What is our responsibility? part 3

At the church office we have a simple procedure that we follow. Pastor Mike is the principle pastor in charge of benevolence and he knows about any help that is given. We have had people who have worked many different people in the congregation asking help for the same need and collecting from several people. Hopefully by Mike knowing about these situations, they can be kept to a minimum.

We have a simple form that the person fills out and signs. Any help given this person is tracked on that form and we make sure that the same person does not get an inordinate amount of help for the same problem over and over.

If the person says they need help with rent or utilities, we will only issue a check to the landlord or utility company. We don't keep cash in the office and we don't give cash to people. If they need help with food or gas, we give them a gift card from the grocery store across the street. The card can be use for gas or groceries.

We try, whenever possible, to refer people to ministries or agencies which specialize in the area of the person's situation. There are food banks, rescue missions, and credit counseling services who are resourced better to make a real impact in a person's situation than we are. We applaud all of the organizations who are involved in benevolence ministries.

If a person gets worked up when we tell them of our no cash policy or suggest one of these organizations, it gives us a glimpse into the real nature of their request. Someone who is really in need will be glad to accept help when it is offered in love and good faith. If they insist that the check be made out to them, personally, they get nothing. I suspect many times that the person is mistaking their request for their need. They are asking for money when they need training in money management or job interviewing, but that is another subject for another day.

Even when everything works smoothly, we seldom know if we have helped or if we have been taken. We do the best with the information we are able to gather and depend that God will honor our heart and desire to help those who are in need. If the person is scamming us into giving them some of God's money, he will have to answer to God for that.

I hope that this series has helped you a little. Don't lock up your generosity in fear of being taken. But don't be stupid, either. Case by case, there is an answer for every situation. Stay close to God so he can whisper the answer in your ear.