CHARITY IN SOUTH AFRICA: Where is the Church?

We hear about charities of other religions and their amazing work which creates the impression that the Church is less involved or not involved at all.  “The church is failing us” was the comment of one Christian leader.  This is obviously a misguided assumption and worth investing.

So, where does the Church stand in her charity endeavours?

Let me start by clearly stating that charity is not a competition. This document is not an attempt to discredit or question any organisation, regardless of faith, race, or culture.  Every organization that seeks to alleviate the suffering of one human being should be applauded. But charity does necessitate transparency. It is therefore the intent of this article to explore the charitable activities of one of the biggest denominations in South Africa, the Dutch Reformed Church.  Many other denominations like the Methodist Church, the Anglican Church, the AFM, and countless independent Churches have similar activities and could be added to the numbers below, but for the sake of this document the DRC and her affiliates will be the template to find answers to the question at hand.

A SPIRITUAL PERSPECTIVE

A sensitive point of contention is the media coverage that organisations of other religions receive while Christian charities often receive little or no exposure.  The reason given is that, as Christians,  we are guided by different principles.  We often quote the scripture  from the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus said, “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:3–4).

The context here suggests that our involvement in charity, on a personal level, should be in secret and stands in contrast with drawing attention to our giving. It should draw attention to the Lord.

However, when the church as a community of believers is involved in charity work, it should be like  Matthew 5:14 explains:   “You are like light for the whole world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.  No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bowl; instead, it is put on the lampstand, where it gives light for everyone in the house.  In the same way your light must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven. “

This should therefore be our approach as believers: Personally, we give without drawing attention to ourselves, communally we give to draw attention to the Lord.  If we are involved in charity to boast about our achievements we lose the heart of Christ, but if we are involved so that people will praise our Father in heaven, we should publish it – like a light on a hill.

It also sounds a warning, that those who are continually talking about their own endeavours and always boast about their own achievements, should be avoided, regardless of their achievements.

QUANTIFYING CHARITY

Before looking at numbers it is important to confirm the dangers of simply quantifying charity.  A non-Christian organisation operating with great success in South Africa proudly claims to be “the largest disaster response non-governmental organisation of African origin on the African continent.”  This is quite a presumptuous claim to make in the light of so many other ministries working as relief organisations.  According to NPO.gov.za (1] there are nearly  277,000 NPO’s registered at present and probably 50,000 more unregistered.  It is therefore quite presumptious to declare that you are the greatest when it comes to charity.  But what does that entail and what is the longevity of your involvement?

To place the work of the DRC in this context, Rev.Nioma Venter, a spokesperson from the DRC responded as follows:

“I think it would help to try to put the question of the Church’s involvement within a three-fold framework:

1. FORMAL SERVICE DELIVERY: The DRC has ten Social Service Organisations that provide a variety of services, most notably in the field of child and family care, aged care, drug dependency, and disability care. In the Western Cape, for example, the organisation is Badisa.     Badisa manages 42% of the WC gov’s budget for aged care services (the percentage of the Western Cape budget for aged care that goes to Badisa); and 30% of the WC’s child and family care services .
2. SYNOD SERVICE DELIVERY: Each of the 10 synods has a budget and activities for diaconate/mercy ministry. In 2018 we started as a joint venture between the DRC Western Cape, URC and Badisa, a unit for early childhood development. We work in areas where young children are at risk and not getting adequate support to be school ready. This unit of ours, Little Seeds, has since started operating in the Eastern Cape as well. The vision of Little Seeds is for all children to have access to quality pre-school education so that they can grow and thrive. During the first 4 years of existence, Little Seeds gave approximately 4,385 children access to quality ECD services daily in the Western Cape.
3. CONGREGATIONAL LEVEL INVOLVEMENT: Every congregation in the country has a ministry plan and budget for mercy ministries. In the early years it was very inwardly oriented (we take care of our members). There has been a shift in congregations’ focus or understanding of vocation over the past two decades and we have research to show that a move has taken place.

There is no research that clearly records and quantifies all these tentacles of the church. The church’s role is unique in helping pick up the pieces of trauma and devastation where we are locally and being involved in rebuilding communities after disasters (think, for example, of the communities in KZN after the raids and soon after the mudslides). The calling of the church is much broader than just the immediate need of people, but if our spirit is not awake to this, we will compare ourselves to “others” all the time.

While the public is looking for the ‘big stuff’, the way of working in the DRC is really to say that what is being done in the vicinity of the local congregation are the important signs of our obedience to a call to compassion. It can even be broken down to the day-to-day life of each member (believer) in his or her workplace. So “the voice of the church” actually starts with every believer.”

THE NUMBERS

Lastly, and probably the least important from a spiritual perspective but critically important from a witness perspective, are the numbers.  The Council for Church Social Services (Kerklike Maatskaplike Diensteraad – KMDR) is a DRC initiative of National Networks with members in all Provinces, including Namibia, rendering church social services to all people in need of care and support. These formal welfare services originated in the Family of Dutch Reformed Churches and extended to other participating churches.

The Council for Church Social Services is registered as a Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) and functions as a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO).  Although detailed numbers are impossible to obtain due to the extensive work of all the different congregations, the total number of direct beneficiaries reached by member organisations during the period 2021-2022 are estimated to be more than 1,2 million people.  This number can easily be multiplied by four as every individual touched would normally influence a family of at least 4 other people.  If a minimum amount of R100.00 per month is spent on each individual, the extent of charity would reach the R1,5 billion mark annually.   

These activities included R3.2 million support for COVID-19 related support.  R2.3 million was contributed to a total of 221 congregations/networks feeding projects.  It also included drought relief where several projects have been launched.  In the Western Cape a project, R3 million for 30 towns, took place in 2021. Networks was formed between congregations and the benevolence that flowed is impossible to recollect and report. In the Northern Cape Synod projects at least five times this size took place in collaboration with the national radio station, RSG (RSG Red ‘n plaas).

LONGEVITY

Probably the most important component of disaster relief is not always the immediate response to trauma but the aftercare and the process of rebuilding.  The KMDR network of the DRC is a web of established hubs within local communities committed to build relationships and provide long-term solutions.  These activities are not as sensational as short-term disaster relief but deserving of long-term involvement.

THE CONCLUSION

As followers of Christ, we should not be misled by numbers.  Our involvement should always include the message of redemption, a message that no one else can offer.  We should be led by the longevity of projects, the lasting impact in communities and the presence of Christ on ground-level.

[1] npo.gov.za/PublicNpo/Npo#top