ple from experiencing trauma and the effects of sin, but we can create supportive communities that are more prepared to address the effects of that trauma. We must be innovative and scrappy if we want to address these effects. With some, it could be that we need to go out to where people are sleeping rough and bring them in. In other cases, we might need a team of mental health outreach workers, a boxing gym, jobs programs for gang leaders, or a ministry that reaches out specifically to teenage moms grow- ing up in tough neighborhoods. Help the Church See the Hurting H ow can we possibly keep up with the growing needs? At night when I drive home from work, I see more and more homeless individuals on the street, living in vehicles, and sleeping under bridges. How long can we be content to simply fill the beds we have and call it good? Somewhere along the line we need to remember this is a numbers game. It is a simple math problem: There are more of us than them, and this is true across North America. There are more people who care about people in need than there are people in need! We constantly have people ask us, “I want to help; I just don’t know what to do. How can we help?” The normal response for most rescue missions has us pointing these people toward our volunteer oppor- tunities or asking them to donate. That’s wonderful, and we will still do that, but we also need to do more. We need to engage the larger community if we are going to begin to address the increasing needs. When Christ left the earth more than 2,000 years ago, He didn’t leave behind a rescue mission. He left a church. What if Ī WWW.AGRM.ORG MAY/JUNE 2017 9 • Invite public officials to take a “ride along” with you. Let them come with you as you walk the streets around your mission, inviting people into the mission’s refuge. Have them serve next to you in the food line. Bring them along for a normal part of your job so they can see the faces of homelessness right in their community. • Provide training, encouragement, and mentoring for church programs that assist homeless people in your city. • Partner with area schools to have teenagers come and read to the kids at your mission or tutor them. • Once a quarter, hold a “town hall” meeting at your mission. Invite groups of city officials—such as police officers, fire fighters, city council members, or parks and rec staff—to come and interact with your guests about ideas and con- cerns. Be sure to start with some basic rules so respect is shown by and to everyone. • Invite pastors to your mission so they can see your programs and meet your people firsthand. Maybe host a lunch for an existing pastors fellowship group. Give a tour your facilities, and ask how you can help them serve poor and homeless people in their neighborhoods. Be prepared to answer if they ask how they can help your mission. Rubber Meets the Road How you can start to “sweep up the nails”