Holistic Ministry: Prioritizing Relationships

EMQ » April – May 2026 » Volume 62 Issue 2

Summary: This article examines how churches can move beyond temporary relief toward transformation in ministry to the poor and homeless. Based on research done in a city in the US, it discusses how hope grows through relationships – when people are known, valued, and loved in word and deed.

By Glen Bagley

In urban mission fields worldwide, churches, parachurch organizations, secular organizations, and governments are dedicating significant resources to helping the poor. Common examples of compassion include food banks, clothing, emergency assistance, and seasonal outreach events. Yet, despite these types of ministries, homelessness and cyclical poverty continue to rise. Many receiving help report a deep sense of hopelessness about their future. This raises an uncomfortable question for church and missionary leaders: Does our ministry restore hope or merely alleviate symptoms?

For three years, I conducted research in Phoenix, Arizona. This was among churches, parachurch organizations, and individuals experiencing homelessness and poverty. One insight gained from this research is that while churches provide tangible assistance, the single factor most strongly linked to increased hope among the poor is personal interaction.

Personal interaction involves being listened to, recognized by name, prayed for, and valued as a person. My research showed that faithful Christian ministry to the poor and homeless should focus on transforming people’s lives through relational engagement rather than only meeting emergency needs such as food, shelter, and clothing. A transformational approach is not a detour from biblical faithfulness but a return to its core principles.

Transformational ministry provides opportunities and means for lives to be changed. This contrasts with transactional ministry, which is the exchange of goods or services to ease the suffering of the impoverished.

 There were two types of low-income people in the research area. The first type was the unemployed and homeless. The second was those who had jobs but were under-employed and struggling to survive. Some ministries, primarily churches, were transactional. They provided emergency food and clothing. Others, mainly parachurch organizations, provided food and clothing alongside transformational ministries offering counseling, long-term housing, job training, and medical care. These transformational ministries therefore required commitment and accountability from the people they served.

Often, offering help to the homeless and working poor began as a transactional act. But when care continued over time, relationships started to grow between those serving and those being served. Within those genuine relationships, transformation began.

Transformational ministry aims to effect long-term change by learning the stories and names of those seeking assistance and through building relationships. Interviewees experiencing poverty repeatedly stated that these relational acts were critical to their sense of validation, restoration of hope, self-worth, and emotional and spiritual healing.

One pastor hosted an outreach in a local city park for the working poor and homeless in their community. The church prepared a meal, set up tables, played music, and had volunteers ready to serve. However, only two homeless individuals attended this event.

Later, one of that church’s leaders asked me, “What do you do differently? Your outreaches have a lot of people attending.”

I asked, “Do you know any of the poor people or homeless in your community by name? Have you heard their stories? Do you know their struggles? How much time have you spent with them?”

The leader admitted they hadn’t done any of those things. They had planned the event and wanted to serve their community. However, they hadn’t taken the time to build relationships with those they hoped to reach.

Being relational to increase ministry effectiveness is not unique to ministries in Phoenix. I interviewed a retired missionary who had lived and served in Africa for almost two decades. He reported that, initially, he limited his ministry to the church that his denomination’s mission board had built. However, when he began spending time with the local people, sharing meals, listening to their stories, learning about their daily lives, and helping them in crises, people began to listen to his message of the gospel. Although the community’s circumstances did not change, members’ lives were transformed as they responded to the gospel. He told me that he eventually boarded up the church building’s doors and windows and stopped using it. He reopened the church only to hold a few services each year when his mission board representatives came to evaluate his ministry. After the representatives returned to their home country, he again boarded up the doors and windows and resumed spending time with the local people. Although the cultural settings in both cases were different, the emphasis on and the process of building relationships were the same. It required effort and a willingness to engage with the people to understand each group’s needs.

Biblical Foundations for Transformative Ministry

Both types of people experiencing homelessness and poverty share common traits. These include trauma, broken relationships, health challenges, and spiritual issues. Genesis 1:26-27 affirms that humans are not divided into physical and spiritual beings. They are integrated persons, created in the image of God, both physically and spiritually. 

Jesus addressed people’s physical needs and their spiritual restoration. Jesus, realizing the people were hungry, fed them with fish and loaves of bread (Matthew 14:13–21; 15:32–39), meeting their physical needs. Then, John records Jesus saying he is “the bread of life,” fulfilling their spiritual need. Lepers were healed, the lame walked, the dead were raised, and the blind saw (Matthew 11:5). Yet, Jesus also forgave sins (Mark 2:1–12).

Jesus interacted with a wide range of people, notably those society rejected. He ate with tax collectors (Luke 5:29–32), touched lepers (Matthew 8:1–4), and spent time with Samaritans (John 4). Jesus offered them forgiveness and a place in the kingdom of God. Doing so validated their importance to God and gave them hope. However, meeting people’s physical needs was not Jesus’s primary focus. Instead, it was restoring them to God and his kingdom community. Jesus proclaimed good news to the poor, freedom for prisoners, sight for the blind, and release for the oppressed (Luke 4:18–19). Just as physical and spiritual needs were integrated in his ministry, so they should be in today’s ministries. But, for today’s ministries, this integrated approach raises practical challenges.

Ministry Challenges Churches Commonly Face

Church leaders interviewed in the study identified three challenges that hinder deeper engagement. There are often safety concerns related to mental illness, addiction, or unpredictable behavior. Government regulations frequently affect public ministry. The rapid growth of homelessness is outpacing church resources.

Sixty percent of the surveyed leaders identified safety as a major challenge. I found the same concern in my church when I invited the homeless into our church services and activities. Then, when the homeless began attending church functions, church members began interacting with them. They learned their names, ate with them, attended Bible studies together, and participated in other church activities. Through this, they realized they did not need to feel unsafe around them. Most homeless people pose no threat to others. However, it is wise to be aware of those who have problems with substance abuse, and to have a plan for how to respond to threatening situations.

Government regulations can cause challenges when clothing or food distribution is permitted only in government-approved zones. Some ministries faced threats of fines for ministering to the poor in parks or public spaces, and even on their own property. They had to obtain prior permission from the government, typically the city government. Often, complaints originated from nearby residents and businesses, prompting the city to enforce zoning laws. One church was forced to stop providing meals for the poor because residents were complaining about them coming into their neighborhood. Instead, they began hosting a farmer’s market, which the neighbors loved. The church did not charge sellers a fee. Instead, they asked them to donate some of their produce to the poor who attended the market. It worked. The city officials and the neighbors were satisfied.

The rapid increase in homelessness, outpacing church resources, is another challenge that churches and para-church organizations faced. Few ministries had the financial resources, physical space, qualified staff, or volunteers to meet the needs of those seeking aid effectively. The following two recommendations are intended to address resource or space constraints.

First, mobilize the entire congregation. Rather than isolating ministry to specialists, churches should equip congregants to engage relationally, fostering shared ownership. Solutions begin with the belief that if members of church congregations are better trained and provided with supervised opportunities to engage directly with the homeless and the working poor, the effectiveness of church ministries will improve.

One church was in an area with a large homeless population. It frequently had members of the local homeless community at its services. The church trained its ushers and greeters to identify homeless individuals as they entered church services. The ushers then notified a designated team of volunteers. This trained team of volunteers had a member observe homeless individuals from a distance, assist them after the service, or intervene if they appeared to be in a mental health crisis.

Having a trained team available during the church services benefited the whole church. It helped alleviate members’ safety concerns. Knowing personnel were ready to intervene helped members relax. Their willingness to engage people experiencing homelessness in a friendly manner increased. It also lifted the responsibility solely from church leaders.

The trained team members interacted with homeless individuals with discretion and friendliness, encouraging members not to avoid them. This led to relationships developing between the homeless and church members and to the homeless becoming involved in various church functions.

Congregational involvement should begin with training and established safety protocols. New volunteers should serve under the supervision of experienced leaders. Ministry roles can include hospitality, tutoring, resume assistance, lay counseling, childcare, and transportation.

Another recommendation is to prevent service duplication. This requires collaboration among churches, parachurch and secular organizations, and government agencies. Many churches operating independently unknowingly duplicate the same services (often food and clothing). In contrast, parachurch organizations typically provide a broader range of services. They tend to collaborate with churches and other agencies. If a ministry lacks the resources or knowledge to assist those seeking help, it can refer the person to a ministry that can. I recommend that churches learn what each church, parachurch organization, and agency offers in their area and publish an accessible webpage. The web page can serve as a quick resource to direct the working poor and homeless to other churches or parachurch organizations that provide the needed services and tools. An example is FindHelpPhoenix. This connects people to healthcare, housing, legal aid, and employment support, regardless of whether those who provide the help are Christian.

Historically, faith groups have taught their followers to assist people experiencing poverty, but not with other religious groups.[i] A modern interfaith approach in Durban, South Africa, recognized the value of collaborating beyond their own congregations to support those in need. In Durban, there is no one dominant religion. The Durban Homeless Network is a collaboration of non-governmental organizations, businesses, individuals from the homeless community, and members from various Christian denominations, Jews, and Muslims. Together, they provide services to support the underprivileged. Despite their religious differences, they pray and work together.[ii] Working with non-Christians, such as government officials, to minister to the poor is not new to church ministries. Luther and Calvin involved government officials and appointed church leaders to collaborate in collecting funds and caring for the poor.[iii]

Collaboration resists the idea of one person or ministry being more important than others. It honors diverse gifts and expands the capacity of the whole Christian community, governmental agencies, and private organizations to serve. Acts 2:42–47 and 4:32–35 show the whole church community functioning together in worship, fellowship, sharing resources, and practical care. It was not just leadership involved in caring for others.

Final Thoughts

It doesn’t matter where we are in the world; homelessness and poverty are present. Although this research occurred in the US, the principles apply to any city-based ministry to the homeless and poor. Separating the ministry from local congregations will undermine its effectiveness and sustainability. Helping church members build relationships with the homeless and poor, and learning how to collaborate with other service providers, will benefit the congregation as well as those in need.

Ministries that focus only on providing food, clothing, or shelter certainly bring relief and temporarily alleviate symptoms of poverty. But relief alone does not restore hope. Paul prays that we abound in hope, which is given by God (Rom 15:13). True hope comes from God. As God’s ministers, the Holy Spirit can use us to help others experience that hope. Hope can occur when a godly relationship begins, when people are seen, known, and valued as image-bearers of God.

Jesus didn’t simply ease people’s suffering. He brought transformation by drawing people into a relationship with himself and with one another. Today’s ministries are called to share God’s truth through both what we say and what we do. The word is the message of hope found in Jesus Christ. The deed is the love we show through our actions. When these come together, our witness becomes powerful and real.

Hope is restored when we walk alongside people instead of simply doing things for them. Walking alongside people is difficult. It is easier to be transactional. Providing them with food or clothing, inviting them to our church, and sending them on their way is simpler. Let’s commit to walking alongside those experiencing poverty or homelessness. Let’s welcome them into the life of the church, learn their names, listen to their stories, help them develop skills for success, grow in Christ, and hold them accountable in love. Then, together with them, we will be transformed.

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[i] Caroline Powell, Raymond Perrier, and De la Harpe le Roux, “Sharing the Table: Reflections on the Engagement of Faith-Based Communities with Homelessness in Three South African Cities,” in Facing Homelessness: Finding Inclusionary, Collaborative Solutions, ed. Stephen De Beer and R. Vally (AOSIS Books, 2021), 22.

[ii] Perrier Powell and De la Harpe le Roux, “Sharing the Table,” 223–230.

[iii] Carter Lindberg, Beyond Charity: Reformation Initiatives for the Poor (Fortress Press, 1993); Matthew J. Tuininga, “Good News for the Poor: An Analysis of Calvin’s Concept of Poor Relief and the Diaconate in Light of His Two Kingdoms Paradigm,” Calvin Theological Journal 49, no. 2 (2014): 221–247; Samuel Torvend, Luther and the Hungry Poor: Gathered Fragments (Fortress Press, 2008); Sigrun Kahl, “The Religious Roots of Modern Poverty Policy: Catholic, Lutheran, and Reformed Protestant Traditions Compared,” European Journal of Sociology / Archives Européennes de Sociologie / Europäisches Archiv für Soziologie 46, no. 1 (2005).

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EMQ, Volume 62, Issue 2. Copyright © 2026 by Missio Nexus. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from Missio Nexus. Email: [email protected].