that we do in the South Side community. In November, Faith Chapel Pastor, Nate Poetzl, spoke about the role the followers of Jesus have when it comes to engaging with the marginalized. Here are a few thoughts from what he shared to challenge and help equip:
“The issue of caring for those in need is mentioned over 2,000 times in the Bible. It’s an issue that’s near to the heart of God. In the Old Testament, God set up an economy for the Jewish people that outlined ways for everyone to give generously. Here are four principles to keep in mind as we engage with the marginalized:
- Balancing responsibility and charity is a tension we have to navigate—it’s not either/or, it’s a both/and. We want to be responsible, and we want to be charitable.
- We believe in the dignity and value of human life. Responding to the marginalized is not pity —asa follower of Jesus we believe that human life is sacred and that every person was made in the image of God—the Imago Dei. Jesus tells us to look at people who look different than us and learn to love them. We don’t just move toward people with an open wallet—we move toward them with an open heart that’s motivated by love.
- There is more than one type of poverty—the church has to be holistic. Poverty on the inside leads to poverty on the outside. We never give outside of relationship because we don’t believe that money is enough to solve the issue of poverty.
- The Church can’t solve poverty, but the body of Christ can. It’s when the followers of Jesus step up and say, “I’m ready to be part of the solution, but I’m not just ready to redistribute the wealth, I’m ready to redistribute the gospel. We are going to make a difference.”
– Pastor Nate Poetzl
“He has shown you, O Mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” -Micah 6:8
Listen to the full sermon here. Episode 393 “Threads: Yours, Mine, & Ours.”
