Churches and ministries often want to help the hungry, homeless and addicted, but sometimes don’t know how.

When they do try something, they may provide only temporary relief.

A conference scheduled from Oct. 28-30 could provide answers.

Gerald Davis (left), of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, talks with Jimmy Dorrell, executive director of Mission Waco, about the No Need Among You 2010 Conference. The event will offer participants methods to better help needy families and individuals.
Duane A. Laverty/Waco Tribune-Herald

Crestview Church of Christ in Woodway is hosting the No Need Among You 2010 Conference, which organizers are hoping could attract 400 people.

It will feature speakers and writers such as Steve Corbett, author of “When Helping Hurts.” He is scheduled to discuss issues of economic development among the poor.

“This will offer new ideas for ministering to the marginalized of our communities more effectively,” said Gerald Davis, with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, a co-sponsor of the event.

To really help the needy, Davis said churches must provide more than a meal and secondhand clothes.

“You have to be willing to enter their lives, find out why they are in the state they are in and develop a plan or strategy for eliminating those things. You have to become an advocate,” Davis said.

Real-life situations

He said the conference will offer real-life situations that needy families face and ask the group to discuss solutions.

“How would they pay to have a car fixed? What if the air conditioning went out?” he said. “I want them to really sense and feel what people go through and assess how they are responding.”

This is the third year for such a conference in Waco.

Economic development will play a prominent role. Workshops will address microloans, job training-development and financial literacy.

Other sessions will deal with sexual exploitation, affordable housing, and recruiting and keeping volunteers.

Participants will gather in large groups to hear the main speakers, then break into small groups for workshops.

Baylor University faculty members and graduate students will make presentations, said Sam Oakley, associate director for the Center for Family and Community Ministries at Baylor.

“We want to be trainers and helpers for churches that truly want to empower people and meet their needs as opposed to providing a quick fix,” said Mission Waco executive director Jimmy Dorrell, a scheduled speaker.

Dorrell said churches have a benevolent mindset. They maintain clothes closets and food pantries to help the poor, but they get frustrated when the needy come back again and again.

Digging deeper

They want to dig deeper and reach the root of the problem, he said, and often call Dorrell for advice.

Mission Waco oversees 12 programs that help the needy find meals, a place to stay, job training, and drug- and alcohol counseling.

It runs an eatery called World Cup Café, where clients work. Once a year, it opens a Christmas store and school-supply store that sells donated items to parents at reduced prices.

“People with a problem need to be included in the solution,” Dorrell said. “The homeless can sweep the floor or cook food. If you don’t allow them to take part, you take away their dignity.”

Dorrell addresses spiritual needs by serving as pastor of the Church Under the Bridge Ministry.

Of the conference, he said, “Clearly a majority of those attending will come from Waco, but this is a regional conference, and we want to have an impact on the whole state.”

He said he knows of two groups from Louisiana that will attend.

Crestview Church’s Donnis Smith said the 650-member facility built its community center to accommodate conferences such as No Need Among You and to provide space for ministries that have none.

“We try to let our building be used at minimal cost, if any,” said Smith, who helps direct center activities.

mcopeland@wacotrib.com

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