I tried to pretend not to see him. He held a cardboard sign on the exit of the interstate and walked up slowly to my stalling car at the light. My prayer was answered, and the light turned green just before he made it to my car.
I know you are much more spiritual than I, but at times I pass judgment on individuals who seem to be milking the system, not earning their keep, or taking from society. I stereotype individuals who seem to be broken. It’s easy for me to reach out to some of the broken — like children at risk — but others are much harder.
John, a church planter in Myrtle Beach, felt just like I did about these individuals he would see begging at the exits of the road. Then one day he walked down a path that would change his life.
Across from his church he saw a path in the woods. He thought it might be a deer trail and, being an avid hunter, he was always looking for new spots to hunt. What he found instead was a homeless camp.
His curiosity took over, and he began to strike up a conversation. At first they were very reserved to the point of being rude — but as John continued to talk, their guard slowly came down. It would have been easy to just present the Gospel and run, but their stories gripped him. Week by week he ventured down the path to this community in the woods and listened to their stories of brokenness. Over time he moved from stranger, to friend, to disciple maker.
Over the course of three years, he began a missional small group there to teach them more about Jesus. They even bought a blue tent and made it their church building and would only use it to discuss the Bible. Then one day John challenged them to get in the game and to find a mission.
“What can we do? We can’t be on mission. We have nothing,” said one of the broken.
John said, “Figure it out, and let me know how you can help people.”
Later that week he received a call from one of the broken. (Yes, they had a cell phone. You don’t have to have a home to have a cell phone in 2015!)
The voice on the other side said, “Come quickly. We’ve found our mission.”
When John arrived, they could hardly wait to tell him.
“We overheard you talking about needing money to send students to SummerSalt youth camp. So we got together this morning, prayed, and went out to our normal spots on the road begging. We decided to give everything we collected today to send one of your students to camp.”
John looked down at the wad of money, which represented all that they had, and tears filled his eyes.
The student who went on scholarship to camp came to know Jesus that week, and you’ll never guess who the preacher was — me!
I may be more broken than them. I’ve got a lot to learn about Jesus’ heart for the broken.
Every broken person has a name. Every name has a story. Listen and love.
— If you struggle with sharing Jesus with someone close to you, consider reading “Close Encounters” by Lee Clamp, available at CourierPublishing.com.