outreach feedback

Every Saturday a group of us go to one of the several low income housing areas near us to serve. That typically looks like going door to door handing out small bags of some food stuff or household item. Sometimes we do car oil changes, sometimes barbecues or block parties with games, sometimes general clean-up, ... whatever. We do it for free and we offer prayer when the opportunity presents itself. This has open several "doors" in these communities. Once they get comfortable with us coming around, several have come to take advantage of other programs we offer. All of this under the guise of demonstrating God's love in a practical way.

Last week we received this encouraging letter from the new manager at an apartment complex we were not aware of.

I was wondering if you had any 'outward focus minded' people in your church that would be interested in reaching out to the people at XXXXX Apartments? As I try to turn the property around I feel there is a spiritual darkness there. It's tough for me as the owner to reach out to them without them seeing it as an opportunity to take advantage of my being a Christian. I've already experienced this on a couple occasions. I feel the way to pursue this would be through the local church, that way tenants cannot misconstrue my Christianity with their unreasonable expectations. Please give me your thoughts on this. I would even be willing to rent out an apartment at a discount if you know someone who needs a place to live while ministering and reaching out to the folks there. I feel the best way to turn the property around is to transform lives and bring some spiritual light to the area. Hope to hear from you soon!

Praise God for the opportunity to participate in His Kingdom work ... Go Love Live ...

Go to the missing:

It doesn’t matter if someone is rich or poor…black or white…tall or short. Those who are missing are simply missing from God’s story. God has offered all of us a place in His grand story, yet some of us are unaware, uninterested, or just don’t want any part of it. That’s why Jesus didn’t spend all His time with people who believed what He believed. He spent much of His time pursuing those who had not embraced Him—encouraging them in love and truth. So that’s what we’ll do as well.

Love the marginalized:

The marginalized are a group of people who the world shuns for simply being different than the world’s version of ‘status quo.’ We try not to think of ‘marginalized’ as a noun—as a label for a group of people. But instead, we think of ‘marginalized’ as a verb—an action happening to a group of people. It’s an action that the world is performing, not God. Or in other words, the marginalized are people who Jesus invites, but the world doesn’t. So we want to invite and love them as well.

Live as God’s kids:

We believe that God created every single one of as and has given us the opportunity to live as His kids. We want to live lives that honor our Father and reflect His heart. We not only want to embrace and accept Jesus into our hearts, but also want to pattern our lives as His disciples.