As I post this column, my son Rusty and his two teenage sons are hunkering down in South Florida trusting the Lord to help them survive the vicious winds from Hurricane Irma. Rusty is the pastor of the New Day Christian Church in Port Charlotte, Fla. He and my grandsons spent two days before the storm helping local residents cover their windows with plywood and prepare for the storm. Please pray for them and all those impacted by this horrible disaster.

Last Monday a Christian businessman who has a heart for benevolence asked me, “Do you know of a minister in the Houston area that I could partner with? I want to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey but I need someone I can trust so I can be sure the money gets directly to those in need.”

I connected him with Darren Walter, a former staff member from Southeast Christian who now preaches at Current Christian Church in Katy, Texas. I learned that generous businessman wrote out a $50,000 check that same day, simply because he cared and wanted to give in the name of Christ. As a result, within hours people in desperate need were given significant assistance with no funds scraped off the top for administrative costs.

That incident alerted me to the various ways churches and individual church members have responded to the most recent national crises. Following the devastating storm that left thousands of Texans in distress, churches all across the country immediately took up special collections to provide immediate financial assistance.

Author Lee Strobel, who participates in a church in the Houston area, tweeted, “Our church has housed 200 flood victims, lots of dogs and cats and these 3 pet chickens” and included a picture of the hens.

Bill Hybels, minister of the Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago tweeted, “Help fill trucks going to Texas with supplies for the Hurricane Harvey victims.”

Paul Chitwood, Director of the Kentucky Southern Baptist Convention, tweeted, “Feeding team of 50 trained Kentucky DR. Volunteers who depart Monday to Houston for Harvey Relief response.”

Another minister reported in his church’s newsletter that dozens of volunteers from his church had already helped clean up thirty homes in the Houston area. That kind of sacrificial service was rendered by church members from all across the country. Prayers were offered, millions of dollars were donated and thousands of volunteers packed up and headed to Texas to help out.

The church has been the target of considerable criticism in recent years. And to be honest, some of the criticism is valid because the church is made up of imperfect people like you and me. But the church has done a lot of things right over the years. In fact, I’m convinced that the church has been the most efficient benevolence agency that exists in America.

Who starts most of the hospitals in every community? Not the Atheist Society or the ACLU, but various Christian denominations. Who establishes and finances inner city missions to help the addicted and the homeless? The church.

Who goes into prisons and conducts services for lonely, forgotten inmates? The Church. Who establishes Crisis Pregnancy Centers ministering to troubled women with unwanted pregnancies? The church. Who provides backpacks filled with essential school supplies for needy kids going back to school every fall? The church.

I’m speaking this Thursday morning for Metro Christian Legal Aid, an organization comprised of Christian lawyers who provide free legal counsel to impoverished people who can’t afford it. The benevolent work of the church and Christian people is seldom seen but it’s extensive.

The news media reported about a college basketball coach who raised a million dollars and a discount store chain that donated 15 million dollars for hurricane relief and that’s certainly to be commended. But the positive contributions of the church are usually overlooked, partly because the assistance is segmented into thousands of individual congregations and partly because we don’t toot our own horn. After all, Jesus instructed us not to sound a trumpet to announce the giving of alms but to give in secret.

But Jesus also said there are times to let our light shine before men that they may see our good works and give glory to God. So, I want to take this opportunity to commend the churches of America for their generous response to the victims of Hurricane Harvey. There’s no way to measure the good that’s been accomplished by the millions of dollars donated and the thousands of volunteer hours served by church members from across America.

Here’s the amazing thing…benevolence isn’t even the church’s primary purpose. Our primary mission is to “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16). But the church also seeks to follow Jesus’ instructions to care for the needy and the oppressed because Jesus said, “The same as you do it to the least of these you do it unto me.”

Maybe it’s appropriate that the work of the church is usually overlooked. Jesus said, ‘You are the salt of the earth.” Salt hardly ever gets much credit even though it enhances the taste of food. No one ever gets up from the table, licking their lips and saying, ‘Wow! That’s the best salt I’ve ever eaten!” No, salt does its work without much acclaim, however, it makes a big difference in the quality of the meal. That’s the way it is with the church also. But, in the wake of Hurricane Harvey someone needs to say, “Three cheers for the church! Well done!”

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