Take a risk in the name of the Lord
There is not a set formula that leads someone to live unhoused. We can’t be so naive and judgemental to assume someone got into drugs, lost their job, doesn’t want responsibility, and is now living on the streets. In St Charles County homelessness is becoming a crisis. The situation is fueled by the lack of affordable housing, lack of transportation, and affordable child care, mental health challenges, job loss, and other life crises that create depression and despair.
What is the cause of homelessness?
If you talk to any HCC volunteer who served in the Warming Center they will all humbly share that they entered that serving opportunity with a preconceived idea of why someone would be homeless. In reality, there are so many situations that can lead to homelessness. Many of us in the church are just one hospitalization away from being homeless ourselves.
Homelessness can mean :
- Earning a wage that is insufficient to meet housing costs.
- Aging out of foster care and not having a permanent place to live.
- Fleeing an abuser as they seek a safe place to live.
- Living in a constant state of survival mode.
- Being arrested for sleeping in a public location, despite having nowhere else to go.
So what does this mean for us at Harvester Christian Church? What can we possibly do?
Pray
For sure, I can share all the ways I know how to serve our unhoused neighbors, but I don’t know specifically how God is calling you. Pray for God to give you eyes to see His children who are experiencing homelessness. Pray for your heart to break for the things that break His heart. Pray for God to open your mind to the possibilities of service through justice and generosity. Pray you are obedient to the command of Loving God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul. Pray you are also obedient to the command of loving your neighbor as yourself.
Educate yourself and others
As I mentioned before there are lots of reasons for homelessness but there are solutions that work to end homelessness as well. The solution to ending homelessness is simply housing. “Rapid re-housing provides short-term rental assistance and services. The goals are to help people obtain housing quickly, increase self-sufficiency, and stay housed. It is offered without preconditions (such as employment, income, absence of criminal record, or sobriety) and the resources and services provided are typically tailored to the needs of the person.” Rapid re-housing can end homelessness by quickly connecting people to a home and services. We need Christian landlords willing to provide truly affordable housing with limited barriers. We need policies that encourage and incentivize business owners and community leaders to support rapid re-housing initiatives. We need many more second-chance employers to provide employment opportunities at a living wage. We need to be well versed in what God’s word sets as expectations and commandments for serving the poor and marginalized.
Practical and Tangible Help for Transportation
Take A Risk
Ultimately we need Christ’s followers to live their faith in action. We need Christians to be obedient to God’s calling in their lives and take a risk in the name of the Lord. We need to walk into loving others knowing that yes we may get taken advantage of, yes we may be inconvenienced, yes, our efforts may not work out, and yes something we own might be mistreated or abused. Yes, the individual we are helping may not know how to properly express gratitude. Yes, it might be messy and take a long time. Yes you may not get to see the results of your efforts and investment of your time, talents, and treasure in this individual. But all of those things are of this world. All of those excuses are really about pleasing ourselves and man rather than God.
I don’t know where is God is leading you in meeting this need in our community. But I do know we have to step out of faith and be much more intentional in our actions of serving those women, children, and men who are experiencing homelessness. If you want to learn more about homelessness in our community let’s schedule a coffee soon. We CAN do something about this issue not because of who we are but because of WHOSE we are.