This is a response to my wife’s question (See Church Log dated 9/3/2007) How does someone get out of poverty? There is no easy answers but Redeemer’s Way must first minister to the spirit, the soul (mind, will and emotions) then the body.  

Redeemer?s Way must share the gospel to all. We must be proactive and intentional to reach out to those who are not currently involved in a church. We will not just lead others to Christ but help them to become His disciples. We must war against the spirit of poverty. Christ can and will redeem them from sin, and break off the chains of the struggles of life, but if we stop here we will fall short of our call. 

James 2: 14- 17,  What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Next we must address their soul needs. This is defined as their mind, will and emotions. As RWC grows we will be able to offer ?Life? classes. These could include literacy, GED, English as a second language, parenting classes, budgeting and personal financial management. We will also offer recovery ministries such as Celebrate Recovery.  I am sure this will only be a partial list of what we can offer.

Finally we must be able to minister to the body. This will include food and/or clothes closet. If we can not start one of our own, we will find an existing one we can partner with. We will build a strong deacon ministry to support the widows, and single parents within RWC and our community.  We will not just walk the walk, but we will ?do? the walk.  We will build ministries that will minister to the complete person.