I was chatting with somebody recently about some of the ministries we run at Oldham Bethel Church. We do various things to serve people who are suffering from the various social issues that attend deprived communities like ours. We teach people English, we run a food security programme, we run a drop-in for people facing homelessness and with addictions. But in all these things, it is important to understand what we are aiming to do, what we actually can do and acknowledge the limits of what is possible for us.

In the particular discussion I was having, we focused on those dealing with addictions. They asked what we actually did for them. I explained we offered a drop in where we simply sit and listen to people. Where it is appropriate, we signpost people to suitable agencies. We also open the Bible and read it with people as they come in. We are very clear that we are not in the business of offering addicts rehab or getting them off drugs. There are agencies that can help them do that, we are happy to point them in the right direction, but it is simply beyond our means to do that and unless they have the will and desire to engage with the agencies, there is nothing we can do to solve their problem. There must be some desire on their part, and that is usually seen as they show some willingness to engage with the agencies that can actually help them. Solving that problem is above our paygrade.

The truth is, the same is true of the other ministries too. Our food security programme is designed to help people with the cost of living crisis and get people access to food at much reduced rates. Everybody has to pay a membership fee to join the programme (£5 for a year) and then pays a fee each time they shop (c. £2 entitling them to a full shop). We are conscious this will not resolve all the issues of food poverty in our area. There are other agencies people can tap into locally that can also help with these things. But we are aiming to give people the dignity of paying into the programme whilst doing something to help them with a particular material need that is prevalent in our community. We are also keen to use the opportunity to engage people and tell them about Christ.

Unsurprisingly, the same is true of our English Classes too. Many of our students are those who are not able to be accepted on local college courses. That may be a capacity issue in the colleges or it may be an ability issue in the individual (their English is so poor they can’t engage with the college course). We don’t hand out certificates for our courses and we are clear we are not delivering professional-level English language teaching. We don’t assume our classes will resolve all the ESOL matters of our community. But we are seeking to do something to help people in ways that will help them socially while also using the opportunity to speak to them about Jesus.

The point I am making here is a simple one: we have to be clear what we are doing, what we can do and – just as importantly – what we cannot do. There are inevitably limits to what we can accomplish. Jesus has not called us to resolve all the problems of our community. Indeed, we cannot resolve all the material problems of our community. But we can be good neighbours and serve our community in these kind of ways. We can love our community enough to serve their good in the ways that we are able, including being able to get to know them better and talk to them about Jesus.

All churches will eventually reach a point where there are many things they may like to do, or wish they could do, but realistically cannot do. Many people have ideas about what we might be doing and we sometimes have to accept that we have reached capacity and come to the limits of what we are able to do. But we should think carefully about what we can do and how we can be good neighbours and lovingly serve the community in which the Lord has placed us.

Some of that thinking also needs to include whether we are actually being good neighbours in what we are doing. By which I mean, though we might genuinely think we are helping, we need to do the hard work of asking whether we are actually helping or whether – despite our best intentions – we are actually hurting people with our help. That is why we must acknowledge our limits. If we have no experience in drug rehabilitation, it is very easy to offer “help” to people that actually makes their problems worse. Acknowledging that we don’t have the ability to help as much as we think may lead us to direct people to the agencies where they can help and give them the dignity of acknowledging capacity, knowing that unless they are personally invested in getting clean there is very little we can do for them. The same sort of questions must be asked of our food security programme, our English Classes and any other social good we hope to offer (no matter how big or small it may be). Are we actually helping people or are we hurting them with our good intentions?

In the end, we also have to recognise the unique things we can do as a church. The truth is, in our town, there are agencies set up to help people with most issues they may face. I don’t pretend they all resolve every matter all the time, but they are there and have more chance of helping meaningfully than we do. But the church does have a unique ability to show people Jesus and tell them about the gospel. Whatever social works we may do, whatever community goods we might want to accomplish, the best good we can do for people is to point them to Jesus. It is the one utterly unique thing the church can do. If we are truly about helping people with their needs, we must be fundamentally about helping them see Christ and respond to the gospel. Though there are biblical grounds to do social goods and be good neighbours that way, these must be driven by our own belief in the gospel and the only unique thing we can offer those we engage is this same gospel of Jesus Christ, which addresses their very deepest and most pressing need.

If that is true, we shouldn’t over-focus on social issues that are usually too deep set and wide spread for us to totally resolve to the detriment of the one unique thing we can offer: the truth of the gospel and an encounter with Christ. That isn’t to say these social works are wrong. Indeed, genuine belief in the gospel should lead us to be good neighbours and care for our communities such that we want to serve the good of the place where we live. But we must also keep in mind that all our social works of themselves will not see a single soul brought to Christ or secure in glory. As good as they are, and as helpful as they may be, we must remember what we are ultimately about: the glory of God and the good of his kingdom. We can uniquely speak about Jesus and hold out his gospel. These are the things that will resolve people’s deepest needs. But our social works – meeting people’s immediate, material needs – may well be the means of softening people’s hearts towards us, showing them that we really do care for them so that when we tell them about the Lord who pushes us to these things they may well see there is something worth hearing about.