Vulnerable & Disadvantaged

13 > Vulnerable & Disadvantaged

The vulnerable are people locally and globally that experience a higher risk of poverty and social exclusion than the general population, including immigrants, disabled persons, veterans, the homeless, those struggling with substance abuse, isolated elderly people, and children.

The disadvantaged are people locally and globally who have been denied access to or are unable to access resources found useful by the majority of society. The disadvantaged are often victims of injustice. These groups can include orphans, families living in poverty, children living in abusive environments, modern day slaves, victims of domestic violence, and disabled persons.

Strategies

Pray

  • Pray that God would give individuals and families wisdom, endurance, and hope about how to engage with the vulnerable and disadvantaged.
  • Pray that captives would find aid, churches would be built, and cultures would be changed as we minister to this group of people.
  • Pray that those who don’t know Jesus would be drawn to those who are His hands and feet, that true and lasting change would occur as they come to know Jesus through these interactions.

  • FAQ

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    • [Q] How will these strategies be different from local outreach efforts already occurring at Bethel?
    • [A] Focusing on specific categories of the vulnerable and disadvantaged will allow us to maximize our resources and reach a broader range of people in a more effective, long-term, and consistent manner.
    • [Q] There are so many people that need help, how can I not feel overwhelmed?
    • [A] Perhaps Gary Haugen said it best in his book “The Good News About Injustice” when he said, “On any given day I am so busy trying to order the stress and vulnerability out of my life that the notion of remembering a child prostitute in India, a torture victim in Indonesia, or a child laborer in Honduras seems beyond the core of my Christian calling. But what is the core of my Christian calling? Every Christian who knows his bible has a ready answer: to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves Matt. 22:37-40. Christ taught us that to love our neighbor was to treat people the way we would like to be treated Luke 6:31. Accordingly, the call to remember the oppressed is couched in the logic of love: ‘Remember…those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.’ The Scriptures are confident that if we imagine we are the child prostitute, the torture victim, the child laborer, we would not want to be forgotten. Surely, it is God’s job to remember ALL the victims of injustice in our world, but might there not be one child, one prisoner, one widow, or one refugee that I can aid?”

Point Person

Angela Hufford

509.628.0150
Email