Torch, Fall/Winter 2010

Fall–Winter 2010 | TORCH 5 I t has been exciting to see in recent years the increasingly widespread mobilization of evangelical Christians in the United States who believe that engaging challenging social issues such as injustice and poverty is a biblical and integral part of the call of the Church. After decades of focusing primarily on spiritual ministry while carefully avoiding social concerns like poverty, it is significant that the pendulum is swinging back toward a more holistic, biblically balanced approach to ministry. If people are indeed spiritual and physical beings who exist in social communities in a fallen world, then as individuals and communities they have needs and challenges at multiple levels, all of which the Church is called to engage in the name of Jesus. First, Do No Harm But how exactly do we go about “helping the poor”? As we seek to answer this question, we should remember the often-overlooked precept