Whatever Happened To Churches Meeting Felt Needs? – And What Should Replace It?

October 23, 2018

by Karl Vaters

Meeting people’s needs is a big part of the church’s mandate. Tasks like feeding the poor, caring for children and widows, and helping addicts find freedom is essential to loving our neighbors as Christ has loved us.

But meeting people’s “felt” needs has always been a slippery slope because people tend to feel their most immediate needs, but often have little or no understanding of what their truer, deeper needs really are.

Since the church is no longer the only place for people to get their physical, social and emotional needs met, what role do we serve now, if any?

Author

Karl Vaters

Karl produces resources for Helping Small Churches Thrive at KarlVaters.com.
He's the author of five books on church leadership, including his newest, De-Sizing the Church: How Church Growth Became a Science, Then an Obsession, and What's Next. His other books include The Grasshopper Myth and Small Church Essentials.
Karl also hosts a bi-weekly podcast,The Church Lobby: Conversations on Faith & Ministry, featuring in-depth interviews about topics that concern pastors, especially those who minister in a small church context.
Karl has served in small-church ministry for over 40 years, so he speaks and writes from decades of hands-on pastoral experience. He and his wife, Shelley have three children and two grandkids.

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