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When Jesus was asked to describe his mission, he put service into the middle of his purpose: “For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many“ (Mark 10:45). Service is the living expression of faith; it is the act of making real what one believes. James connects service so closely to faith that he states: “So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith“ (James 2:17-18).

Jesus consistently pointed to serving one’s neighbor in his teaching. “The first (commandment) is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these“ (Mark 12: 29-31). In a dispute between his disciples over privilege, Jesus reminded them that leadership is marked by service: “For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves?…I am among you as one who serves“ (Luke 22:27).

Service includes both hands-on care and deeper forms of advocacy. When the prophet Micah told the people how to practice faith, he told them “…do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God“ (Micah 6:8).

Mature faith leads one to deeper levels of service. Faithful discipleship may involve intervention and advocacy on behalf of the poor, the abused, and those denied basic human rights.

Service and evangelism go hand in hand. Acts of care and service “puts flesh” on Christ’s presence and shine as a witness to the love and care of God. One cannot separate evangelism from the faith practice of service.

Adapted from “Toward a Vision for Evangelism,” by Marta Poling-Goldenne and Ted Schroeder

For graphics, see Teach the Faith Graphics Library

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