Over the past year I have been involved in starting a new mission at my church that feeds the hungry for free in our community once-a-week.
This mission is finally underway and tomorrow will be the fourth time we have offered a free meal.
I think the mission is already proving fruitful as we have seen numbers over 50 coming and eating and fellowshipping together.
One thing I have learned over the years of being on staff at a church is that people are strange. People act in all different ways. The church is more about relationships sometimes, than God. And that makes me sad.
What I believe the purpose of this new mission is, is to bring food to the hungry, and open our church doors to people who otherwise would not step foot in a church.
The very first night that we were opened for business, we had 11 guests. Not the number we were expecting, much lower actually, but still, we had 11. And from that 11 came some very inspirational stories. One mom who has two very small children, was walking by our church on her way to the market which is four blocks down from us, and she came in. We learned that she only has $40 to spend on food every other week, and with no car, she and her children walk to the market every other week with that $40 to purchase food. She and her children have come back to the dinners each Friday there after.
This mother and her story is what I think of when I think of this mission. People who are needing comfort and shelter and nourishment.
But today my eyes were opened to that what I believe to be in the forefront is not, and instead people are getting in the way of this mission's success. Leaders are back stabbing each other.
It's not about egos. Or who is the "main" leader. Or who should take the credit for the success of this new mission.
It's about God.
God made this mission possible. God made our lives possible. And it was our choice to follow Jesus, nameless in the eyes of our neighbors, because we wish to put Jesus' name above our own.
