Earlier this year, the new presidential administration initiated sweeping reductions to the federal government that reshaped the nation’s social safety net. One of the most significant budget cuts has been to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which helps feed more than 4.1 million people, including children, seniors and people with disabilities.
Additionally, nonprofit and faith-based organizations, many of which are federally funded, have received significant funding cuts and stop-work orders through policies and executive orders. And more recently, we have experienced the longest government shutdown in the nation’s history, which resulted in a complete pause on SNAP benefits nationwide.
All these policy changes are fundamentally altering how our nation cares for the most vulnerable among us. Amid all this, those who have suffered the most are those who were already affected by other systemic disparities, such as rural populations, racialized minorities and children.
Beyond political debate over budgets and social programs, there is a more pressing question: If the government no longer feeds and cares for those in poverty, who will?
Churches have long stood at the frontlines of human need. Sociologically, congregations function as safety nets for communities and individuals because they gather diverse people into one place, provide a common framework for morality, and mobilize people toward collective action. Congregations are also one of the few institutions that can connect people across different socioeconomic, racial and class divisions.
Theologically, Christian congregations are called to a biblical vocation of loving our neighbors. From the almsgiving of the early church to John Wesley’s care for sick people to Dorothy Day’s hospitality houses, Christians have responded to poverty and injustice with creativity, compassion, and generosity.
Even settlement houses of the 19th and 20th century Progressive Era in the U.S. were born out of the Christian Social Gospel movement. These initiatives respond to urban poverty and immigration amid industrial upheaval.
Our current societal moment is not new. Throughout history, churches have always existed among systems that refuse to care for the most vulnerable and, despite challenges, have found creative ways to care for their communities.
Even so, congregations should not dismiss the importance of SNAP and other government-funded social programs altogether. For one, federal programs help people on a scale that no individual church could ever achieve. Also, many faith-based nonprofits and church programs actually rely on federal funding.
However, the mercurial nature of our federal safety net programs should prompt local churches to consider what community resources we can leverage when larger systems fail to care for those most in need. The question is not whether the government will care for the poor. It is whether we—as the body of Christ—will remain faithful to our calling when it doesn’t.
The good news is that congregations are already equipped with tools to respond to the needs of communities.
Churches gather. Churches mobilize volunteers. Churches fundraise. Churches offer crisis responses. Churches seek to love their neighbors.
Diana R. Garland wrote that the congregation functions as a mediating structure standing “between the individuals with their private lives and the large institutions of public life.” Most churches are large enough to offer connections beyond the nuclear family, but not so big that they function like bureaucracies or corporations. Because of this, churches are well-positioned and prepared to facilitate mutual aid efforts and care for neighborhoods in crisis.
Even so, congregations shouldn’t rush into the work of caring for others. The things I’ve learned as a social work student tell me that good intentions do not always translate to good care.
I’ve worked extensively with local congregations over the past several years as they seek to connect with local populations experiencing severe need. More often than not, congregation leaders underestimate the time, energy, and resources necessary to meet the needs of their communities.
Entire organizations, such as the Center for Church and Community Impact , exist primarily to coordinate the training and internal structural work essential for congregations engaged in their communities.
Moreover, I’ve also seen churches dive headfirst into overzealous visions of “homeless ministries” or food distributions, only to learn the sticky ethical and leadership dilemmas inherent in that work.
For congregations to respond to the needs of their community without perpetuating further harm, they need practical tools to ensure the integrity and longevity of their ministries. The following four commitments can help congregations discern their care for local neighbors amidst systemic injustices:
Community Care
Are congregants already in the habit of responding to one another’s needs and crises? Is there a culture of mutual generosity and friendship in the church? Or is it a challenge to get members to name their needs or meet the needs of others due to a lack of relationships or financial stresses?
Do laypeople organically initiate care responses for each other, such as for births, deaths or medical emergencies? If a church wants to care for the surrounding community, then it should cultivate a safe haven internally as well. As a congregation discerns how best to care for its neighbors, the generosity extended to those within the church is a practical litmus test of its readiness for outreach.
Leadership Health
A recent Barna survey found 65% of pastors experience burnout while doing ministry. This is a reality shared by church staff and volunteers. Congregations that open themselves up to the community are also exposing their leaders to potential secondary trauma and burnout.
Churches engaged in justice work should ensure that their leaders are adequately trained and holistically cared for as they care for others. This can look like routine pastoral check-ins, annual contemplative retreats, or scholarship funds to pay for mental health counseling. Investing in the holistic well-being of caregivers in congregations is a crucial step toward ensuring the sustainability of church community care.
Trauma Sensitivity
When working alongside vulnerable people in the community, congregations commonly find that trauma is unavoidable. Caring for the marginalized requires a recognition of systemic injustice and a basic understanding of the way trauma shapes relationships and behavior.
Training ministry leaders about trauma-informed care can help churches move from “What is wrong with you?” to asking “What happened to you?” This shifts judgment into compassionate curiosity.
Mutuality and Power
Every act of giving comes with a power dynamic. When one person offers resources and another receives them, the receiver can feel disempowered. Congregations should seek to preserve the receiver’s agency and free choice as much as possible.
Ask for consent when taking photos. Protect confidential information. Gain feedback from those who receive care. Invite those receiving care to help lead events or programs.
In doing all this, the church not only meets needs but models the loving mutuality of the kingdom of God.
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Master of Social Work/Master of Divinity student at Baylor University’s Diana R. Garland School of Social Work. Hayoung is serving as a Good Faith Media intern, where she is co-hosting the forthcoming Good Faith Bible Studies Podcast with Craig Nash.
