This is a quote from a book called Outreach and Mission for Vital Congregations by Dale Rosenberger. It asks some great questions so I want to share it with you all:
To do mission and outreach in such a way that witness is the watchword...means keeping at the forefront of our endeavor the heart of the Gospel message....It asks that we move into the world out of a vaster and deeper passion than the "impulse charity"...to keep keep witness at the center of our outreach requires the relentless discipline of asking a lot of questions...questions like: Where is the glory of the Gospel in this? Where does redemption by the cross become visible in what we are saying and doing? How can we ourselves sink back and become less visible...while making more prominent the God who is our Savior? Where does this become more about the unstoppable advance of God's reign and less about volunteerism, progressivism, boosterism, or the ubiquitous "triumph of the human spirit?" Where can we see the face of Jesus Christ among the suffering and needy whom we approach and in another as we venture out together? Are we doing what we are doing because others will us as good people or because God tells us that we can do no other?
Spend some time with those questions...tell me, what do you think?