During the 1st century, Christians were persecuted by Rome, yet Christians still performed ministry, helping people at personal risk. This self sacrifice causes the church to grow rapidly, as people saw the love of God pouring out from His people. This continued to be the norm for the people of God, serving the poor, the orphan, the widow, the down and out. In modern times, we still get some of that, where I live there is a Gospel Mission doing this kind of work. Many churches have food pantries and clothing donations, and there are ministries going overseas. In the United States, the church is still standing in the gap; however, that role is very marginalized because of social programs. The government has stepped in and taken the role of the church, and many Christians defend this. This is a problem.
The problem is that the government is secular, and when people receive assistance from a secular government, they tend to be more secular themselves. The church has given away it's role, and stopped being the hands and feet of Jesus. As a result, the church has turned very inward and become very selfish. Now when churches talk about sacrificial giving, it is so they can buy land, build a building, buy a van, do others things to support and grow the church, very seldom is it to help the poor. The government does that.
Here is simple reality. The church has given the role of ministry to the federal government in the form of welfare, and the church has become largely irrelevant to the society at large. The government needs to step back and limit what it does, as the church needs to step up and take seriously the responsibility left by Jesus. If things continue, more people will worship at the feet of government and not at the feet of Jesus.
