OK, I admit that there is a little more than that to starting a mercy ministry. At Guilford Baptist Church, in Sterling, Virginia, USA, just two years ago, we launched a ministry that includes a food pantry and reaches out to homeless people and at-risk youth. Based on our admittedly brief experience, we have developed a long list of ‘things to do’ and ‘things not to do’ when starting a mercy ministry. Our three most important ‘to-dos’ are to decide how you are going to serve, find people and preach the gospel.