Compassion Coalition’s Executive Director, Grant Standefer, was invited to contribute to the Winter 2012 issue of enrichment journal, an Assemblies of God publication. You can read the full article here entitled “Mobilizing for Compassion: Moving People Into Ministry.” Below is a short excerpt from his article. At Compassion Coalition, we are so thankful for every opportunity to speak (with anyone who will listen!) about compassion ministry. Our passion for informing, preparing, and uniting the church to move from inside the walls of the church buildings and out into the community to serve is the heartbeat of our organization.

I hear people exhorting others to get involved in serving by saying, “I got so much more out of it than I gave. I went to serve, but I was the one who was blessed.” The motivation for serving becomes about me.

Others go into compassion ministry expecting expressions of gratitude and appreciation by those being served. We do not act in merciful ways to find fulfillment or receive thanks. We do it because the Christ in us calls us to do so. And, truth is, “Mercy is messy.” There are rewards, and there is often gratitude, but more often compassion ministry is about being a servant when no one notices or cares. It is about tenacity and perseverance. It is about getting dirty and sometimes even getting hurt. There is heartache, disappointment, pain, and delayed gratification from seeds you have planted and watered but may not bear fruit for years, and sometimes never.

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I encourage churches to come alongside existing ministries in their communities rather than recreating the wheel. God raised up those ministries in your town. They have learned valuable lessons through experience. They are, more often than not, in desperate need of volunteers and financial resources. Such partnerships can be an incredible blessing to both the church and the ministry with which they prayerfully choose to walk.

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In our increasingly secular and unchurched culture a huge chasm exists between the believing and the unbelieving. The unbelieving community no longer listens to what the church has to say as we shout across the canyon. We have lost credibility. We have lost trust. Through acts of lovingkindness, mercy, compassion, and service, however, we earn the right to be heard. Paraphrasing the words of Eric Swanson and Rick Russaw in The Externally Focused Church, loving acts of service and compassion are the bridge over which the words of the gospel can walk.

The Holiday Inn World’s Fair Park has agreed to donate 100 sets of full sized mattresses and box springs to our Furniture Ministry! Eighty-seven of the sets were picked up on 12/10/2011, and the remaining 13 were picked up on 12/17/2011. These mattresses are practically NEW, and they will help so many in our community to have a soft place to lay their heads. The CC Furniture Ministry’s biggest need is always beds, and typically they are donated to a single mom whose children are sleeping on the floor, or an elderly man or woman sleeping on the floor. Through our Furniture Ministry, we are blessed to be a connecting agent between the incredible resources and the abundant needs in our community.