When illness strikes or death comes to an active church family, most congregations swing into action with a ritual of support and care that has proven its value through decades of experience. Hospital visits, casseroles to the home, care for the children, homes for visiting family members, hugs for the grieving — all of these are time-honored ways Baptists care for one another during times of crisis. It is part of the “caring net” churches provide their members.
Each way is an appropriate expression of concern and love for those caught up in the painful experiences of life. Each way is appreciated by those benefiting from a meal they did not have to cook, an errand they did not have to run, a chore they did not have to do, a need that would have been overlooked if not for the care of a friend. Each way conveys a message of love.
Some observers of local church life say Baptists are at their best in such times. This “caring net,” the observers say, is one of the clearest examples Baptists show of loving one another, a quality which Jesus said would mark His followers.
Frequently the “caring net” is provided by the Sunday School class to which the family belongs. Sometimes the care comes from other groups in the church but, in practically all cases, it comes from organizations in which the family participated. These small groups become “the church” to participants. Size often makes it impossible to know everyone in a church, but everyone must be known by someone in the church if one is to remain the congregation. These smaller groups provide the human touch, the expressions of love, between the church as a whole and the hurting families in their circles.
For small membership churches, providing care may not be as much of a problem. Everyone may know everyone else. When something happens to one family, it impacts all. But a church does not have to be very large before members recognize each other by sight but do not know each others’ names. That is when those who only attend worship can fall through the “caring net” the church tries to provide.
Providing care through small groups within a church works well for families that participate in Sunday School or choir or Woman’s Missionary Union or other groups in a Baptist church. Unfortunately, that is a shrinking percentage of church members. Now more people come to worship services than come to Sunday School. Other small groups attract members, but there is still a growing percentage of church members whose identity with a congregation is only through worship attendance. How does the church provide a “caring net” for these members when illness comes or tragedy strikes?
The pastor and staff — that is the initial answer. Certainly, the pastor and staff should be there to visit, to pray, to support. But the pastor and staff alone cannot provide the human touch of caring needed in a crisis time.
One attempt to address the problem is through Deacon Family Ministry. The idea is good — every church family assigned to a deacon who will stay in touch with the families and help the church provide support in times of need. Unfortunately, few churches select deacons on the individual’s ability to minister in crises. The result is that many deacons are not spiritually gifted or trained to minister to human needs. These deacons are committed to the Lord, to be sure, but they would rather express that commitment by running the church sound system than by visiting in a hospital.
The result is predictable. Most deacon ministry plans do not even provide a reliable network of information about the needs of church families, let alone the support the families need in times of crisis.
Another effort to address the problem is called the Stephen Ministry, a program growing in popularity among Baptists as well as other denominations. Volunteer Stephen Ministers receive excellent training and provide a valuable ministry resource within a congregation. It is a good ministry.
However, the Stephen Ministry is not designed for immediate care in times of crisis. It is a one-on-one program of long-term support. Even if a church has such a program, worship attenders can still fall through the church’s “caring net” when crises come.
What to do? People are still searching for answers. As yet, there is no program guaranteed to provide a “caring net” for every family in a church. The answer begins with recognizing a problem. If we recognize that fellow church members are falling through the church’s “caring net,” then we might begin to do something about it.
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