Let’s face it – social action is tough! It’s tough because people are people! People can be inconsistent, unreliable, unpredictable.
“You will always have the poor among with you, but you will not always have me.” Matthew 26:11
It is that important that Jesus compares being with Him to being with the poor. And given that He no longer is living an earthly human life, the next best thing is to be with the poor.
It is therefore a measure of our love of Jesus. It is worship.
What is the current situation at City Church?
20-25 are involved with Streetlife on Saturday evenings
9 people are involved with Encounter
1 person is involved with TLG
1 person involved with refugees
We have one family unit who have committed investment to our Hope into Action House. In total there are 5 committed investors – 4 are from outside our church committed to £160K. We are still short of our £350-400k target!
There are many others in our congregation who have jobs that mean they are involved with the poor, from prisons to health to housing. Others are committed to fostering and adoption – this is incarnational ministry!
Our City Christmas Hope initiative was successful last year and we will be doing it again this Christmas.
However, as passionate as I am about City Christmas Hope, this doesn’t involve us being with the poor and I am committed to incarnational ministry. Spending time with people who are homeless or struggling with addiction can be good for you and also hopefully good for the person in front of you. It is ministry with the poor, not ministry to the poor.
Overall, my summary is that City Church has ground to make up in having a culture of being with the poor.
So how can we take steps in the right direction? Often people disqualify themselves, however…
You don’t need to:
Be experts. People who have lots of knowledge or experience don’t make churches better. In fact, my experience is that it is harder for experts to relate and connect at a personal level. Training can always be provided.
Do lots of different things. One of my reflections is that specific focused church owned ministry makes it easier to connect. It needs to connect to our Sunday gatherings.
Which leaves us with what do you need?
A heart to love God - be a disciple!
To love your neighbour as yourself – Luke 10:27.
A church vision you can understand and believe.
Gospel centred – Always believe that the gospel is good news!
So how can you get involved?
Streetlife- teams go into Brunswick square every Saturday evening to provide food and drinks for vulnerable people
Encounter Outreach – going into a large mens hostel for homeless. Table tennis followed by a bible study
Encounter Connect – a connect group for people with life controlling issues
Encounter Christmas Meal – Wednesday 16th December.
There are other ways to get involved but I’ll introduce them in future blogs.
Finally, if you wanted to financially invest, please get in touch with me. This could be towards the investment in a property that houses homeless people or towards our City Christmas Hope campaign.