Project Hope
"I just felt like everybody treated me like a normal person,” said an elderly woman who showed up at Project Hope on Sunday. “I know that’s probably not a big deal to most people, but sometimes I feel like needing help makes me less or something. It was nice to get help and not feel like everybody thinks something wrong about you.”It’s stories like this (and at least a dozen more) that make my heart swell with love and appreciation for the people I get to do life and church with. I watched parents serving alongside their kids. I watched teenagers (my own included) partner up and serve some of the most needy people in our city. I watched our prayer team lift the spirits of hurting, desperate people. I watched one family come through to receive services and then turn around and ask if they could stay and volunteer for the rest of the event.
I watched people from our community set aside religious and cultural differences for the expressed purpose of serving those who Jesus called “the least of these, my brothers…” And I watched family after family walk in and get served with dignity and love. I can’t explain how full my heart was as I saw people living out what it means to be the hands and feet of Jesus to a hurting world.
I know that some of us wished that we had more people show up to receive services, and we have some ideas for how to change that in the future, but I also know that God did exactly what he wanted, and our volunteers, our church, and our city are all the better for it. Stories of how God moved in our guests and volunteers are being told all around our church and small groups, and we’ll be sharing some of the ones we can in church this weekend (back at Lincoln!)
Jesus said this about his mission here on earth:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free…” (Luke 4:18)
If it was good enough for him, it’s sure good enough for us. People all around us are living in physical, financial, and spiritual oppression, and they don’t know the road that leads to freedom. It’s time that we help people find their way out of the darkness in the same way Jesus did for us.
"You are a chosen [people]... that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." (1 Peter 2:9)
Do you have any experiences from Sunday afternoon that you’d like to share? Comment below or post it to our Facebook page.
