A question…
While we’re really just getting started, we’re excited about what God has done in the short year since the seed of the ministry was planted. The concept originally started in the form of a question that went something like this, “If God has not chosen many mighty, many wise according to the flesh, and not many noble (1Cor 1:26): if God has chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith (Jas 2:5), why are our churches made up of exactly the opposite? Where is the outreach to those the world has cast off?
That question resulted in a wonderful discussion which ended with the statement that perhaps the person asking it was being called to fulfill the ministry being asked about. That was in August of 2024. After some planning, research, counseling, and a little recruiting, three of us embarked on a mission to knock on doors in “low income, high probability” neighborhoods with the simple offer to pray for those who lived behind the doors we knocked on. What God does through this simple ministry amazes us every time we go.
We believe the greatest opportunity to fulfill the great commission is to work where where God has told us He is working.
What God does through this simple ministry amazes us every time we go.
Along the way…
What God does through this simple ministry amazes us every time we go. He has never failed to work through us each time we’ve gone. He has worked through the people we’ve met to encourage us and direct us by their reactions and comments. He has used us to brighten their day, and demonstrate His love, even if it’s a very small demonstration.
The very first person we spoke with was an older woman. Her response to our introduction was, “A lot of religious people have come around here. Most only come once. Some come for a while. But eventually they all quit coming. What makes you different?” Talk about communicating expectations! So, we quickly learned that we had to be committed, and consistent. Our little band of two “mighty men” and one “Deborah” agreed that we would be.
We were frequently encouraged by the looks of pleasant surprise on the faces of those who answered their doors when we told them what we were doing. We had agreed from the start that we would not give them the name of our church (unless asked) lest they suspected we were “advertising” for it. That proved to be a wise decision. People were pleasantly amazed, even unbelieving, that all we were doing was offering them something. The most telling of these reactions was from a young man who said, “Wow. Everyone else who comes here wants us to do something, or give something. No one has ever come and simply offered to help us.” With that, we knew we were on the right trail. Praise God!
Another impactful statement came from a chance meeting in the parking lot of the apartment community we’re working in. The man making the statement seemed upset that we had taken his parking spot. We greeted him with an apology for doing so. He responded kindly, saying that there’s no assigned parking, it’s not an issue. Never-the-less, we insisted, we didn’t mean to make him park farther from his apartment than he would have liked. We then introduced ourselves, and told him that we come out once a month to ask people how we can pray for them. His response; “Wow. Only once a month?” Just like that we knew we needed to do more.
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The Destination
Praying for people gets the door open. Ultimately however, we know God will reveal needs to us that require more than just prayer. We know that action will need to be taken at some point to truly demonstrate the love God, and fulfill the purpose of our ministry.
Every trail has a beginning point. Knocking on doors and offering to pray for people is ours. The destination is learning to love with the Agape love Jesus has commanded us to have toward our neighbors. Agape love requires sacrifice. It requires allowing ourselves to be vulnerable. It requires having the same mind in us, that Jesus had in Him. We are walking the Agape Trail Jesus calls all His disciples to walk. May God extend such grace to us that we continue.
Luke 14:25-27 (KJV)
25 And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, 26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
