"By wholeheartedly embracing its mission of serving others and creating opportunities for members to engage meaningfully, churches can bridge the widening gap in funding and community support and the church can become more of the beacon for support," the writer says. (iStock)

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes a mix of guest commentaries online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

•••

In “Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota announces staff cuts” (Feb. 18), the Minnesota Star Tribune sheds light on the direct impacts of federal funding cuts on one of the largest nonprofits in the state — LSS serves one in 65 people here. The coverage also points to a broader issue facing churches today.

Historically, churches served as the heart of the community, representing not just a place of worship, but a center of community care and support. The church’s role was robust, dynamic and focused on living out Jesus’s calling to love our neighbors and help others. Over the past several decades, however, the church’s role has diminished, with attendance steadily declining across almost all faith groups.

At the same time, government funding of social services has grown, with the average nonprofit receiving 25% of its revenue from government sources in 2023. Some have replaced all their revenue/community support with government contracts. While this infusion of funding has helped bring expertise and scale to nonprofits, it also puts social services at risk, as we’ve seen in the first month of the new administration in Washington.

We have become reliant on government funds and lost the key role that our churches once played to make a difference for those that need it the most. We need both the government contracts and the community to do this work. Government needs to take care of the most challenging situations with professional contracts while the community needs to once again step into the stabilizer role.

As government support becomes increasingly unstable, we face a social services crisis that the church can help address. By wholeheartedly embracing its mission of serving others and creating opportunities for members to engage meaningfully, churches can bridge the widening gap in funding and community support and the church can become more of the beacon for support.

To do this, the church will need to reimagine its approach, taking a big, bold and present stance. The church must offer new and innovative ways for members to contribute their time, talent and treasure. For example, opportunities for direct service and action will appeal to younger generations who seek purpose-driven engagement over rituals. This will allow faith in action and may even slowly grow attendance on Sundays as faith is lived out.

Challenging times call for decisive action. The path forward requires commitment from all of us. The church must return to its core mission by offering pathways for members to step in and support the communities most impacted by federal funding cuts. By doing so, we have an opportunity to revitalize our faith communities through meaningful, active service.

Chris Beach is the senior vice president of philanthropic services at the Minneapolis Foundation, former president and chief development officer of Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota Foundation (2015-2019) and currently a member of St. Philip the Deacon Lutheran Church in Plymouth.