Congregations in the center city are clearly more involved in supporting social ministry programs , while rural areas show a lower level of program response. Support for soup kitchens in the new suburban areas seems surprising, and probably reflects the frequency of volunteering for soup kitchens from suburban congregations to other parts of the metropolitan area, thereby providing their members opportunities to enact their faith in service. Although the majority of congregations develops resources to respond to basic human needs in emergency situations, denominational preferences emerge around particular ministries. The accompanying chart, showing the total number of programs supported by each denominational group, reflects both the faith commitments of their congregations and their location in communities of need. When it comes to the willingness of congregations to go beyond service and become involved in organized social issue advocacy or community organizing, Historically Black churches rate both issues more highly than all other faith groups.
Partnerships are important to make community outreach happen.
In developing partnerships, congregations are not restricted to working within their own denominational contacts. In fact, coalitions for social ministry are much more likely to cross denominational boundaries than remain within the same faith community. These partnerships occur more frequently in metropolitan areas. Fewer, but still a significant number of congregations, form inter-faith alliances to achieve these social ministries.