Ministries Making A Difference Community service as an open door to the gospel

The past few weeks—the past year, really—have felt particularly heavy. Like a little light has been sucked out of the world. The passing of great leaders, and the fall of others. Persecution in Nigeria, India, North Korea. Assassinations, shootings, floods. Ideological wars.

Of course, death is not new. The passing of great men is not new. The changing of eras is not new. The rise and fall of nations—not new.

And Jesus warned his disciples these things would happen. He even said not to be alarmed.

But considering that’s not an easy admonition to swallow, I’m sure most of us have asked at one point: God, what are you doing?

I’ve had this song by Shane and Shane on repeat—titled “You’ve Already Won”—and it’s been a balm for my soul. The chorus says:

I’m fighting a battle You’ve already won / No matter what comes my way, I will overcome / I don’t know what You’re doing, but I know what You’ve done / I’m fighting a battle You’ve already won.

We know how the story ends.

And these heavy times of darkness or suffering are a reminder that this world is not our home. We’re better off not getting too comfortable. We are strangers here, and foreigners.

Living no longer for ourselves but in Christ.

I remind my kids often that the only one who can obey Christ’s teachings to love his enemies, forgive the one who trespasses against him, to deny himself, take up his cross and follow Christ, is the one who knows that this life is but a breath, and eternity is forever.

We have an inheritance in heaven waiting for us, and it can never perish, spoil or fade.

So what are we to do? Love God, love neighbor. Work hard, rest well. Work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Rest in the finished work of Christ.

In the end, when Christ returns and separates his sheep from the goats, he will turn to those on his right and say, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me…Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

So let’s get to work.

Access to MinistryWatch content is free. However, we hope you will support our work with your prayers and financial gifts. To make a donation, click here.

With that, here’s this week’s roundup of ministries doing the work and making a difference:

Filipino Southern Baptist churches are training and sending missionaries into rural Filipino villages to provide basic healthcare education. Many of the villagers are Muslim, and have been generally closed off to the efforts of Christians to share the Gospel, according to Baptist Press. But by addressing physical needs, those barriers are crumbling and relationships strengthening. Missionaries are educating villagers about basic healthcare strategies, like sanitation, nutrition, and setting up clean water stations. “We’ve seen God work through that in incredible ways,” says Nita Kilkenny, an International Mission Board worker who, alongside her husband Tyrel, has been working with Filipino Baptist churches for over three decades. “And those churches are now becoming involved in cross-cultural ministry, reaching out to these Muslim peoples, and now we get to work together with them,” said Tyrel.

The Logan Church of the Nazarene in West Virginia has partnered with local agencies to serve the area’s growing community of people struggling with drug addiction and homelessness. It provides hygiene bags and snack packs for the local Quick Response Team, which helps in cases of drug overdose, and brings the hospital’s infusion center a snack basket and cards every month. Since last year, they have also been hosting a free Saturday meal for people who need it.

A small Colorado-based ministry has brought together a half-dozen churches from around its city of Trinidad with the common mission of feeding the poor and homeless. The churches send volunteers and money to The Way—”a church without doors for a people without homes”—to help serve daily meals and lead worship services.

Palm Beach Atlantic University (PBA) in West Palm Beach, Florida, is celebrating the largest incoming class in its 57-year history. The enrollment of 1,054 undergraduate first-year and transfer students represents a 10% increase from the prior year, and marks the fourth consecutive year of record enrollment. PBA offers over 100 programs, including in health care, civics, pre-law, and communication. According to the school, it is ranked in the top 6% of global business schools. PBA has 3 stars and a D transparency grade in the MinistryWatch database, and a donor confidence score of 71.