Beginning an inner-city neighborhood ministry can be a very un-natural thing to do. From the fear of being in a place that doesn’t seems safe compared to where you live, to the social disconnect that exist between affluent cultures and cultures of poverty, there are many many road blocks. Our main goal in ministry is to show people the redeeming love of Christ, that is available to all, and to bring new believers into a familial relationship with the church/us/the global and local family of believers.
So, how do we even start to try to tackle this? And do you really want to? It’s not that difficult of an idea to tackle, actually. However, there are a few things I want to walk you through to bring a better understanding of the way things are, and the way things aren’t. Then we can talk about the simplicity and difficulties of sharing the gospel in the inner city.
Let’s start with this concept: When you seem like a foreigner to me, I don’t trust you. You haven’t earned my trust. I not only lack trust for you, but also your culture, your belief system, everything. I don’t trust you, because you and everything you know are foreign to me. Slowly, over time, though, we may have meeting of the minds that lead to a trusting relationship. However, because of your background and the differences it has with mine, there will always be a draw back to our internal prejudices. bottom line is, when we are foreigners to each other, it makes trust harder. Are you ready to do the hard work of bearing with one another in love?
Next: Operation Turkey Drop Doesn’t work! The Church has tried to love families in poverty by giving them stuff, but without maintaining relationships. I have heard the church referred to as the “Turkey People” because they come give out Turkeys on Thanksgiving and then go back to where they came from for another year. Don’t get me wrong I love the idea of giving out Turkeys, and other things to families who can’t come up with that stuff on their own, but I don’t think this is what the church should be known for. If you are going to be part of the exodus from financial and spiritual poverty in poor communities, then you must remember how much operation “drop turkey, see ya next year” has hurt the poor. The Bible talks in the book of Acts about how believers were added daily to the church and the church pooled their resources and left no-one in need. The church in the USA has for the most part, failed to be the church the way God designed, and has instead become the church that people want. Jesus is the prize, and we must confuse the matter. Jesus said if you love me, you’ll obey me. This means we must take care of the widows and orphans as we would our own family, and we’d be doing more than Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Then: Obey Jesus = Take Care of Orphans and Widows. The Bible doesn’t speak exactly to the topic of single-mothers and their children, but I personally believe that fatherless children, especially boys, need the church to provide them with Christian examples to follow Very similarly to the way orphan children are left to fend for themselves, many children growing up in single-parent homes often have the same scenarios. Children don’t follow the people they see once a year. They follow people they see everyday. Are we not capable of being steady model of Christ’s love to the people in need in our communities? Well, it certainly isn’t as black and white as I wish it was. Our culture has muddied up the waters of what life should be like day in and day out for folks in such way that people give up their time margins that could be used helping those in need more often than not, and others have been taught that time is for oneself and not for others unless their is a little tiny bit left over after all the personal needs are met. But back to the question, can we be this type of church to our community? Yes, we can. How?
Finally: Quit telling people about the church, and instead be the church in your community. Start with your neighbors and once you have a group of Christ Followers, focus on studying and obeying the teachings of Jesus, the teachings of our God, through the Bible. If you are obedient to his word then you will learn what you need to do. Don’t depend on this post to tell you the answers. Don’t depend on your pastor, don’t depend on the expert. No, depend on the word of God and the moving of your hearts by the Holy Spirit. Be accountable to, but not fully dependent on, the people who God gives you to pursue Him with, your Christian community. This is the only way you are guaranteed to move in the right direction. The best thing you can do to be a part of a movement of Christ in a neighborhood is keeping yours eyes open and look for Him. Then Follow. Get confirmation from your group that is earnestly seeking Gods will, and commit to being obedient through the easy times, and through the hard times, because they will come. If you still feel like being in an inner city neighborhood ministry after reading this. I think you should consider it. We hope this site will become a great resource for you on your journey as we share a CD little about ours.