Jesus Is Still Homeless

Saturday we handed out 600 burritos. We gave away 500 burritos in the morning and another 100 at night. It was our first service project as a church and from my standpoint it was a huge success. Below are a few reflections from our time on the streets of Denver.

• It feels good to do something that is a bit risky. Faith is a risk and it is always good to put our selves in situations that are outside of our comfort zone where we need God.
• Conversations matter as much as food. Most of the homeless people we gave burritos to valued the conversation more than the food.
• Kids really want to serve. I told a friend who handed out 200 burritos with nine students on Saturday night that this is the kind of youth group kids today want. They are hungry for something that is real and makes a difference. It is a welcome reprieve from the virtual world where they spend so much time.
• Homeless people need a church too. I did a wedding over lunch for a homeless couple we met Saturday. One group of Restoration friends had a conversation with some homeless guys who hear a message from the Bible. So, we are going to have church on the streets the morning of December 19th. I never dreamed we would be going to multiple services by the time we did our second gathering!
• Jesus is on the streets. We encountered a lot of love on the streets. I know we saw Jesus is some of these very good folks and hopefully they did too (Matthew 25).
• It is fun to be on a wild goose chase. The Celts talked about the Holy Spirit being like a wild goose. We are chasing the Goose as we start Restoration right now and it is really fun. I hope we never stop chasing the Wild Goose wherever he leads us (John 3:8).

This is the first of many service opportunities we will create in the future, so if you missed this one, just wait until early next year. Our next one will be on January 9th. I hope to see many of you there.