Church Government Partnerships Can Serve the Community
Luke Erickson and Tom Moen describe how churches can work alongside local government agencies to bless their communities without needing to invent every program themselves. Through ServeFest and other ongoing efforts, they show how practical service can build trust, open doors, and create space for the gospel.
- Local government and civic agencies are often already working on issues that should concern the church.
- ServeFest brought churches and government leaders together for visible, practical community transformation.
- Simply showing up can help churches build lasting relationships and serve as trusted community partners.
By Luke Erickson and Tom Moen
Attend a community council meeting and you quickly discover what’s important to the people in your county. What some people call “bellyaching” sometimes tells you the most:
“We don’t have enough programs for our kids.”
“The shopping center is run-down and poorly lit. It attracts gang activity.”
“The homeless are tracking through our property to get to the liquor store.”
To address concerns like these, our community council naturally looks to its members, local law enforcement, and a host of civic organizations. While these groups may not be explicitly Christian, they are already engaged in many of the issues that should concern the church.
So, when discussing whether the church should partner with the government to serve its community, our first impulse has been to ask, “Why not?” If civic agencies organize themselves to invest in our kids, shelter the homeless, or care for any of those who have been marginalized, why wouldn’t the church, in the name of Christ, show up to work with them? If government bodies are fed up with the filth or the gangs or the drug abuse, then why wouldn’t we join them, in hopes of realizing true transformation?
Many of these agencies, after all, have already done much of the background work to identify needs and establish relationships; the church can extend its reach rather quickly by serving alongside them. And by doing so, we might help the community renew its confidence in the church as an agent of change. We can demonstrate that we’re not just a bunch of “bellyachers” ourselves, but that we care for our community and want to be part of transforming it.
Working with and through government agencies is also a healthy expression of the church as “the people of God everywhere and all the time,” rather than as an organization that just runs its own Christian programs. Simply put, “being the church” in the community does not require that we invent our own stuff.
Consider this: If the government operates an after-school program at the local recreation center, but most of those staffing the program are from the church, isn’t that the church being the church? Preaching the gospel may not be the program’s objective, but attracting 100 kids for a few hours every day certainly creates space for the gospel. It’s a venue where we can show up with the hands and feet and heart of Christ.
ServeFest: One Story
ServeFest began several years ago as a ministry of Mountain Christian Church, Joppa, Maryland, and has now become a joint effort between churches and local government. It’s a one-day concentrated effort to be a blessing in our county.
The largest project was a cleanup effort in which we served to bring value back to a local neighborhood. More than 150 people from a variety of churches—along with the sheriff, community council president, and several county representatives—spread throughout the area surrounding an apartment complex behind an abandoned supermarket.
Our mission was to pick up trash and haul away junk that had been dumped there, and we succeeded! The volunteers removed 42 tons of refuse that filled 22 Dumpsters.
As part of that cleanup crew, Allan donned his gloves and worked his way through the apartment complex with a large garbage bag in hand. An 8-year-old boy approached to ask what he was doing. “I’m helping to clean up the neighborhood,” Allan responded.
“Why?” the boy retorted.
“Because God has blessed us with such a beautiful creation we want to help keep it clean. By the way, my name is Allan; it’s nice to meet you!” Allan removed his glove and extended his hand.
In a miffed tone the boy asked, “Why did you say that?”
“Well, I like to meet new people, and you are a new person, so it’s nice to meet you!”
To that the boy responded, “No one ever said that to me before.”
Allan finished a few minutes later and began moving to the next block when the boy ran after him and asked, “Are you leaving?”
“Yes,” Allan said.
The boy extended his hand to Allan and said, “It was nice to meet YOU!”
Isn’t that what Jesus did . . . brought the value of God back into focus for those who considered themselves worthless! This joint church and government effort provided the opportunity for hundreds of Christ followers to be Jesus beyond church walls, engaging the community on a number of fronts.
What Have Been the Results?
Not surprisingly, the most notable consequence of serving with government organizations has been the appreciation and goodwill generated in our new relationships. The community council president, sheriff, and county councilman are now all regular contacts and friends. Our presence at the community council meetings is expected, and our name often appears on the agenda. The county government has begun to view us as an ally in working for the good of our community. We have been “invited to the table,” so to speak, to contribute to efforts to stop violence and gang and drug activity.
There has been mutual encouragement between our people and particular government agencies, such as the Child Advocacy Center, as we have sought to support them and invest in their work. Schools anticipate our calls for ServeFest each year. The sheriff’s office expects to bring a detail from the detention center to serve alongside us every month for Second Saturday Serve.
Recently our church building was a natural choice to host the funeral of a county councilwoman. The thank-you letter we received reflected a perception of our church as a group that reaches out to our community. In turn, we have been very appreciative of the government organizations that have opened their arms to us, and we have gained further respect for our elected officials.
How Should Other Churches Try to Do This?
Involvement is elementary. Woody Allen may have said it best: “Ninety percent of life is just showing up.” Is it really that simple? Why not!
Our local governments are already engaged and at work right in our own backyards. Ask them how you can help and where you can be a blessing. Nothing special is needed. It’s really that simple!
Luke Erickson is community impact pastor at Mountain Christian Church, Joppa, Maryland, and Tom Moen is global and local outreach pastor.
