What are “Pressing Needs” in Titus 3:14?

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“Let our people learn to engage in good works, to meet pressing needs, that they may not be unfruitful.” Titus 3:14

Cretans in Paul’s day had a reputation for being “always liars, evil brutes, and lazy gluttons.”¹ Consequently, in the three short chapters of Paul’s Epistle to Titus, who was ministering on the island of Crete, he mentions the importance of good works in the Christian life several times, the last being Titus 3:14, quoted above.

Titus 3:14 gives us one of the goals of good works

In this passage Paul states the goal of good works: the eradication of pressing needs in the local church. Here he mirrors Acts 4:34 (“There were no needy persons among them.”) and 1 John 3:17 (“If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?”).

Understanding, then, that a major goal of good works is the eradication of pressing needs in the local church, the question becomes, what are pressing needs?

If the goal of good works is the eradication of pressing needs, then what are they?

Most churches receive many calls for help, both from their own members and especially from people outside the church. Those fielding these calls know intuitively that some requests are legitimate calls for help while others are not. But what biblical principles should be applied to discern between them? Here are some suggestions

• Preference should be given to members of your church. Why? Because you are in a covenant relationship with each other. “We are to do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.“²
• Is there immediate danger to life or property? The church does not do its good works to help people save money on labor. The church does them to help people in dire circumstances. Many churches receive requests for help with moving and other labor intensive projects. In almost all cases, these requests are made for the purpose of saving money on labor. Saving money is not a pressing need. For moving help, I suggest referring these people to MovingHelp.com, a website where they can hire local people to help with moving. By referring out request to save money on labor, you can reserve your volunteer resources for true emergencies.
• Don’t ignore your long term, “silent,” pressing needs. Often these are your widowed and single parents who are too embarrassed to speak up. They may be suffering in poverty, loneliness, and poor health. These types of needs may last for years and even decades. Your church needs a plan to address these needs effectively.³
• Be prepared to step out in faith to address truly catastrophic needs. I define a catastrophic need as an event that results in total dependence. For example, someone falling down the stairs and becoming a quadriplegic would be a catastrophic need. This can also refer to community-wide catastrophes. I like to put it this way: “The church is to walk toward liability, not away from it.”⁴

One of the great glories of the local church is its ability to meet genuine pressing needs. By blessing its members and its community in this way, the church proves the reality of Christ’s love and demonstrates the presence of God in its midst.

This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.

For the past 19 years New Commandment Men’s Ministries has helped hundreds of churches throughout North American and around the world recruit teams of men who permanently adopt their widowed and single parents in their congregations for the purpose of donating two hours of service to them one Saturday morning each month. We accomplish this with a free online training site called “Meeting to Meet Needs.”

Learn how to mobilize your men’s ministry to meet every pressing need in your church here.

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Learn how to form teams of men for every widow, single mom

and fatherless child in your church at NewCommandment.org.

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1. Titus 1:12. Paul was quoting a Cretan himself.
2. Galatians 6:10. While we cannot eradicate all pressing need in the general population – “The poor you shall always have with you.” – we can and must eradicate pressing need in our local church as a demonstration of the efficacy of the love of Christ.
3. New Commandment Men’s Ministries specializes in helping churches address the long term needs of their widowed and single parents. See above.
4. See my posts: “Designated Survivor: Is Your Church Prepared to Respond to Members Who Suffer a Catastrophic Need?” and “Are You a Pastor of Disaster? Preparing Your Church for the Next Traumatic Event.”