Homeless Church

Written last Sunday...

Today Rachael and I attended Homeless Church. The morning service is held outdoors at the Embarcadero, right across from the Ferry Building about twenty minutes walk from the YWAM base. There is a very large paved area that is used as a craft fair, a huge water fountain, and some grassy areas where homeless people often hang out. The businesses there are very well-to-do, and the area is home to the Levi-Strauss and Co.

The service began with several men playing guitar and violin, singing mostly gospel hymns. It was very heartfelt. The presence of the Lord was very sweet as the Holy Spirit was invited to come. More homeless people began arriving with their backpacks. Some have shopping carts which carry all their worldly possessions. Some seemed very depressed during the service. Others were joyful and full of hope. We met a man named Rick, who was in his sixties. He has been a believer for a year and a half now, and says it is because of this ministry. He was so kind and welcoming to us, while still homeless himself. Another homeless woman I met named April was so sweet and welcoming. It is amazing to see the difference between homeless people who know Jesus and the ones who don’t. A homeless guy named Mike who we have met and spent time with several times during our stay here surprised us by coming over and greeting us. I had no idea he attended Homeless Church. He is a funny guy with a toothless smile and a huge heart. After the worship, he grabbed us and brought us into the line to get coffee and a cookie. Rachael spent some time talking to him while I had to find a bathroom.

I ended up having to go to the Ferry Building across the street. The shops and bathrooms there were so nice inside. Crowded with tourists buying gourmet sandwiches, shopping at Sur La Table and Cowboy Creamery’s Artisan Cheese Shop, it was one of the nicest shopping areas I’ve seen here. It felt so weird to come right back over to the Homeless Church. My mind resisted the sudden culture change from one extreme to the other. While I was comfortable in either place, it was weird to switch back and forth so quickly.

A guest minister, Ralph Hiatt was introduced. (Click to read his blog account of the day.) He was a sweet older gentleman who used puppets to share the story of the Good Samaritan. He then talked about the woman caught in adultery. The gravity of that story was impressed on my mind while sitting on the ground surrounded by homeless people. During the message people were sitting and lying on the cement wall and the grass, most of them listening. A few of them were stoned. One guy toward the front unrolled his sleeping bag and began retying it up. Pigeons and seagulls swooped in and out. The visiting minister talked about how Jesus came and lowered Himself to where we all are at and gave the opportunity to begin again. He told how this past year his wife died of cancer. He went to a favorite mountain in Oregon and asked God what to do. God told him at 79 years old that He was giving him a new opportunity to start a fresh life. Since then, this dear brother has been traveling and preaching all over Argentina. I was brought to tears at the sincerity of this message. If God can begin a new chapter in someone’s life at 79, any of these precious homeless people can have the same testimony. I can have the same testimony if I will reach for it. In a strange way I felt closer to Jesus there in that group than I do singing my favorite worship songs and hearing great Bible teaching.

After the message there was some ministry time, and then the pancake line began. I loved watching the servers and the ones who come to help out. Their love for the people was so evident by the way they engaged them, sat and talked, prayed with them, and just loved them. We met a girl named Meredith who was twenty-one and had just come to know Jesus a few months ago. She is still out on the street and needs to get into a rehab place. Stephanie, one of the pastor’s wives, asked us to pray that God would raise up something more for girls trapped in this city. It was a blessing to talk and pray with some of the leaders of this church. It is very much alive and full of the presence of Jesus. Definitely one of the places I would love to go back to again. If anyone is interested in finding out more about this church, you can see here.