I recently heard the statement:  “Non-profits can do as good if not better job in doing mission as the church!”   This was true in the small urban church I served.  An older congregation doing ministry in a large building, partnering with non-profits helped the church use its large facilities in serving the community in ways church officers could never imagine!  The church couldn’t run a soup kitchen like the one that opened in the church for ten years serving 200-300 people every day.  The officers of this 100 member church couldn’t run the after-school program serving as many as 60 neighborhood children every day.  While the church could open her doors and participate with non-profits in providing these programs, the church couldn’t do these things alone.

The new reality that needs to be recognized by many churches I have encountered in my ministry:  Perhaps secular non-profits, in certain contexts, can do a better job than the church in serving the needs of people in our communities.   And if you are connected with a church with a lot of sacred space that is not being used, perhaps a non-profit would enjoy partnering with you in doing Christ’s work?   And partnering with non-profits doesn’t always have to generate income for the church!  All the programs nurtured with non-profits and the church I served were rent-free partnerships.  All we ever tried to recover were expenses.     Just blogging…..