More classic art masterpieces used as illustrations
TL;DR: This article explores how compassion—seen in Jesus’ healing, forgiving, feeding, and grieving—should shape cross-cultural missionary ministry. Genuine compassion must be more than an outward activity; it must flow from a Spirit-filled concern for human need. The page also offers reflection questions, examples of compassionate ministry, and five ways missionaries can reflect the compassion of Christ.
"The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion." — Psalm 116:5, 2011 NIV
Compassion. What a wonderful word to describe Jesus! The Gospels repeatedly report that Jesus was "moved with compassion." Gospel writers also wrote about Jesus weeping over Lazarus' death (John 11:35) and over Jerusalem's waywardness (Luke 19:41).
Jesus was "deeply moved in spirit and troubled" when He saw Mary and those with her weeping (John 11:33). He showed compassion by feeding hungry people (Mark 8:2-3). He cared about lost people, saying to a paralyzed man, "Friend, your sins are forgiven" (Luke 5:20). When Jesus encountered hurting people, He acted in compassionate ways. Clearly, compassion was a defining quality of Jesus' earthly ministry.
What does that mean for us? Well, if we are to carry out Jesus' Great Commission in a Christ-like manner, our cross-cultural missionary efforts must overflow with compassion. That does not mean simply conducting programs labeled "compassionate ministries." Sadly, we can actually run such programs without being very compassionate. As difficult as it may seem, some new missionaries struggle or leave their assignments because they have difficulty demonstrating the tenderness, mercy, and kindness we call "compassion."
For missionaries, compassion must be more than a feel-good buzzword. A familiar saying often attributed to Theodore Roosevelt declares, "Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care." That thought should help shape world evangelism efforts even though it was not explicitly addressed to cross-cultural missionaries. In a time when harsh and demeaning speech often seems commonplace, global missionary work must radiate something entirely different.
Not long ago, the sarcastic sentence "I think you have mistaken me for someone who cares" became a popular one-liner. The cold insincerity of that remark reminds us that compassion must be more than an external act that missionaries put on when it seems needed. If global missionaries would genuinely imitate Christ, they must open their hearts to Him and allow His compassion to flow through them.
"When he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate." — Exodus 22:27, 2011 NIV
— Howard Culbertson, hculbert@snu.edu
This article on Christlike attitudes and actions that should be present in cross-cultural missionary service is one of a dozen articles in the "Missionary Ministry That Reflects Christ" series published in Engage, a monthly online magazine.
"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." — Matthew 9:36, 2011 NIV
Acrostic built on the letters of the word "compassion"
"Christianity," said John Wesley, "is essentially a social religion . . . To turn it into a solitary one is indeed to destroy it." . . .
"[Wesley's revival movement] pioneered the way for many social changes. The relief of the poor, the prison visitation, the care of the aged and sick, and the education of the illiterate all pointed the way to what could be done. Wesley even ran a medical service for the sick and a loan system for needy Methodists!"
— T. Crichton Mitchell in Meet Mr. Wesley
Our local church uses legal-size paper (8½ by 14 inches) for Sunday morning worship bulletins or folders. Those sheets are folded into three panels, each approximately 8½ by 4⅔ inches.
Using materials from the global office of Nazarene Missions International, I created a series of informational missions inserts to fit into those bulletins. These could also be used as missions posters or even as starting points for missions bulletin boards.
Click on either image to open a full-size PDF of that insert.
by Wayne Stark
In this article, former Love Link director and longtime urban pastor Wayne Stark shares his philosophy of urban or inner-city ministry.
If compassionate ministry is to fulfill its promise, it must be done holistically. If a particular organization is going it alone, it needs to develop a range of holistic ministries. This, of course, can be very difficult for smaller ministry programs. Suppose there are several ministry programs in a particular locale. In that case, they should learn to work together. Each program can address a different aspect of ministry while complementing the others so that their combined work becomes holistic. Let me briefly outline my view of compassionate ministry. (Parenthetically, I often wonder if the name should more appropriately be ministries of compassion rather than compassionate ministry.)
Marvin Olasky wrote a book titled The Tragedy of American Compassion. Although writing with a political rather than a religious agenda, Olasky draws a striking contrast between the compassionate ministries of early America and those of today.
During America's earlier years, Christian compassionate ministry was quite discretionary. The focus was on helping those who could not help themselves. Some early charitable programs limited or denied assistance to able-bodied men, including those struggling with alcohol addiction. At times, they went to extremes in their selectivity and really failed to have a compassionate understanding of the terrible helplessness that people with addictions often experience. Still, it's clear that exercising discretion in compassionate ministry has a historical basis and biblical foundations.
Housing for people experiencing homelessness seems to be on the minds of many. More than once, I've heard someone say, "I wish I had a building large enough to house everyone experiencing homelessness."
I cringe when I hear such comments. I've spent a lot of time working in substance-use treatment programs. In those programs, I often found myself saying to parents: "If your 25-year-old son is living at home, eating your food, and expecting you to do his laundry and take care of his other responsibilities while continuing in his addiction, then you may need to require him to leave." Far too many shelters operate in ways that can hurt people struggling with addiction rather than help them.
Handing out food and clothing without discretion may worsen matters by enabling people to devote most of their attention and resources to sustaining their addictions. Some people genuinely need help. The question is: How closely should we follow the principle that we first feed people who are hungry so that they will listen to our message of hope for salvation and a new life in Christ?
Many would focus on job training and helping people in need find employment. The truth is that many of the people we work with already have job skills. Some are very highly trained. They can get one job after another but cannot keep those jobs because of their addictions.
Working with children and teens is challenging and exciting. But working with the whole family is essential if the children are to be helped permanently. The other day, my wife and I were thinking back over our years in ministry. We noted that the inner-city children we had seen grow up and become stable Christians with Christian families were those adopted into Christian families in one way or another. We recalled two situations in which boys from the inner city were accepted into Christian families and wound up marrying daughters from those families.
The discretionary approach to compassionate ministry largely faded as government welfare programs expanded. In my view, some aspects of that system did not adequately address individual circumstances. In recent years, however, some programs have moved toward a more discretionary approach.
Within the last few years, there has been a renewal of interest within the Church concerning compassionate ministry. This interest continues to grow. In some ways, however, we are still learning how to do discretionary compassionate ministry well.
"Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." — Matthew 25:40, 2011 NIV
"Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate." — Joel 2:13, 2011 NIV
Engaging in cross-cultural missionary ministry with compassion reflects our Lord Jesus Christ in several ways. Here are five specific ways:
