As a youth pastor, I am always thinking about what church should be about. In fact, I whole-heartedly believe that the Black church can worship God and forget to serve God in the community. The Black church, many times, fails to live out Micah 6:8-9 (NASB), “He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?”
The Black church can fail to live out what Jesus said in Matthew 25:40 (NASB), “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.”
Here are a few ways the Black church can impact the community around it:
1. Giving scholarships to students
Scholarships, scholarships, and more scholarships. Many statistics reveal that college tuition is inflating. Are scholarships inflating? If scholarships are not inflating then it is getting much harder to attend college. The Black church can help by raising more money for students who want to go to college. If your church does not have a scholarship ministry, you should start one as soon as possible.
According to US News, the class of 2013, on average, was $30,000 in debt and earned around $45,237. If more scholarships are given, students will earn less and will not have to live paycheck to paycheck when paying bills and students loans.
2. Speaking out against police brutality
Without a doubt, one of the major social issues in the Black community is police brutality. Police are beating Black boys and girls at an alarming rate. If the Black church remains silent on the issue, this problem will persist.
Rev. Vernon Johns, an unsung hero and pastor in the Civil Rights movement, crafted a sermon entitled “It’s Safe to Kill Negroes” after learning of police brutality. Pastors today must challenge the issues of today and remind us all that, indeed, perhaps we have created a safe environment to kill Black people.
According to News.mic, “White officers kill black suspects twice a week in the United States, or an average of 96 times a year.”
3. Demand a Higher Minimum Wage
According to a CNN article, “Too many low-wage workers must rely on public assistance just to keep their heads above water. Raising the minimum wage would allow up to 3.6 million people to come off the food stamp rolls. These workers would have the dignity and satisfaction of buying food with their own paychecks while American taxpayers would no longer have to pony up billions of dollars to subsidize the large companies that build wealth for shareholders on the backs of their workers.”
Far too many people say it, “No one should work 40 hours per week and live in poverty.” This is insane. People work too hard to earn the little that they put hard work into. Yes–they may be uneducated and yes–some of them may be young. However, it is our Christian call that everyone lives in a way that helps others. The church has become the rich man mentioned in Luke 16:19-31. Consider this: how many people do you walk pass everyday without showing compassion?
It is time for the church to please stand up by doing the work that Jesus did during his earthly ministry. It is not about what happens in the four walls that makes a church, but rather about what a church does in its community that makes a church.
