Rethinking the Role of African American Churches as Social Service Providers

African American churches have traditionally played significant roles in the advancement of African Americans. Evidence suggests, however, that African American churches have been slow in responding to recent calls for greater faith-based involvement in the social services arena through seeking grants from federal and state governments although they continue their traditional patterns of providing social welfare services. As African American churches move farther into the twenty-first century and many social problems facing families and communities remain protracted, new ways of thinking are needed to increase the power of African American churches to influence services, policies and, ultimately, outcomes. This article presents a five-point plan of action to move African American churches beyond their traditional social service delivery paradigm to one that fully engages in the arena of social policy.