Former addict seeks to reach Anderson’s ‘forgotten people’

Tyus Butler is dialed in to the conversation.

Tyus Butler’s own life experiences led him to start a ministry to people living on the fringes of society in Anderson – the homeless, the poor and the addicted.

Cheerful chattering workers come and go from the room – rooting around amid a tangled pyramid of power tools, lugging awkward clutches of two-by-fours – but the noise might as well be coming from the next county for its ability to distract a man talking about a ministry that has become his passion and calling.

Butler, 52, who confesses right up front that he “took the wrong road” early in life, using and dealing drugs, now spends his days seeking to be a friend to “addicts and poor people.”

“I go into dope houses, bars, theft rings – ride with motorcycle clubs,” said Butler, who became a follower of Christ as an adult. “A lot of things I do, people say I shouldn’t do. A lot of Christians aren’t down with who I am.”

Shortly after his conversion 13 years ago (he was raised in church and baptized as a child but said he walked the aisle only because “the other kids” were going forward), Butler felt compelled to reach out to the only community he really understood: the one that included his friends who were caught up in the drug culture he had only recently managed to escape.

“I know a lot about these people,” Butler said. “I deal with women whose fathers have raped them over and over again. We deal with a lot of homeless folks. A lot of them do drugs to kill the pain.

“These people are forgotten about. It’s bad right here [in Anderson]. This is worse than in Mexico. People from the mission field come here to minister.”

After his conversion, Butler decided to start an outreach effort himself, “Cool Christian Ministry,” which operated out of a 14-by-70-foot trailer. Through the years he worked under the auspices of established churches.

Just over six years ago, because he concluded that many of the people he wanted to reach would never attend a “regular” church, he took his ministry in a new direction as a non-denominational church. Today, after having been in seven locations in six years, Labor of the Field Church is located in a formerly condemned one-story church building near the south side of Anderson and has a thriving ministry to the poor, the homeless, and to people on the rougher edges of society.

And if some Christians “aren’t down” with the mission of Labor of the Field, there are also some who are willing to get their hands dirty to help a ministry to people who literally may have no place to wash their hands.

Volunteer Eunice Smith paints a wall in the sanctuary of Labor of the Field Church.

A group of South Carolina Baptists – members of the South Carolina Baptist Campers on Mission – recently spent three days painting, repairing HVAC units, replacing aluminum trim and stabilizing the shifting rafters at Butler’s church.

The Campers on Mission came to town a few days in advance of their spring rally April 11-14 on the campus of Anderson University. (See story at right.) Retired bankers, auto mechanics, teachers and office workers took up hammers and paint brushes to spruce up the ailing church property.

Before they started their workday, John Dill, director of missions for Saluda Baptist Association, told the volunteers during their morning devotional that their efforts were a “God thing, part of building the kingdom.”

Afterward, Dill said Saluda Association supports Butler’s ministry by providing Bible study literature along with clothing and food items for the church’s ministry to poverty-stricken families. Dill said he wants to be an encouragement to Butler in his ministry and to continue nurturing a personal relationship that’s developed over the years.

Campers on Mission volunteer John Smith removes old aluminum strips from the soffit at Labor of the Field Church.

Butler’s church offers worship services on Sundays and Friday nights, substance-abuse recovery programs, free meals (about 300 each week), a clothes closet and regular Bible studies. Area charitable organizations – the Haven of Rest, Anderson Interfaith Ministries, the Salvation Army – help out, as do local merchants.

Everything the church offers is free, and anyone is free to attend.

“We deal with rough folks,” said Butler. “This is a place for them. I know where they are coming from. I believe they draw hope from seeing me and several of their friends here.

“We send food to dope houses. They know we’ll take care of them. We’re reaching the lost. If I can win their friendship and they open a door, I’ll stick my toe in till the Holy Spirit tells me to stop,” said Butler.

“Picketing the bar down the road ain’t gonna do a thing,” he said. “I believe in helping these folks.”