Equipping Members of Faith Family Church, Finksburg, Maryland to Be Ministers of Biblical Mercy

Abstract

ABSTRACT

EQUIPPING MEMBERS OF FAITH FAMILY CHURCH, FINKSBURG,

MARYLAND, TO BE MINISTERS OF BIBLICAL MERCY

Paul David Andrews, D.Min

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2015

Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Robert L. Plummer

This project explores the responsibility of the local church to the poor and the process of establishing a ministry to the poor. Over a ten week period participants were shown the importance of biblical mercy within the storyline of Scripture and given practical insights as to how the local church can address the problems of poverty. Chapter 1 sets forth the goals of the project and its historical and contextual setting at Faith Family Church. Chapter 2 lays a biblical foundation that emphasizes the church’s obligation to the indigent through an exegesis of key passages from the Old and the New Testaments. Chapter 3 addresses the issue of mercy as a stewardship of the gospel. Chapter 4 provides a description of the project’s implementation with analysis and results. The final chapter evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the project, and offers some personal and theological reflections.