Compassion Evangelism: Meeting Human Needs by Thomas G. Nees (Good, 1996, Pbk, 117 pgs, Beacon Hill Press)

Cover has wear; pages have light highlighting throughout. ISBN 0834116235

Compassion Evangelism gives a poignant look into the role the church plays in meeting the needs of people through compassionate ministries. The author attempts to describe the proper balance necessary between social activism and salvation, taking us back to our roots in John Wesley and Phineas Bresee. This book will challenge you and the church to become more directly involved in meeting the needs of a lost and hurting world.

Nees, a former director for the Church of the Nazarene, uses his experience founding Community of Hope in Washington, D.C., to illustrate how a congregation can transform from simply listening to neighbors into a comprehensive ministry center providing health, legal, and emergency services.  The text posits that compassion is the essential context for evangelism, demonstrating that caring for physical and emotional needs is inseparable from sharing the spiritual message of the Gospel.