Ronnie Spicer rides his bike everywhere he goes. He does odd jobs for businesses and homeowners downtown making enough cash to get by on. He has worked on a yard across the street from our church building and so he and I have built a relationship over the last several years. I invite him to church but he has never taken me up on the offer, but he has let me take him to lunch or sit with him and talk about the Scriptures and pray with him. Yesterday as I was the last vehicle leaving Palmetto Square loaded up with all our picnic supplies Ronnie came riding up on his bicycle. We talked for a few moments and though I had not seen him all week he had been watching us ministering in his neighborhood. He thanked me for what we were doing there and we talked about why we were doing what we were, giving me an opportunity to share the reason for the hope that we have in Christ and how it compels us in love toward our neighbors. But not all in the neighborhood are so thankful.
The day before as I was standing in the park with my children talking with some kids who were there from the neighborhood a car drove by with two men, the car slowed and they yelled several expletives directed at me along with some hand gestures displaying their disapproval of our being in their neighborhood. That evening as I was driving down the streets looking for some of the students for the Arts Academy I ventured to one of those dark houses where one of the boys stays. I got out of the truck and inquired of the whereabouts of the young man, and I was not even acknowledged. It was as if I was speaking in a foreign tongue they did not understand or as if I was invisible to them. Their rejection of me was quite obvious. I continued to inquire, but the best I got was he was not there. Some have been thankful for this work we have done and some are hostile to this work. There is nothing new under the sun.
Friday’s ministry started later giving everyone a little more rest before we began. We gathered our supplies at the church for the cookout in the park. We looked together at God’s word how he came near to us to take on our brokenness in the brokenness of his Son in his death, and how he calls his followers to follow him toward their neighbors in that same way by taking up their crosses and coming after him. We then prayed together and set off for the park. Some of us cooked hamburgers and hotdogs while others served them. Others helped children get their plates and eat and some lead the children in games or playing at the playground. This was our opportunity to set the table for our neighbors and invite them him to eat with us. This was the final event of our week of ministry to our neighbors in the city. It afforded great opportunities to share the love of God in Christ with our friends young and old. It was a joy to watch an intergenerational ministry taking place.
While our week of ministry has come to a close, our serving our neighbors in the city will continue throughout the year. New relationships have been built through the week that need to be followed up with prayer, Bible study and the sharing of our lives. Previous relationships have been strengthened, and new opportunities for ministry have to be developed and carried out. We will be praying to the Lord of the harvest to raise up workers for the harvest field, workers that work from worship to work. We will be gathering for prayer and planning to ask the Lord to lead us in our next steps of ministry in the city as our Director of Mercy and Evangelism, Ryan West, moves on to Louisville Kentucky to pursue further education. And we will give thanks for the work he is doning in our lives to enable us by his grace to extend a passion for knowing and delighting in the glory of God in the place he has planted us.
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