Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?—James 2:5

Bethlehem doesn’t choose between proclaiming the gospel and providing for the needs of the community.

• We aim for a holistic ministry by caring for the whole person in word and deed. We strive to accomplish this mainly through being people who treasure Christ.
• We want to be active neighbors in our communities—identifying the assets and seeking the spiritual welfare of the neighborhood.
• We desire for all of our ministries to move from relief, to betterment, and then to local ownership.

We often work with and through relief and holistic ministries outside Bethlehem. Two such ministries that we are actively involved with include the following:

1. Here’s Life Inner City. HLIC is a Christ-centered and church-based ministry that provides “compassionate products,” placement for kids at after school programs at SAY Yes! Centers, church-based curriculum to assist those who are unemployed and volunteer assistance to help urban churches, families, and neighborhoods with work projects.
2. Jericho Road Ministries seeks to strengthen both individuals and families through prayer support, direct-aid relief, advocacy, referral, and guidance. They accomplish this by empowering individuals and families to move beyond crisis to be financially stable, self-sustaining, emotionally healthy, and personally and spiritually growing.

See Who Do I Call? for more information on ministering to the emergency needs of the community.