In some countries, especially in dictatorships, there may be little that individuals can peacefully do to help the oppressed. But the United States of America was founded on the basis of the citizen being the highest level of government. Much of the Declaration of Independence is a complaint about injustice by the English King. While many freedoms in the United States have been lost, most citizens still have the right to "petition the government for redress of grievances", to vote, to be juries, to write letters to publications, to gather information for the oppressed and to visit and encourage them.

The most common thing believers will say is, "I cannot get involved with the government, it does not accept the Bible and it is corrupt." This is exactly why the USA has its current problems: people who believed the Bible gradually got out of government, and have been replaced, in many cases, by the greedy and the corrupt.

The other common thing people will say is, "What can one person or one little group do?" That question has been answered by what many "one persons" and "little groups" have done. Those who are evil do not like the light shown on them and sometimes one or a few letters to them—or to the press—will cause them to change. People boycotting businesses have caused them to change. Local elections, in some places, have such a poor voter turnout that one local congregation, convicted that they should act together, can change the outcome.

Examples of people who need help abound. Here are a few: pre-born babies (over a million killed every year), abused children of bad parents, abused children in government programs (sometimes taken away from bad parents, sometimes taken away from good ones), mistreated prisoners (private studies indicate half probably should not be there to begin with), people unnecessarily in mental institutions against their will (they frequently have no legal way to get out by themselves), victims of crimes of all types, etc.

This is not everyone's ministry, but it should not be no one's ministry. Obviously, those with legal and government expertise can probably help in the biggest way. But many of us could do a lot more to help individuals whom we know. We can pray for them. We can befriend them and talk to them rather than ignore them, as is usually most convenient. We can help them do simple things. We can spend a few hours to find out something about elected officials to determine which is the most just—according to the Bible. Our discernment might not be perfect, but years of Bible instruction and the Holy Spirit should allow a believer to do a better job than the "average voter" of finding the most righteous candidate. God did command His people to appoint just officials in all their localities (Deuteronomy 16:18–20).

The principle of Galatians 6:1 should certainly apply to this service. If someone is becoming like the corrupt politicians, prisoners or others that they encounter in their efforts to help the oppressed, they should stop their efforts to help in order to get their own life in order.

Summary of Reaching Out to Others

There are many other ways to reach out to serve others. The ones listed here do not represent an extensive study of the best ways, but simply methods that most individuals or groups could do if they so decided. Group projects have a way of brining joy and a feeling of oneness to a group—to work together for a righteous goal and to achieve it. But if a group's outreach consists primarily of individual ministries, it is still very important that the members share what happens in those ministries and encourage each other. Encouragement is the main reason stated for assembling together in the book of Hebrews:

" Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another— and all the more as you see the Day approaching. " (Hebrews 10:25).