I found this story on the Mississippi UMC website, about a church that transitioned INTO a community social service agency that actually helped meet the basic needs of the community. Story here: Pastors create model for struggling churches. The church/agency’s website: http://www.joininghandsmission.org/.

My critique of the news story is how this transition is billed a model for “struggling” churches instead of simply ALL churches.

No church sanctuary should sit empty for six days a week. People are hungry, sick, thirsty, and living homeless. The church must become a home for these people every day of the week. If your church is not a home for the outcasts, then it’s an empty shell with nothing inside, particularly not God.