Mercy ministries are not mission, but they are the entailment of mission.

For the past 50 years, there has been a hotly debated question about the exact place of mercy ministries within the mission of the church.

This piece is a response to Chris Howles’ thoughtful and respectful piece in which he made the case that within God’s mission for the church, mercy ministries and gospel proclamation should be held together, and that they should ‘co-exist profitably and fruitfully’.

If we are talking about their profitable and fruitful co-existence in the activity of both the Christian and the church, then my response is ‘yes and amen!’ I agreed with a great deal of what Chris wrote in his piece, but there are perhaps particular differing nuances to stress in this important wider discussion.

So, are mercy ministries actually part of the mission of the church?

The short and simple answer is no.

Biblically-speaking, mercy ministries are not mission.

Rather, they are the entailment of mission.

Just as the dog’s tail follows the dog wherever the dog goes, so too, wherever we go with the gospel, holistic love and care for people absolutely must follow. Mercy ministries are a good and essential part of the activity of the Christian and the church, but they are an entailment of mission, rather than mission itself.

The ‘broad’ view of mission

Back at the first Lausanne Congress in 1974, John Stott convincingly illustrated the connection between evangelism and social action as ‘like the two blades of a pair of scissors or the two wings of a bird’. His view continues to have a wide impact to this day when it comes to thinking about mission. For many, the very definition of mission has been broadened to at least encompass social action, or to equivalise it with gospel proclamation, and in some cases to even prioritise over gospel proclamation. There are those who broaden the definition of mission even further to basically include everything that Christians and churches do.

If we allow the definition of mission to become increasingly broad, our understanding of mission will actually become increasingly diluted. Stephen Neill helpful responds to the very ‘broad’ view by saying that ‘if everything is mission, nothing is mission’.

So, what exactly is the mission of the church?

The ‘narrower’ view of mission

Scripture must be our ultimate authority in how exactly we understand God’s mission for the church. The go-to book that deals with all the relevant biblical texts is ‘What is the mission of the church?’ by DeYoung and Gilbert. It really is a must-read! They model a way to think more narrowly about mission itself, yet without losing the genuine importance of mercy ministries in our wider Christian service. In a gracious yet clear manner, they address possible objections to the ‘narrower’ view in a way that is far beyond the scope of this brief piece.

At the heart of their argument is that according to Scripture, ‘the mission of the church…is to win people to Christ and build them up in Christ.’

This big premise is derived primarily (but not exclusively) from the Great Commissions of the New Testament (Matthew 28:16-20, Mark 13:10, 14:9, Luke 24:44-49 and Acts 1:8), the early church in Acts, and the life of the apostle Paul.

The authors are clear on the gospel motivation for mercy ministries in texts like Galatians 6:1-10 and 2 Corinthians 8-9, but they are equally clear that these ministries are not mission in and of themselves. Yes, both individually and corporately, believers are to be zealous in good works; out of our love and obedience to God, our love for our neighbour, and our desires to show God’s character to the watching world and to win a hearing for the gospel. But those good works are not in and of themselves mission.

 They clearly and succinctly define mission by saying ‘making disciples – that is our task’.

Mercy ministries are therefore not mission, but rather the entailment of mission.

What might that look like in practice?

Ukraine: mission entailed by mercy ministries

Having spent most of my life in places like Zambia (when AIDs first hit in the 90s), or where I now serve in Europe’s poorest country, Moldova (I am writing this just 30km from the Ukrainian border), this mission-related debate is not a theoretical one for me. How do I personally live and serve as a missionary in places of tremendous humanitarian need?

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, I have personally and directly interacted with tens of thousands of Ukrainians in need, both in Moldova, and in Ukraine itself. The overwhelming humanitarian needs have been everywhere, all the time.

John Piper helpfully comments that ‘Christians care about all suffering, especially eternal suffering’.

Our Ukrainian evangelical brethren have been the example that we in Moldova have been watching and seeking to emulate. They selflessly and sacrificially continue to love all people holistically, while keeping the proclamation of the gospel at the very heart of all that they do. They hold up and hold out the Word of Life.

The proclamation of the gospel is their mission as Christians. Yet everywhere they go with the only message of true hope, they meet the material needs of the people they encounter with holistic love, care, therapy and support. They continue to provide every material need imaginable, from loaves of bread, to generators, from a bed for a night, to rescuing people from the frontline.

What an extraordinary example of biblical mission being rightly entailed by mercy ministries! Praise be to God that the Ukrainian church is flourishing at this time; both growing massively in depth, and greatly in number!