Central Baptist Church: Opening the Doors of the Church to the Homeless Central Baptist Church: Åbne døre i kirken til de hjemløse

Central Baptist Church: Opening the Doors of the Church to the Homeless Central Baptist Church: Åbne døre i kirken til de hjemløse

In the early 1990s, teenagers broke into Central Baptist Church and used the gas stove for heat. I begyndelsen af 1990'erne, teenagere brød ind i Central Baptist Church og brugt gaskomfur for varme. That Sunday, during the Celebrations/Prayer Concerns time, a member of Central Baptist expressed concern about the security of the building. Denne søndag, under festlighederne / Prayer Bekymringer gang, et medlem af Central Baptist udtrykt bekymring over sikkerheden i bygningen. The following Sunday, a young woman went to the microphone to share her belief that the congregation was not responding in a godly way to the problem. Følgende søn, en ung kvinde gik til mikrofonen til at dele hendes tro på, at menigheden var der ikke har svaret i en gudfrygtig måde på problemet. As a result, the church began to assess the needs of its community, and in the process discovered the Main Line Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN). Som et resultat af kirken begyndte at vurdere behovene i sit samfund og i processen opdaget Main Line Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN). Central Baptist realized that they could make more of a difference by joining this consortium than by working alone. Central Baptist indså, at de kunne få mere ud af en forskel ved at deltage i dette konsortium, end ved at arbejde alene.

This is why the third arm of Bethel Temple's mission statement, following discipling our members and evangelizing our community, is revitalizing our neighborhood in the name of Jesus Christ. Derfor er den tredje gren af Bethel Temple's mission statement, således discipling vores medlemmer og evangelizing vores samfund, er at puste nyt liv vores nabolag i navnet Jesus Kristus. Ministries of revitalization give community residents hope: "Somebody cares, and I can be part of the solution." Ministerier for revitalisering give EF-valutaindlændinge håb: "Nogen cares, og jeg kan være en del af løsningen." By pouring love, time, skills and resources into the community, ministry staff at Bethel Temple not only meet pressing needs but give people a new vision for their future, breaking the cycle of despair. Ved at hælde kærlighed, tid, færdigheder og ressourcer ind i Fællesskabet, ministerium personale på Bethel Temple ikke kun opfylde presserende behov, men give folk en ny vision for deres fremtid, at bryde den onde cirkel af fortvivlelse.

One important way that Bethel seeks to stop the cycle is through extensive youth outreach. En vigtig måde at Bethel søger at standse cyklen er gennem omfattende ungdom opsøgende. "We're not an entertainment ministry," says Rev. Van Dyke. "Vi er ikke et underholdnings-ministerium," siger Rev Van Dyke. "We've gotta be about something different." "Vi har må være om noget anderledes." The difference at Bethel is that youth are challenged on many levels, based on a solid foundation of mentoring relationships with caring adults. Forskellen på Bethel er, at ungdommen er udfordret på mange niveauer, der bygger på et solidt fundament af mentoring forbindelser med omsorgsfulde voksne. Rev. Van Dyke talks about the various forms that this takes: Rev Van Dyke taler om de forskellige former, som denne finder:

IHN is a national organization (with affiliates overseas as well), all based on the same pattern. IHN er en national organisation (med søsterselskaber i udlandet såvel), som alle bygger på samme mønster. A group of "hosting congregations" provides shelter to several homeless families (screened for drug, alcohol, or mental problems) for one-week stays on a rotating basis. En gruppe af "hosting menigheder" giver husly til flere hjemløse familier (screenet for narkotika, alkohol eller psykiske problemer) for en-ugers ophold på et roterende grundlag. "Supporting congregations" assigned to each host church serve meals to the families at the host church and help in other ways, such as with donations of clothing or school supplies. "Støtte menigheder" tildeles hver enkelt vært kirke tjene måltider til de familier på værtsinstitutionen kirke og hjælpe på andre måder, såsom med donationer af tøj eller skole leverancer. The program transports guests during the day to work, job training, or school. Programmet transporterer gæster i løbet af dagen til arbejde, jobtræning eller skole. Each participating church contributes money for the salaries of an executive director and a van driver. Hver deltagende kirke bidrager penge til lønninger til en administrerende direktør og en van-driveren.

As Central Baptist's IHN coordinator organizes the 25-30 volunteers needed for the week that the homeless persons stay in their fellowship hall. Som Central Baptist's IHN koordinator organiserer de 25-30 frivillige nødvendige for uge, at de hjemløse personer opholde sig på deres stipendium hallen. Most are from Central, but some are recruited from other churches. De fleste er fra Central, men nogle er rekrutteret fra andre kirker. Some volunteers work behind the scenes, setting up partitions for the temporary bedrooms or doing laundry; others spend time visiting with the guests in the evenings, eating meals together and helping kids with homework; others spend the night with the guests. Nogle frivillige arbejde bag kulisserne, oprettelse af partitioner til midlertidig soveværelser eller gør vaskeri, mens andre bruger tid på at besøge med gæster om aftenen, spise måltider sammen og hjælpe børnene med lektier, mens andre tilbringer natten med gæster. [Jennifer] delegates and supervises the volunteers, plans the meal schedule with the supporting churches, handles problems during the week, and writes thank-you notes afterwards. [Jennifer] delegerede og fører tilsyn med de frivillige, planer måltidet tidsplan med støtte kirker, håndterer problemer i løbet af ugen, og skriver tak noter bagefter. Central's IHN weeks are exhausting for her, but she finds her involvement rewarding. Central's IHN uger er anstrengende for hende, men hun mener, hendes engagement givende. "I cannot emphasize enough the good feeling that comes from working with the IHN. Getting to know the guests ... that's how you make a difference." "Jeg kan ikke understrege nok den gode følelse, der kommer fra at arbejde med IHN. Getting to know gæsterne ... det er hvordan du gør en forskel." Her commitment takes strength from "the biblical mandate ... to take care of others as Jesus taught us to do," and from her gratitude for the way God has blessed her own family. Hendes engagement tager styrken fra "det bibelske mandat ... til at tage sig af andre som Jesus lærte os at gøre," og fra sin taknemmelighed for den måde, Gud har velsignet hendes egen familie. "I'm just human hands for a program that is God's," the coordinator says. "Jeg er bare menneskers hænder for et program, som er Guds," koordinatoren siger.

IHN illustrates the way that inter-faith partnerships often restrict the possibility of evangelism. IHN illustrerer den måde, tværreligiøse partnerskaber ofte begrænser muligheden for forkynder evangeliet. Because IHN is an interfaith program, involving synagogues as well as churches, it has a spiritual character without being explicitly Christian. Fordi IHN er en tværreligiøs program, der involverer synagoger samt kirker, det har en åndelig karakter, uden at blive udtrykkeligt kristne. Guests are invited to attend services at the host congregation, volunteers lead a prayer before meals, and parenting classes include discussions of faith and values. Gæsterne er inviteret til at deltage tjenester på værtsinstitutionen menigheden, volontører føre en bøn før måltider, og forældreskab klasser omfatte drøftelser om tro og værdier. Some of the volunteers from supporting churches look for opportunities to share their faith informally as they visit with the guests. Nogle af de frivillige fra at støtte kirker kigge efter muligheder for at dele deres tro uformelt som de besøger med gæster. However, as a host church, Central does not engage in overt evangelism. Men som en vært kirke, Central ikke engagere sig i åbenlys forkynder evangeliet. Instead, says the coordinator, "We show our faith in God through our kindness." I stedet, siger koordinatoren, "Vi vise vores tro på Gud gennem vores venlighed." She talks with guests about the role that faith has played in her own life - for example, how when she is stressed she gives her burdens to God in prayer. Hun samtaler med gæsterne om den rolle, tro har spillet i hendes eget liv - for eksempel, hvordan når hun er understregede hun giver hende byrder til Gud i bøn. She notes that some of the guests already have a deep faith, and once guests initiated their own Bible study. Hun bemærker, at nogle af gæsterne allerede har en dyb tro, og når gæsterne indledt deres egen Bibelen undersøgelse.

Peter (not his real name) and his family are among the guests for whom IHN has made a difference. Peter (ikke hans rigtige navn) og hans familie er blandt de gæster, for hvem IHN har gjort en forskel. The family had been evicted from their apartment after their fourth child was born, because the owner said their family was too large. Familien var blevet sat ud af deres lejlighed efter deres fjerde barn blev født, fordi ejeren sagde familien var for stort. They had been living in IHN shelters for almost three months. De havde boet i IHN krisecentre for næsten tre måneder. Peter worked a second job as the IHN van driver during the day, in addition to his night job as a security guard. Peter arbejdede et andet job som den IHN van chaufføren i løbet af dagen, ud over hans nat job som sikkerhedsvagt. His wife worked all day for a supermarket. Hustruen arbejdede hele dagen til supermarked. Finally, they saved up enough to move into a four bedroom house. Endelig har de sparet op nok til at flytte ind i en fire soveværelser hus. "I couldn't save enough money to get another place if the churches weren't here to help me," Peter said. "Jeg kunne ikke gemme penge nok til at få et andet sted, hvis kirkerne ikke var her for at hjælpe mig," sagde Peter. Without IHN, they might have ended up paying daily to stay in a hotel. Uden IHN, de kunne have endt betaler dagligt for at opholde sig på et hotel. "I was glad to go to congregations, because they care for you. They help people help themselves." "Jeg var glad for at gå til menigheder, fordi de holder af dig. De hjælper folk hjælpe sig selv."