“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?” Luke 15:4
The Holy Spirit prompted Jason to go out into the neighborhood near ACS and tell people about our church and Jesus. Jason asked me to join him. It is interesting that the Lord laid the same thing on my heart, in same neighborhood a few years earlier. We knocked on doors inviting people to church. We asked them if they needed prayer for anything. We asked them about their thoughts about God.
We met several church attenders. Fusion was the most popular.
One kind man was mowing 3 or 4 of his neighbor's lawns. Mowing his neighbor’s lawns is something nice he likes to do. After talking to us for 10 minutes he gave his life to Christ. He asked us to pray for his daughter (an atheist) who was moving back home.
Up the street it was encouraging to see a father and son fixing the son's broken cell phone screen. They were working together following a YouTube video.
We met a young man, about 20, who is out of work, smoking pot and drinking. He lives in his mother's home which is in foreclosure. He has attended Praise Tabernacle in the past. I asked about the pictures on the wall. He told us about his little brother who was killed last year by a texting driver. He said he wants to come to Sojourn.
We met a dad and 2 sons working on a car. The dad and one son seemed to ignore us but the oldest son listened.
We met a woman who is married to a policeman. She wants to attend to a church. It is hard for her because her husband’s schedule changes every month. She liked the 10 AM start time. That would give her time to get her 3 kids, ages 3 to 10, ready. We may see her Sunday.
Your perspective changes when you walk through a neighborhood, meeting and talking to people. You see the struggles more closely. You see the paycheck-to-paycheck existence that does not have room for home repairs. You see family members moving into another family member’s home. You see foreclosures and spouses away for work. A walk through a neighborhood helps you realize how much we are surrounded by people struggling and in need.
This is our neighborhood. We need to soften our hearts for them. Let’s take a little time to listen and invite them to know the God of the peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7).
