Compelled by Grace is the outreach side of everything we do at Parkside. In the Scriptures, it says in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 (NIV) For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
We feel that outreach should only be done in the love and grace of Christ. We believe that people do not come to the Lord because they have been condemned or shamed by Christians, however it is the love and grace of Christ that draws people to salvation. We are compelled by Christ's love to share with all the grace and love that we ourselves have received.
Community Clean Up: Our Church has partnered with San Angelo's Code Compliance Division to help those who are elderly or disabled. We receive a list of people who meet those requirements and have received a code enforcement violation notice and cannot take care of it. We connect with those on the list and the city lets them know that we are going to take care of the violation. We go out once a month on a Saturday morning and take care of everything that is on our list. This is an easy ministry for anyone to jump in and help us as we love the city to Jesus.
Benevolence: We, as a church, love to help people. We take seriously the words Jesus spoke in Matthew 25 about serving Him by giving to the "least of these." We also want to be good stewards of the money that the Lord gives us through our congregation, so we have a benevolence team that looks at and reviews needs. We do not just want to give a hand out, we want to give a hand up. When we help a person, we have a member of our benevolence team connect with them, working to build a relationship that will encourage growth on all levels. We believe that more often than not, money given without relationship is just an enabler that allows the person to remain in a destructive life pattern. However, when people are welcomed into relationship, real change and help can take place.
Food & Prayer: There is nothing more basic that this branch of Compelled by Grace. Food & Prayer is where we, as the church, go from door to door and hand out food to people. We are not trying to get them to come to church or even change their lives, we are simply reaching out in the love of Christ. We do not just offer food, we also ask if we can pray for them. We believe that over time, people will experience the tangible love of Christ through those who have the time to reach out with food and prayer.