Many needs of people are not met in church

[BrideForChrist]

If you read John 5:1-3, you will find that the Jews went to Jerusalem to celebrate their feast. But verse 3 says that at the pool of Bethesda, lay a great multitudes of sick people. The bible did not say few people, but great multitudes. This is a picture of the present church that the Lord showed me, and i weep over it.
Many needs of people are not met in church, and the church is celebrating Jesus. Nothing wrong with celebrating Jesus. But isn't the church called to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils. freely ye have received, freely give (matt 10:8). Judging by so many new hospitals built in Singapore, i doubt the church of Singapore has met their needs. Lets intercede and rise up to fulfill matt 10:8

 

[AarontheStudent]

Being almost a fifth of the Singapore population, I'm sure the church is helping build those hospitals. Isn't that meeting needs?

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

Not if the hospitals are similar to the medical protocols in the usa.

 

[T-seven]

Dear BrideForChrist, most, not all but most churches have this as their goal, "you are here to build this ministry" and not "we are here to build you up".

So in light of that, try and find a church that has home fellowship groups and become a part of one.
That's about the closest most people are ever going to get when it comes to personal one on one ministry.

Anyhow, the best solution to overcome this problem is to begin to walk in the opposite spirit (of what you are experiencing) and begin to do something yourself.
Find someone you can love, show kindness to and study how to help people overcome bad habits, activities and ways of living.
Become a blessing yourself.
Don't be too concerned (I know that's hard) about how much lack of love you're seeing in the church.
Paul speaking to Timothy told him that the the Holy
Spirit said these times would come.

Our duty, is to just keep on doing the right thing, your blessing is awaiting you.

God bless you.

 

[dayhiker]

I see the evangelical church as being pretty narrowly focused when it comes to meeting peoples needs. Even the pentecostal church I'm apart of with many ministries and starting more all the time miss a lot of peoples needs. In a way it speaks to how limited we are as human beings. How much we need to turn to God to bring healing.
I personally feel God has asked me to be friends with people and so that is what I'm doing and how I'm spending my time. It is interesting how often after being a friend for a while I can talk to people about the things of God when just going to church didn't open many doors for me.

 

[T-seven]

It is most unfortunate that many Charismatic\Pentecostal churches of which I have been a part of for well over twenty years are so ingrown, almost like a toenail.
At first we don't feel the pain as we delve into our life of ever increasing faith and glory, but then one day the blinkers fall from our eyes and we discover that our journey has been one of "inreach".
There's us here on the inside and "them" on the outside.
We're the people of power and they are ... well, yes, then there's them.
After some thought we realise that we're really not reaching out like we should (mostly because many just don't get our doctrine - why they don't is an enigma to us, afer all it's in the Bible plain and clear and they're losing out, right ?).
Yet the nagging thoughts persist until we tentatively reach out to others and discover that they're not so bad after all - my experience.
Now I minister to the believers and non-believers in the company I work for every single morning of the working week, before the day begins.
I bring a short message (sometimes a "Faith word" and sometimes not) and I pray for them.
I'm honest, kind, speak the truth in love yet firm when it comes to sin.
I'm loving it and so are they (yes the non-believers too, who ask for prayer).
I tried opting out once and they decided they were going to "tumult" if I did - so I stayed and now I'm opening the tap on speaking on the real issues that matter to Christ.
And the unbelievers are still staying.
One man sows, another waters but God gives the increase.

 

[dayhiker]

Thanks for sharing what your doing to reach out, T.

I am growing to hate the us-them way we are being separated. We are all created in the image of God, Jesus died for everyone, we are all sinners etc. So you are right we aren't that different.

 

[miknik5]

If you read John 5:1-3, you will find that the Jews went to Jerusalem to celebrate their feast. But verse 3 says that at the pool of Bethesda, lay a great multitudes of sick people. The bible did not say few people, but great multitudes. This is a picture of the present church that the Lord showed me, and i weep over it.
Many needs of people are not met in church, and the church is celebrating Jesus. Nothing wrong with celebrating Jesus. But isn't the church called to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils. freely ye have received, freely give (matt 10:8). Judging by so many new hospitals built in Singapore, i doubt the church of Singapore has met their needs. Lets intercede and rise up to fulfill matt 10:8

We are supposed to bear each others burdens and to strengthen and pray for one another. We are also to confess our sins to one another...

But the church today is not the same model as depicted in the first church gathering as depicted in Acts 2"...

In the early church, the people who came together in fellowship knew one another...they shared their lives with one another.

That isn't always what is happening today.
More often we come to worship in fellowship...but as soon as the service is over, we leave and go about our own lives...privately...we don't know each other intimately...and we don't know who is suffering...who is mourning...who is in need...


We are a detached, distanced, and dysfunctional "family"


And it shouldn't be.

 

[Dirk1540]

...but as soon as the service is over, we leave and go about our own lives...privately...we don't know each other intimately...and we don't know who is suffering...who is mourning...We are a detached, distanced, and dysfunctional "family"

I watched this Western Civilization course once and it was cool how the instructor broke down how certain major advancement increased how detatched and colder human interaction became on a day to day basis, based on the technology.

The steamboat was a big one, the train was even bigger. Before that it wasn't uncommon for people to almost exclusively trade services with neighbors where money was never even involved, and where you were almost forced to be intimately involved with everyone. The automobile obviously degraded necessary interpersonal relationships. Now today 5 people are sitting at a table on their smartphones and probably don't even realize the other 4 are there lol.

The trade off is interesting! Me, no way I'd give up technology to live back then!! But I think in some ways it would be a lot cooler back then. At the very least I need to be in the post refrigeration era!! I would have to guess that today the more technologically deprived a church/area is the more caring it must be. Like a central African church compared to one in suburbia USA. Interesting trade off.

 

[dayhiker]

Dirk ... thanks for the new perspective it makes a lot of sense.
I have intentionally made friends over the last 4-5 years. I listen and don't judge them. What is interesting is that eventually they open their heart and share their life with me. Sometimes even as they open their heart they know they need to change something in their life without me even telling them. So we still can have intimacy today, but we have to go out and spend time with people.