Picture of 'To the Streets' on 15th and Market

To the Streets: One person, one heart at a time

Today was our monthly scheduled time to minister to the homeless through our ministry 'To the Streets'. We've been doing this for about two and a half years now. Over the past 7 years of working with the homeless I've always wondered to myself: what kind of change or transformation does this work bring to people? In fact, more often than not I'm questioned by people in our community about the work we are attempting to do through 'to the streets'. They are good, valid questions about what kind of 'real' impact are we making, what we should expect in people's lives after a certain point of helping them, etc. These are questions I often ask myself. In the past few months I've been reminded of the small steps sometimes it takes to love people. I am reminded of Christ's ministry and how he pressed forward to care for people regardless of the outcomes, especially those outcomes we can only measure with human eyes.

Then today a man who'd we worked with for the past two years came out to volunteer his time for 'To the Streets'. Ken is someone who has struggled for years with a variety of layers of homelessness-- some of the struggle having to do with chemical dependency, mental health/illness, unemployment and more. He shared how he was clean and sober and has housing in South Seattle and how the people at Quest has impacted his decision to get his life back on track. He proclaimed how he desired to get baptized and become a member of the church and how it was an opportunity for him to give back in some small way. Beyond his words the transformation in his life was so evident and clear and a testimony to all of us of Christ's work in his life. I am blessed that we had a small impact on this transformative process, but more importantly I am excited to be on the other side with him to celebrate this wonderful work. It is a testimony to me that we just don't know the work of the Spirit in every human heart. We must be faithful by believing and showing up to extend our lives in service, but not because we'll have any way to measure the work but in humility as we remember that God's Spirit is working on a level we can't sometimes see or understand. The testimony of our friend, Ken*, is evidence of that work. Who knew that a pair of socks or small tube of toothpaste could be such a window into the larger work of God?

*name has been changed to protect his identity