Mercy Ministry In The Church

On today's program we will discuss the proper role and biblical rationale, of Mercy Ministries in the local church. What place should reaching out to the poor and needy play in the role of the church's witness to the world?

Some churches have concluded that Mercy Ministries are an essential part (even adding it to the essential marks of a true church - along with the Sound Doctrine, Baptism, the Lord's Supper and Church Discipline) of the church's ministry.

Additionally, some churches see Mercy Ministries as the means by which the church is enabled to "Transform the urban core".

But is this the proper role of Mercy Ministry for the Church? Is it primarily a witnessing tool or is it designed to be expressed by meeting the needs of the saints in the church? Is the recent emphasis on Mercy Ministry as a witnessing tool Biblical?