For I was. . .and you. . .

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. (Matthew 25:35-36)

Two Sundays ago I worshipped with an inner city congregation in Philadelphia pastored by my very dear friend, Rev. Paul Cofer. This small gathering of people created a stark contrast between other congregations, sometimes our own, and this outpost of believers.

The average worship attendance in Grace Evangelical Baptist Church is 20, Sunday school, about 10. All their activities take place in one room. Children and adult Sunday School classes share the same space. The church is an abandoned store front leased by the congregation.

Do not feel sorry for this band of believers. They have great dreams because they worship a great God. They continually witness to the down and outcast who, on some Sunday mornings, they can find sleeping on the steps of the church waiting for someone to show up, hoping that this is the place they can find a little hope and peace for themselves. Sometimes the people who wander in would remind you of the very same people that would cause most of us to lock our car doors and check for our wallets and purses. 

This congregation has a dream, truly, one quite like one of ours. They are trying to put a media center in their worship space, a smaller version of what we seek to do upstairs. However, they have an extra hurdle to overcome. They can’t begin their remodel until they put in a security system because the drug addicts, as much as they might come to and receive help from the congregation, would break in and steal the equipment in search of their next high.

A couple of things: First, recognize that the world you and I live in is one of tremendous privilege. We are blessed and protected. Our frustrations and anxieties are based on possibilities that will rarely become realities. Grace Evangelical lives in the realities and hopes for the possibilities. Two, remember that this congregation could probably move out of the inner city to someplace safer, better, nicer, but they choose to remain here because this is where people are who need to hear about Jesus, those very same people who would break in and steal anything of value in the church in an attempt to satisfy that which, for now at least, rules their life until they accept Jesus as Lord. Pray for them. Thank God for this congregation! Pray that we might be so committed to leading others to Christ as well. 

Pastor Craig