Seasonal expectations particularly bombard most helpers. Churches and organizations generally look for special projects, such a Thanksgiving meal for a family, during the holidays. Give a man a fish The final dilemma revolves around the results. As a results-oriented society, we want to know did my helping really work. There are two different kinds of helping with different expectations.
Relief work brings tangible outcomes and usually quickly.
For example the soup kitchen, the coat or blanket collection, the fundraiser, the painted house, etc. have clear results, and consequently bring a significant amount of good feeling to most volunteers. The second is the social action project that deals with development or root causes of the problems. Here the results are harder to measure and often take months or years to evaluate. But no one questions the importance of such efforts. The uniqueness of Christian development is that its goal is to bring glory to God and help others recognize him as the source of all life.