Connect by showing the love of Jesus

Want to know how to really connect with someone and watch God change their lives? Do these two simple things. Introduce them to Jesus Christ and invite them to your church. Go a step further and bring them to church.

Two months ago Martha and I met Randy and Brenda. They were homeless and living in their 1990 Chevrolet pickup truck. We started ministering to them through acts of compassion. By providing them with shelter (a hotel room), food, clothes and hygiene products, they were open to what we had to say. We prayed with them and talked with them about Jesus. We invited them to church. The first question Randy asked was will the people look down their noses at them. I told him, no that wouldn't happen at Harvest. So, they came to church and loved it. Some Sundays we would pick them up and on others they would drive.

Randy is currently serving a 30-day sentence in jail for a misdemeanor. He understands what he did before we met him was wrong and he knows that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. He knows that because at one of our Wednesday night Bible studies at the LIA warehouse he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior.

Brenda has continued going to church and Wednesday night Bible studies. She tells us over and over again how much she loves going to church at Harvest. She says the people are so nice.

I know she feels at home at Harvest now after a wonderful phone call from her yesterday (Monday). She called and said she wanted to talk to me about something she heard at church. I immediately started thinking about Pastor Ralph's message on marriage and thought she wanted to talk about that. But I guessed wrong.

During the service, our youth pastor Jeff Burnett, shared about a mission trip to Honduras the youth are going on this summer. As a fund raiser, the youth will be selling chili next Sunday following all three services. He said if you can't donate, but would like to cook chili for them to sell that would be great too. That's what Brenda wants to do.

She told me that she makes a very good chili, but she doesn't have the ingredients. I almost cried on the phone that touched me so much. Here's a woman who doesn't have hardly anything ... she's homeless ... yet she wants to give her talents to further the kingdom of God. There is a stove top in her hotel room, so I told her that Martha and I would get her the ingredients and Martha told her that we have a crock pot at the warehouse that she can have and she can cook the chili in it. She's very excited about being involved.

Now that's connecting! Building relationships is a big part of Harvest Church, which is our home church here in Dothan, Ala. The people have showed nothing but love and kindness to Brenda and it has made a big difference.

Please keep her in your prayers. She has been in a lot of pain recently and has an appointment with a surgeon today.

I want to thank all of you at Harvest. You don't know how many homeless people we have brought to church, but each one of them instantly feels right at home. It's because of you showing the love and compassion of Jesus Christ a difference is being made in the lives of people who, for the most part, have never experienced such love and compassion. And, for those who have, it's been a long time since they have experienced it.

I praise God for what He is doing in Brenda's and Randy's lives, and in the lives of so many homeless we're blessed to work with. And, I praise God for my pastor, all of the pastors and staff at Harvest, the praise team and all of our church family. Don't ever change. Keep preaching and teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Keep singing his praises. And, keep loving people with the love of Jesus Christ. For great is your reward.