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Holistic Mission and Discipleship: Helping Hands, Holy Hearts
Ronald J. Sider, Philip N. Olson and Heidi Rolland Unruh

Becoming a Mission-Focused Church

What does it take to become a mission-focused church—a church that “shares
God’s self-sacrificial love for the lost, lonely, and broken, and cultivates a commitment
toward outreach as an expression of worship”?

PREPARING THE CHURCH TO MEET EMERGENCY NEEDS

Once word spread about Jesus’ miracles, he couldn’t go anywhere without being
approached by crowds of sick, lame, and demon-possessed people. Once word gets out that your church helps people in need, don’t be surprised when many people in need (including some from your own congregation) start calling on you for help. Unless your church has a system to handle requests for emergency assistance, you may quickly become overwhelmed and tempted to close your doors. Your church should have a plan in place for responding to people in crisis, before they throw you into a crisis. There are no hard and fast rules, but here are some guidelines, which are outlined in the attached document.

CULTIVATE THE THEOLOGY OF HOLISTIC MINISTRY

Philippians 2:2 instructs us, “Be of the same mind, having the same love, being in
full accord.” Church leaders have to help the congregation become of one mind regarding
the theological foundations for holistic ministry.

Better together: Integrating word and deed

"Evangelism creates the committed people, the concern for the needs of people and the broad community base from which to launch social action. Social action, in turn, fleshes out the Lordship of Christ, reaching people's spiritual needs through their felt needs and developing an indigenous economic base for the work."
- John Perkins, A Quiet Revolution

Better together: Integrating word and deed

"Evangelism creates the committed people, the concern for the needs of people and the broad community base from which to launch social action. Social action, in turn, fleshes out the Lordship of Christ, reaching people's spiritual needs through their felt needs and developing an indigenous economic base for the work."
- John Perkins, A Quiet Revolution

Ethical Considerations in Evangelism and Social Service

When and how is it appropriate for service providers to integrate a religious component?

The following attached document provides information on this subject with topics like:

Tool #5: What Is the Church's Mission?

What is the mission of the church? How are God’s character and saving actions expressed through your church in the world? Discuss your church's understanding of mission in terms of the three theological dimensions in the attached document written by Heidi Unruh, Philip Olson, and Ronald Sider.

Tool #11: Outreach Mission Types

When it comes to how and why churches integrate sharing faith and meeting social needs, the following document describes that there are five basic types of churches.

HOLISTIC MINISTRY DEFINED:
The Whole Gospel for the Whole Person Through Whole Churches

PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION FOR MISSION

CHRIST-LIKE SERVICE

“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:4). At the center of
holistic ministry is Christ—our Lord who commands ministry, the Suffering Servant who
modeled ministry, our Friend and Shepherd who leads us forth in ministry. We present to
the world a “unique and profound combination of Jesus as message and Jesus as model,”
as Ray Bakke points out.