This post is written by Greg Kilgore as a companion for Unit 31, Session 2 of The Gospel Project for Adults, Volume 11: From One Nation to All Nations (Spring 2024).
We live in a day when people question whether Christianity is actually good for society. Some of the major objections that people have to Christianity is not so much if it is true but whether or not it is benevolent. Maybe you have heard people say that the church cares nothing for people. However, have you ever wondered how Christianity could grow from a small group of disciples to a worldwide movement? Secular historians have often wondered how Christianity grew so rapidly. As they look at the growth of the church, one of the things that has amazed historians, even those who are not Christians, is how Christians have always sought to care for those in need. Throughout history, as nations were plagued with disease and famine, the church stood strong and cared for those in need. In the third century, a devastating plague swept through the Roman Empire, and Christians tended to be the only ones caring for the sick. Many of them cared for the sick at the risk of their own lives.
How could Christians do this? How could they risk their lives to care for those with diseases, knowing that they would most likely contract that disease as well? Christians can serve this way because they know that their hope is not found in this earthly life but in their Savior Jesus, with whom they get to spend their eternity. Caring for those in need physically, spiritually, and financially has always been a defining characteristic of Christianity.
In Acts 6, the early church faced a problem of caring for widows, specifically Hellenistic widows who were part of the church. On first glance, this might not seem like a big issue, but this issue involved multiple layers. The Hellenistic widows were Greek-speaking, and the language barrier led to their neglect. Acts 6 explains how the early church’s work would cross different barriers. In Acts 6:1-7, we see one of the primary challenges of the early church was crossing cultural boundaries. As the church united in selecting deacons to serve, God blessed the ministry of the church to further the spread of the gospel. This new role of service would strengthen the church. The church had grown so much that if the apostles tried to do everything, preaching the Word would be neglected. If the apostles tried to meet all the needs in the church themselves, the whole church would suffer. If the apostles tried to only preach and pray, then the widows would be neglected. The solution to this problem was not a choice between the ministry of the Word and prayer or the service of the widows. The choice before the church was not if the church should be strong in their service ministry or their teaching ministry. God had so equipped the members of the church that the church was able to do both! Service and teaching in the church is not an either/or situation; it’s a both/and.
Greg Kilgore is the associational missions strategist for the Mid-Valley Southern Baptist Association in Fresno, California. He and his wife, Megan, have three children: Owen, Camille, and Judson Titus. Greg is a PhD student at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he also teaches as an adjunct professor.
