Mission Advice

I just got through reading "Under The Overpass" by Mike Yankoski which has given me great insight and conviction towards helping the poor and the homeless. Basically, this author, Mike, and his buddy Sam decide to live the life of two homeless men for about 6 months. They take nothing with them but their guitars and the clothes on their backs and travel to 5 different US cities as homeless men. The are forced to panhandle, sleep outside buildings, and eat from the dumpster at times. They were able to take two showers during this entire journey. A little crazy, I know, but they forced themselves into a extreme situation where they were forced to trust in their Lord for daily provision much like the Israelites were forced to do during their 40 years in the wilderness. They learned a lot about themselves through this journey and met some very interesting people. They also obviously learned what its like to look at society and the church through the lens of a homeless man. Anyway, I'm done selling this book to you guys but I wanted to include some advice that they gave toward the end of the book that may help us with our mission work. 

1. Do more than just give some homeless man some cash because you don't want to be supporting any alcohol or drug habit he might have. No surprise that tons of people on the street have temptations they struggle with just like us. However, in light of the situation, their temptations are more obvious to the everyday observer.

2. "Go downtown with a friend or friends (never go alone). Buy cups of coffee or a bag of take-out food, find a homeless person sitting around asking for money, share your gifts, and enjoy a conversation. No agenda, no plans, no purpose other than to be with that person. You'll be amazed at what unfolds." - they found that more than anything most homeless people enjoy a simple gesture or acknowledgment of their existence. they are ignored over and over again day after day that whenever someone takes time to treat them like a normal human being it brightens their day. this should be a no-brainer but how many times have we ignored the guy on the corner instead of smiling and saying hello?

3. "Is it cold outside? Go to your closet and grab the sweater, sweatshirt, or coat you keep telling yourself you'll wear sometime but know you won't. Call up four friends and tell them to do the same thing. Then go downtown and hand out your warm clothing to the men or women huddled under the overpass or in a doorway." 

4. Become a spokesperson in your community and church for those who have no voice. Be relentlessly suspicious of your comfortable life, and of the comfort zones that render so many Christian fellowships insensitive and ineffective in our communities. God calls us to do more than talk."

I could keep going but this is already longer than most of you may like so I'll wrap it up. Lets turn e-fellowship into a ministry that reaches out to the hungry and the needy. We also have a valuable resource in Nolan and his ministry to reach out to those living less comfortably than we are. Nolan can use our help in many different areas of his ministry. His doing big things so lets follow in his footsteps. I'm also thinking that as we do something like Tyler's sleeping bag mission lets talk about what we did and how it went. I'm not saying we should add up our fruit but lets talk about what we've done and what we're doing in a way that encourages all of us to keep doing more. Ok, we can continue this conversation later since I've talked enough. I love you guys. Thank you Jesus!

-TEvans