- Social ministry carries out activities to alleviate immediate need of individuals or groups. Activities deal with effects of a problem, not the causes. The ministry relationship is one of giver of resources and receiver of resources. Usually direct service is seen as admirable, not controversial.
- Advocacy focuses is on the social problem, not the individual person’s crisis. Solutions are directed toward the cause of the problem, e.g. a law, policy or social practices that need changing. It involves the mobilization of large numbers of people to generate the power necessary to accomplish change. The ministry relationship of one of equals working together in an organized way toward a common goal. Organizing for change can become controversial.
| Social Ministry : Charity | Advocacy : Justice |
|---|---|
| Private, individual acts | Public, collective actions |
| Responds to immediate need | Responds to long-term need |
| Provides direct service | Promotes social change in institutions |
| Requires repeated actions | Resolves structural injustice |
| Directed at the effects of injustice: symptoms | Directed at the root causes of social injustice |
| Examples | |
| Homeless shelters, food shelves, clothing drives, emergency services | Legislative advocacy, changing corporate policies or practices, congregation-based community organizing. |