You believe that Jesus takes how we respond to people’s needs personally. You see the needs of the homeless and want your church to get involved in this kind of ministry. Yet, even the mention of homelessness raises concerns.
Concerns Related to Homelessness & Getting Involved
Homelessness is broad and far reaching. As an individual believer or church, you might feel there isn’t much you can do.
Homeless ministry demands a lot of resources. You might feel you have enough problems and needs of your own.
Homelessness takes many of us out of our comfort zones. You might have fears and insecurities about involvement.
Reasons not to get involved will abound so you need to just begin, but how?
A process for getting your church involved in Ministry with the Homeless:
- Promote an awareness of the causes and solutions of homelessness. Look at it from a biblical, theological perspective as well as the practical side. — Educate people about homelessness.
- Article: Homelessness: Address More than the Symptoms
- Article: The Church’s Purpose to Love People Is Expressed Through Benevolence
- Article: Helping the Homeless
- Book: Under the Overpass: A Journey of Faith on the Streets of America by Mike Yankoski
- Partner with other ministries and community programs through giving of time, finances, and other resources. Encourage individual giving but also set the example as a church and an easy path for individuals to give. — Expose people to homelessness.
- Organization: Citygate Network (Association of Gospel Rescue Missions)
- Present or provide opportunities for people to help both in preventing homelessness and assisting those who are homeless locally and beyond. Encourage everybody to do their part in ways that fit with their gifting and skill sets and you will make greater inroads into motivating them to get involved. — Engage people with the homeless.
Note the process:
Educate, expose in less threatening ways, and then engage.
I spend my life as an advocate for the homeless. The need for education about homeless is great. As a victim of domestic violence I found myself homeless with two children. I just wanted to say thank you for your post on Homelessness. If I can do anything to help you please let me know. Pastor Tracey
You are an example of 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 in action, using your own life experiences to help others. — “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”
I don’t know if you will get this, because it was so long ago that it was written, but I would really like to talk with you about your experience. I am doing research on what the government and churches are doing to bring change. I am hoping to encourage others in helping out with the homeless. I think I need to understand more, so I can make a greater impact.
Your comment will be forwarded to the e-mail address associated with the comment so Pastor Tracey can contact your directly. Hopefully it is still a valid e-mail.
i am about to start and i dont know what to do,
How wonderful, Anthone, that you desire to get more involved in ministry to people who are homeless. The three points listed in this post would be what I could suggest as your starting points. Perhaps you would do well to connect with an already existing ministry to people who are homeless. One possibility is to locate a rescue mission close to you through the Citygate Network (Association of Gospel Rescue Missions). Perhaps you could make contact with a rescue mission closest to you and find out what opportunities they have for you to get involved. Or, do a web search to find other types of ministry to people who are homeless. If you would be able to sit down and talk with someone one-on-one who is already involved in this kind of ministry, I am sure the ideas would start coming. Of course, all of it needs to be embedded in prayer for God’s will for you in this and His wisdom as you proceed.
this is going to take some time.
True. There is no quick fix program to develop to help people who are homeless. So, it is important to lay the groundwork for doing what you can in the most effective ways and that can take time. But, at you seek God’s help and wisdom, He will work through the process in ways you may never know or imagine.
WHAT IT WOULD TAKE, Dear Candace Owens: what would it take to get the homeless off the street? I write this to you because of the humanity you show me. Why are people living in tents and next to their feces? Answer: Most street people and vets are something we step over because they are schizophrenic. PROOF: America’s most brilliant mathematician was John Nash from Bluefield, West Virginia. His family was poor south but he was a genius. He was born in 1915 and fell to schizophrenia in 1959. He was at the height of his mathematical powers and was set for the Nobel Prize. His wife and his friends continually had him locked in asylums on the advice of current medical beliefs. In periods when he got was released, he embarrassed himself and his family through his behavior on the streets of Europe. By the age of eighty his wife had an stroke of genius. She swore he would never be locked up in an asylum again. Her new idea was to simply provide him a warm home with all the love band comfort of a proper home. So, what happened? He became cured and happy and loved. My proposal for the streets of San Francisco is a tough one and most people will be repulsed. Each homeless person must be adopted by a good home…churches are where I would begin. And why does this change of environment bring people to wellness? The answer is the same for children to grow up to be alcoholics. Their father does not carry a fatal gene – utter nonsense- he recreates the environment that his father that showed him to pass down the behavior.
As the Church we certainly can have a much bigger role in this. Whatever the cause, we need to reach out with the love of Christ in practical ways. While many people aren’t at a point of opening their homes, we need to ask if we’re at least doing something. At minimum, we can pray and/or give to help those who are reaching out in more tangible ways.
I really like this article. It goes the direction I was thinking we need to go. I was at a marriage conference done by Mark Driscoll. He said that our issues in America are not going to be solved by a certain president in office, but by prayer. What will make the biggest change is prayer! I love that that is a major point in your article! I also agree with working with existing government programs and ministries. I don’t have any resources to help, but I am researching to see where I would best fit. The only resource I have is time. I am starting by getting involved with my local homeless shelter. Wherever I end up, I can bring prayer, love and support for those I encounter. Could I get your email if I have questions for you? This has truly been on my heart, and I have been praying and thinking about it every day!
Trudy, prayer indeed is major way to minister to the homeless and also for ourselves to discern how God wants us to be involved. Each of our parts may look a little different but if we all do what God wants us to do, our best fit, we will make a difference. You mentioned that the only resource you have is time. Another person may not feel they have much time to give but may have financial resources. Somebody else may be homebound due to age or illness and can’t give of their time in a local shelter and may also lack finances to help. Yet, they sure can be a prayer warrior and intercede for those who are in the frontlines. How we get involved could also depend on our spiritual gifting. Did you come across this article? — Everybody Can Have a Part in Helping the Homeless
As you continue to pray, I am sure God will continue to provide the understanding you seek about where you would best fit. May God use you in people’s lives in ways you would never think possible. Remember, our God “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Eph. 3:20).