Our Wednesday Night Topic for the 15^th of June will be Poverty. Caring for the poor and needy is a large part of fulfilling the 2^nd commandment to “Love your neighbor.”  Even in the Old Testament, believers were commanded to help the poor – Deuteronomy 15:11 “For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land’.”

 In 2009, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that 14.3% -or- 43.6 million Americans are POOR.  But once you begin to dig in to these numbers, it becomes apparent that maybe we need a definition of Poverty.  How Poor is Poor?  Most people think of poverty as destitution – as families living without adequate food, clothing, and shelter. 

 In 2007, the Heritage Foundation did a study and discovered that “the typical American defined as ‘poor’ by the government has a car, air conditioning, a refrigerator, a stove, a clothes washer and dryer, and a microwave. He has two color televisions, cable or satellite TV reception, a VCR or DVD player, and a stereo. He is able to obtain medical care. His home is in good repair and is not overcrowded. By his own report, his family is not hungry and he had sufficient funds in the past year to meet his family’s essential needs.”

 If you were a member of the Northlake Baptist Church Benevolence Committee and a family came to us for assistance that has all the assets listed above:

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