Both of the comments are good resources, check them out. My church keeps dry goods on hand at all times and hands them out to those come in and ask. We also have a food pantry that we direct them too. The food pantry will have fresh produce and meat very often so it is a good incentive for folks to come to it. We do not make any judgments about the truth of their stories but limit the amount we give away. We also have gas cards we give out to folks, but we keep track of who gets them and set limits on our giving of them. For instance a person could come in and ask for a gas card anytime but only receive one per month (30 days apart not a different month on the calendar) and they can only receive 3 of them per year. Again we don't judge the truth of their statements, we simple limit the potential abuse. If the person begins investing in our church and have need that we can assess truthfully, then the deacons begin working with them. I hope this helps. Rog
Posted in: How Does Your Church Handle Cold Calls?
Both of the comments are good resources, check them out. My church keeps dry goods on hand at all times and hands them out to those come in and ask. We also have a food pantry that we direct them too. The food pantry will have fresh produce and meat very often so it is a good incentive for folks to come to it. We do not make any judgments about the truth of their stories but limit the amount we give away. We also have gas cards we give out to folks, but we keep track of who gets them and set limits on our giving of them. For instance a person could come in and ask for a gas card anytime but only receive one per month (30 days apart not a different month on the calendar) and they can only receive 3 of them per year. Again we don't judge the truth of their statements, we simple limit the potential abuse. If the person begins investing in our church and have need that we can assess truthfully, then the deacons begin working with them. I hope this helps. Rog