It was not with humility and a mind ready to learn with which I walked into my Urban Mission Adventure weekend. My original attitude was one of arrogance and pride rather then one of submission and service. That attitude was rocked to the core when *Shane, a missionary serving with the Salvation Army on the streets, came and talked with us on Saturday morning. This short, two hour lecture was a critical event in my life. Shane found a way to strip my arrogance, pride and pity for the poor and use my new rawness to instill a truth that he pressed into my soul.
Shane is not what one would call a gentle personality. Sherry, one of the people renovating The River Church on East Hastings, even gave a chuckle when we told her we had just had a serious talking to by the passionate man. Shane came and immediately told us that his friend and long time balance, Mitchell, had passed away a few weeks before. He let us know that Mitchell was the one that wanted the groups from Columbia working downtown. Shane would say Mitchell made dealing with a bunch of idealistic college students bearable, and now with him gone, he wasn't so sure.
It was at this point that Shane proceeded to lay into us. Quoting scriptures and historical examples of just how being a missionary was not merely coming to the downtown East Side for a weekend and handing out sandwiches. He enlightened us to the sense of awareness and community that is rarely attributed to the corner of East Hastings and Main. He said groups like us were in danger of doing more harm than good. And then he left, leaving us to ponder his loving yet harsh words. I would hazard the guess to say that no one was rocked quite as much as I was.
I had always blamed the poor for their ordeal. I would use my past with drugs as an example of how getting out of that life was easy if you just had a little will power. However, after hearing Shane speak, I got to take a step back and seriously consider the lives of the folk living on the downtown East Side. Shane opened my eyes to the vibrant and active community that thrived on just a few city blocks and I grew respect for those a part of it. Shane told us of how his wife and four kids not only served in missions down on the streets, but that they lived with the poor too. He asserted that to truly affect change on the streets, you need to live and experience life with those on the streets every day.
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| Hastings and Main St in Vancouver. Photo by: Arlen Redekop, The Providence |
I had always blamed the poor for their ordeal. I would use my past with drugs as an example of how getting out of that life was easy if you just had a little will power. However, after hearing Shane speak, I got to take a step back and seriously consider the lives of the folk living on the downtown East Side. Shane opened my eyes to the vibrant and active community that thrived on just a few city blocks and I grew respect for those a part of it. Shane told us of how his wife and four kids not only served in missions down on the streets, but that they lived with the poor too. He asserted that to truly affect change on the streets, you need to live and experience life with those on the streets every day.
The rest of the day was a haze as I looked at these familiar streets with new eyes. I saw the friendships and the desire for more relationship radiate from the people living down there. As we cleaned up The River, our next event after hearing Shane, I got to see the authentic heart that some of the missionaries had to help clean up these streets. And through these people the sense of love and community spread to me.
As our group walked around town after our time at The River, we came across a couple wide-eyed and scared church groups handing out soup on the side of the road. I was shocked at how darkly I regarded these young students my age that just wanted to help. The look of fear and pity on their faces mixed with the steeled faces of the homeless that they fed proclaimed the disconnect between them. They approached each other like a shoddy business deal; avoiding eye-contact, barely grunting pre-memorized lines, and then walking away unchanged. Seeing that presence of body, yet absence of mind on both parties showed me how much of Shane's speech was true and how much things needed to change.
My message to Christians and Churches as they move into a plan of missions in an urban environment is primarily this: please do not go in arrogantly. Please. I can not over-stress this enough. Too often self-righteous and arrogant church and social justice groups think that they will heroically swoop in to save the day of those miserable poor people on the downtown East Side. Little do these groups know, their arrogance and self-righteousness is almost as noticeable as a bright neon sign. Church and social justice groups often carry with them the very best of intentions, but they lack follow through. They hand out shirts, clothes, blankets, food, homes, jackets and Bibles with a smile but as soon as their supplies are out they pack it all in and leave to go home to their comfortable beds and warm houses. This is where the disconnect is painfully evident.
Like most ultra-urban areas, the downtown East Side does not need more food vendors, clothes merchants or Bible pushers. They need friends, community and a real sense of Jesus in those that they meet. They have heard loud and clear that there is a Jesus and he wants them to love him. What they have yet to see is Jesus reflected through a solid faithful servant. The best way for Christ to be proclaimed to these people is through services like Potter's Place and The Paper Cup which focus less on the charity and more on the
My message to Christians and Churches as they move into a plan of missions in an urban environment is primarily this: please do not go in arrogantly. Please. I can not over-stress this enough. Too often self-righteous and arrogant church and social justice groups think that they will heroically swoop in to save the day of those miserable poor people on the downtown East Side. Little do these groups know, their arrogance and self-righteousness is almost as noticeable as a bright neon sign. Church and social justice groups often carry with them the very best of intentions, but they lack follow through. They hand out shirts, clothes, blankets, food, homes, jackets and Bibles with a smile but as soon as their supplies are out they pack it all in and leave to go home to their comfortable beds and warm houses. This is where the disconnect is painfully evident.
Like most ultra-urban areas, the downtown East Side does not need more food vendors, clothes merchants or Bible pushers. They need friends, community and a real sense of Jesus in those that they meet. They have heard loud and clear that there is a Jesus and he wants them to love him. What they have yet to see is Jesus reflected through a solid faithful servant. The best way for Christ to be proclaimed to these people is through services like Potter's Place and The Paper Cup which focus less on the charity and more on the
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| Downtown East Side alley between Hastings and Pender. Source: http://boppin.com/photoblog |
community. The actual Christians behind such ministries would much rather build friendships and relationships with those who walk through their doors then just focus on providing food and momentary entertainment. They sacrifice from their weeks, every week, and are doing an actual good work on the streets through the relationships built through these ministries.
So whether you are planting an urban church, volunteering at a soup kitchen, or just hanging out downtown with those living in the uniquely urban areas you need to remember that you are coming to their turf, on their time, into their lives. You have to realize that they make the rules. The marginalized will only entertain a fake servant as long as there is a reward in it for them but it is the true servant that will shock the poor into the realization of the changing power of Christ. Too often they see the forced smiles of self-consumed youth group kids who are just trying to get back in their own beds with a callous sense of self-enrichment. These kids would be catatonic if they had to walk a mile in the shoes of the same people they are 'helping'.
I consider what my thoughts and beliefs of urban life and ministry were like just a few short weeks ago. My callous, arrogant and self-servicing attitude coming into this trek prevented me from preparing for the change that happened. Through some hard talks and harder realizations I came to a place where I got to see things through the eyes of the dedicated few who are willing to give everything up to answer the call to help the poor. Not by just merely handing out sandwiches but by being with the poor and fostering a community in an environment that is borderline hostile to the Gospel. I saw where the church can go right and wrong and I can only pray that future groups get involved with people and truly start community in Jesus Christ.
So whether you are planting an urban church, volunteering at a soup kitchen, or just hanging out downtown with those living in the uniquely urban areas you need to remember that you are coming to their turf, on their time, into their lives. You have to realize that they make the rules. The marginalized will only entertain a fake servant as long as there is a reward in it for them but it is the true servant that will shock the poor into the realization of the changing power of Christ. Too often they see the forced smiles of self-consumed youth group kids who are just trying to get back in their own beds with a callous sense of self-enrichment. These kids would be catatonic if they had to walk a mile in the shoes of the same people they are 'helping'.
I consider what my thoughts and beliefs of urban life and ministry were like just a few short weeks ago. My callous, arrogant and self-servicing attitude coming into this trek prevented me from preparing for the change that happened. Through some hard talks and harder realizations I came to a place where I got to see things through the eyes of the dedicated few who are willing to give everything up to answer the call to help the poor. Not by just merely handing out sandwiches but by being with the poor and fostering a community in an environment that is borderline hostile to the Gospel. I saw where the church can go right and wrong and I can only pray that future groups get involved with people and truly start community in Jesus Christ.
Dan O'Coin is currently enrolled in a BA in Biblical Studies. Urban Mission Adventure is a required component in most programs at Columbia. UMA focuses on learning through service and experience. It is a three-day Urban Plunge in the city of Vancouver designed to expose students to the realities of urban missions, recognizing the needs of both rich and poor. Growing a heart for the city is our focus. To learn more about Columbia's programs please visit www.columbiabc.edu.
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