Editorials

Government continues to expand in the United States and a significant reason is increasing dependence on federal help for just about any kind of need or problem.

Americans generally seem to have accepted that the federal government bears responsibility for acting for the public good, even in our communities.

That doesn't mean the federal government can handle all of these situations better, or even nearly as well, as local organizations, including churches, suggests Ryan Messmore, a Heritage Foundation specialist in religion and a free society.

Local church congregations have enormous potential to meet people's needs and advance social welfare, Messmore said. For evidence, he offers the case of a middle-sized church in Leesburg, Fla., a town of fewer than 25,000 people.

Leesburg has its share of problems as many residents live in poverty and drug and alcohol addiction are rampant. A quarter of the population lacks health insurance.

Fortunately, the community also has many concerned residents who are willing to help.

An alcoholic named Bob received help at a local men's center, Sierra, an 11-year-old who was abused and abandoned by her parents, found a safe place to live at a nearby children's shelter. Doug, an elderly black man diagnosed with hypertension, asthma and a severe lung disease, was cared for at a nonprofit clinic for the uninsured.

One thing all of these cases have in common is that the victims received more than adequate care from ministries of the First Baptist Church of Leesburg, Messmore said.

"In case after case, FBC's ministries have succeeded in mending broken lives and serving the public good," Messmore explained. "Their success is no accident. It is attributable to at least three characteristics embedded in FBC's approach."

Members who provide help demonstrate a deep sense of personal responsibility and love for those in need; motivation rooted in an abiding sense of belonging to their community and faith that couches all areas of the lives of the people they serve, he added.

"By living out their faith in ways that directly shape and serve those outside the church's walls, volunteers at FBC demonstrate the difference one church can make in the surrounding community," he declared.

Identified as an additional feature in the success of FBC ministries is they form strong relational bonds among people, anchored in a sense of belonging to a meaningful community.

Pastor emeritus Charles Roesel observed: "Many churches feel when something needs to be done, they must hire someone to do it. We do not do that."

Instead, members of the congregation volunteer to spearhead efforts to provide the needed care.

Public discourse often portrays religion as a private hobby that is best kept out of the public square, Messmore said, "But the ministry village at FBC tells a different story: Entire communities can benefit when faith is exercised in public."

He said the ministry village at FBC "shows that churches - and public discourse in general - need not restrict spiritual issues to the private sphere, leaving so-called secular issues for the public square."

In many areas where government has claimed increasing responsibility, he added, churches are often more than adequate to do the job.

Government should understand the potential benefits of local congregations acting publicly for the common good, Messmore believes. "Government should not claim and should not be granted a monopoly over responsibility for the public good."

The FBC of Leesburg offers a clear lesson for others on meeting some of the most desperate community needs: Those with the most desperate needs in a community are likely to be served better when churches exercise leadership in the arena of public welfare.

No matter how big, government hasn't been able to do it as well.

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