Rich & Homeless
WORSHIP. PRAYER. ACTION.
Our method of outreach here at Reach Initiative is to love and serve all people out of an overflowing heart and spirit. We as a team aim to make worship and prayer our number one priority. We believe when you posture your heart to worship God you will be moved to pray, and when you begin to pray out of worship, you will be moved into action.
“Worship until you are moved by the spirit to pray. Pray until you are moved to action. Then act in obedience as the spirit moves you to change the world around you. “
This method of outreach has allowed us to serve many people in the past. We have helped many heavily burdened people with groceries, free labor, transportation, clothes, shelter etc. Recently we have had a focus on building relationships with the homeless.
This is a story about our most recent outing…
It was a busy week, the kind of week where you feel like you could never catch a breath. I struggled to make time for God. One day I prayed in the shower, another while sitting in my truck. As the week went on I had to get more creative. Finally, the weekend was near, and I knew if I was going to be successful in leading our ministry I would have to be more intentional in making time for God. So I set aside an hour to be still in worship and prayer.
The next day I continued intentionally worshiping and praying without any expectation. Just me and God.
Eventually, I began to feel moved to serve my community. As I prayed one verse was on a loop in my mind…
Acts 1:8 “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
The more I prayed the louder this verse spoke to my heart. I asked God to interpret this to my situation, and I believe that he was saying to start as close as possible to home, then work my way out until I found someone willing to receive prayer and help. I was very uncomfortable but started in my own neighborhood. The person I had in mind was not home, so I searched the surrounding towns where I usually see people asking for help. It was a really hot day and a lot of people where not out. I was getting discouraged. Every single time I do outreach it’s the same song and dance. Somehow I always forget…GOD ALWAYS COMES THROUGH.
I parked the car and started over. WORSHIP. PRAYER. ACTION…. WORSHIP. PRAYER. ACTION…
This time I was feeling moved to go into the city and pray over a homeless man. It was so specific I could almost see him as I worshipped.
The sky became dark with storm clouds as I drove aimlessly into the city, worshipping, praying and seeking out areas of the city that were filled with hurting people. It was pouring rain, but I was not going to let that stop me. I ended up in an area that obviously had a lot of darkness. Some of the things I witnessed broke my heart, but I knew God was not leading me to interfere at that time. I placed a pin and saved that area on my phone for the future. As I drove away, I saw a homeless man in the distance. That must be him!
He was sitting alone under a bridge. I parked the car at a gas station about a quarter mile away and began to walk his direction. I had to walk around a fenced in area to get to him. As I got closer he started walking back toward the gas station on the opposite side of the fence from me. At this time the rain stopped, and the sun was out again. I was hot sweaty and discouraged.
Discouraged yet determined, I power walked back towards the car to try and catch him. By the time I got back to the car he was already stationed under a bush about 6 feet from my car. I noticed he was with 2 other guys so I decided to sit in the car and pray before I approached them. I watched the 3 men from a distance for about 5 minutes and quickly realized it would not be a good idea to approach them.
I will not go into detail, but I am thankful the lord allowed me to see that the men were not safe to approach. Again, I was discouraged and tired, I had to restart….WORSHIP. PRAYER. ACTION.
I was still being moved to find that homeless man. As I drove through the city worshipping and praying, I finally saw a man holding a sign asking for help on a busy one-way street. Once again i thought to myself…That must be the guy!
Maybe I am crazy, but I was willing to do this all day until I found the man God put on my heart. Again, I parked the car at a nearby gas station and pursued the man on foot. By the time I parked and found a path to get to him he was already almost out of sight. Yes…he was walking away!
Rather than get discouraged again, this time I ran after him. I wasn’t going to let him get away. He was walking fast towards another gas station about a mile from where I parked. By the time I got to him he had already purchased a small fountain drink and some smokes. I met him as he walked out the door.
“You’re fast!” I shouted at him.
He looked at me confused, and I asked if he would like to go get a hot meal together.
“Really?!” He asked looking surprised.
“Yeah! We can go anywhere, where would you like to go?”
I told him where I was parked, and he mentioned a restaurant he liked nearby.
As we trekked the humid mile back to the restaurant we talked about Jesus and gratitude. He told me about his situation and how he ended up homeless. We spent the next few hours getting to know each other over a hot meal. We talked about our favorite sports teams, his service in the military and his family. We prayed together, discussed the importance of community and set up a time to meet again. As we shook hands and parted ways we both walked away feeling encouraged.
The secret to a successful ministry is simple…
WORSHIP. PRAYER. ACTION.
Sometimes loving your neighbor requires a lot of effort. You may have to chase them down. In the end a simple hot meal and good conversation is all it takes to change the course of someones life forever.
Join us in prayer for our new friend Rich!
Reach Initiative is dedicated to building a relationship with Rich and helping him practically as we help him grow in his personal relationship with Jesus, connect him with a healthy community, and assist him in pursuing a selfless life mission.
“Whenever I start to lose hope out here I remind myself what true J.O.Y means…Jesus Over Yourself.”-Rich
Thanks for taking the time to read our blog! If you would like to support our ministry please consider donating on our website. reachinitiative.co
On our website you can find more information about what we do, and listen to our podcast episodes. Whether its prayer, encouragement, financial support or sharing our content we greatly appreciate your love and support!
-Ryan Tovias
