My son recently returned from a week-long mission trip to Staten Island. He and three others helped out a guy named George, whose house was submerged during Hurricane Sandy. It was hot. It was sticky. It was hard work. And yet, from all accounts, he and another youth on the trip did a great job and worked hard.
I could not me more proud of these boys for responding to God's call to the mission field.
In the evenings, they slept on cots at Olivet Presbyterian Church and showered across the street at the YMCA. They also had a chance to meet some interesting people in the congregation and neighborhood. On one particular evening, they were invited to a barbecue with many people who are homeless and/or battling HIV/AIDS. This is one of those invitations to the mission field that could cause many otherwise faithful Christians to hesitate. It is a ministry that many congregations might not embrace, but not this 80-member congregation in Staten Island.
As I reflect upon this my son's experience at this barbecue (and the mission trip as a whole), I give thanks that he was exposed to ministry to a group of people often overlooked or even exiled. I am thankful to hear there are congregations who reach out to groups of people the rest of the world has cast aside. I am also compelled to inventory how we witness to Christ's love to different groups of people in our own community.
Mission (in Scripture) is understood in concentric circles. Jesus says, "...You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8) In other words, we serve the people of our neighborhoods and communities (Jerusalem), in our region/state/nation (Judea), and even overseas (to the ends of the earth). We also go to places -- like barbecues with AIDS/HIV patients -- that the world says don't matter (Samaria).
Thank you to Pastor Bryan and another adult church member for leading these two boys in mission and enabling them to be witnesses of Christ's love.
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