Christian Church & the Local Community (AQA GCSE Religious Studies A (8062))

Food Banks

The Christian Church

• The Christian Church is not just about the building where Christian’s worship, it is also God’s community on earth and relates to the people they serve

• The role of the Church can be recognised through different concepts including body, community and assembly

• The Church as body of Christ

  • The Church is called the Body of Christ, as it is a living entity, just as a body is. It is the Body of Christ, as Christ is the head and founder of the Church

• The Church as a Community

  • Viewing Church as a Community highlights the collective responsibility of all Christians to help others

• The Church as Assembly

  • The word Church comes from the Greek word ‘ekklesia’ which is defined as an assembly, or a gathering of Christian people

  • The root meaning of the word church is not the building but the people. The early church did not even have a building they would just meet in homes or outside

The Church and the local community

• The role of the church is to put Christian faith into action by helping others

• There are many ways in which churches put this into practice

  • By offering help and support to those in need. This could involve feeding the homeless

  • By providing rites of passage for people such as, weddings, funerals and baptism

  • By running youth groups to help young people in the community

  • By running regular services and allowing the church to be used for quiet reflection

  • To raise money for local charities

  • By church members becoming street pastors who go out into the community and help those in need

  • By using the church as a food bank to help those who are struggling

The Church and food banks

• Food banks provide food for individuals who cannot afford to buy food

• Some churches provide food banks. There are also organisations who are inspired by Christianity

• Christians are inspired by the words of the Bible when Jesus says that by helping anyone in need, you are showing your love for God

• Jesus said, ‘Love your neighbour’ and by providing food they are showing practical love through their care for the vulnerable

• The parable of the Sheep and Goats makes it clear that those in need should be helped

• In the bible Jesus fed 5000 hungry people, Christians are following his actions

• The Trussell Trust is a Chrsitian organisation who help to provide food for people in need

  • The Trust supports a network of over 1,200 food bank centres to provide emergency food and compassionate, practical support to people in crisis

  • The network of food banks provides a minimum of three days’ emergency food and support to people experiencing crisis in the UK

The reasons why Christian communities help

• The teachings of Jesus were clear about spreading love and helping others. For example the Golden Rule and the Parables of the Good Samaritan and the Sheep and Goats

• The second most important commandment from Jesus was to, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ (Mark 12: 31), In this example, your neighbour refers to everyone

• The leaders of the Christian churches are expected to set an example to their congregation with their actions

Street Pastors

The work of Street Pastors

• Some churches actively work to support vulnerable people within the community

• Street pastors are trained volunteers from local churches who care about their community

• They patrol in teams of men and women, usually on a Friday and Saturday night, to care for, listen to and help people who are out on the streets

• Late nights in city centres can be a time where people are drunk on alcohol and this can cause many emotional and social problems such as crime and violence

• Street Pastors describe themselves as ‘the Church in action on the street’

• The street pastors go out to be Jesus’s hands and feet on earth

• Street Pastors base their actions upon the example and teachings of Jesus in the bible
  
  

Why some Christians become Street Pastors

• Christians believe that you cannot all yourself a Christian if you turn a blind eye to those in need

• Christians believe that faith alone is not enough and that action is also needed

• For Christians, it is important to love and care for others, including strangers

• Christians would warn against selfishness and encourage consideration of others

• Christianity teaches that those who do help others will be rewarded in heaven

Mission & Evangelism in the UK

Evangelism and Mission work

• Evangelism means spreading the Christian gospel by public preaching or personal witness

  • Christians hope by telling others about Jesus’ message, many will be converted to the Christian Faith

  • Jesus said “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15) so many see it as a priority to pass this on to others

  • The church not only provides a place to worship. It also has a mission to spread the good news to non-believers that Jesus is the Son of God and came into the world to be its saviour

  • Christians believe that Jesus encouraged the disciples to spread the word of God and that they should do the same.

• Christians have the responsibility, according to the Great Commission, to tell others of their faith

• In Matthew’s account of the call of the first disciples, Jesus says to Simon, Peter and Andrew:

UK Evangelism in action

• Christians may evangelise in many different ways, it can be through kindness, showing love or sharing God’s word

  •  Gideons give out free bibles to hotels, care homes and sometimes schools

  • Churches might encourage followers to bring friends to church

  • The Salvation Army help people in need by providing hot meals and beds to homeless people

  • Through initiatives called ‘Fresh Expressions’ and ‘Pioneering Ministry’ the Church of England and Church in Wales are finding new ways to encourage church attendance by worshipping in alternative venues like cafes or by having less formal services in church

The ethics of Evangelism

• Some Christians and non-religious people believe it is wrong to try to directly convert someone to a religion

• Some believe that in an increasingly pluralist society many think you should be respectful of people's faiths or no faith rather than trying to encourage people to change religion

• Some would argue that it is immoral to help someone with a view to converting them to Christianity

  • Social media and the internet are now often used by churches to reach out to more people and spread the message of Christianity

  • The Alpha Course is an evangelistic course for those interested in learning about Christianity. It is promoted as ‘an opportunity to explore the meaning of life’ through a series of talks and discussions