A Place to Call Home

Throughout the Bible, we see that God has determined places for people to live - He arranged for the children of Israel to go from point A in Egypt to point B in the promised land, and He put the various 
tribes in certain regions; some Israelites even requested to be on the other side of the Jordan River. In Acts 17, Paul, in his dramatic Mars Hill address, stated:
26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,
27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;
28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.'

And, God our Father, in His lovingkindness, also promised provision for the poor, and His expectation is that those who have been blessed by Him can in turn take those resources and bless others. We all need a place to call home - physically speaking, a place where we can be anchored, and spiritually speaking, we need to find our identity and our sense of belonging in Him.  Through Christ, we can find a source of security, knowing that He is incredibly concerned about the course of our lives.

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Perhaps before, during, and even in this season after Christmas, you have had the opportunity to spend time with family and friends - maybe that gathering looked a bit different this year due to COVID, still we can appreciate time with people who are special to us, maybe welcoming them into our homes or traveling to theirs.

Most people across our land have a place they can call home.  But, there are scores of people who do not, which gives the Church a tremendous ministry opportunity, not to just provide temporary shelter for those in need, but to help them experience the stability and security of Christ in changing their course.

The apostle Paul addressed generosity in Philippians chapter 4:
17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account.
18 Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God.
19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

A church in Spartanburg, South Carolina has decided to tackle the issue of homelessness in its community head on. ChristianHeadlines.com reports on a project that intends to provide what are called "tiny houses" for homeless women in the area. The article says: "The project, led by First Baptist Spartanburg, involves the construction of 20 tiny houses plus a commons building. The church plans on holding a meeting with local government boards next year as they hope to start construction in 2021."

The piece goes on to state:

In an interview with The Christian Post, Steve Wise, who serves as the missions minister at First Baptist, shared how this project came to be.

Wise explained that the church was seeking to expand their homeless ministry and had received requests from local groups.

Wise explained that the church has been “very much aware of the problems our homeless face and the problems in the city of meeting homeless needs for a while.”

“Together with what we already knew about homelessness, conversations that were going on in our city with a homeless task force and others, that’s how we came to make that decision,” he added.

The church already owned property, which will be used for the tiny house village.  Since the houses are not built with "cooking and eating" in mind, residents will gather as a community for meals.  Volunteers will be involved in the construction.

Wise says, "First and foremost, God cares about everyone...He certainly cares about our homeless friends. We really think God can do something amazing here and can bring about solutions.”

The Christian Headlines article notes that The Christian Post also reported on a Lutheran church in Minnesota that was involved in building a tiny house village, to be called the "Sacred Settlement," providing housing for homeless veterans. The article says that the senior pastor, John Klawiter "told The Christian Post that the concept of the Sacred Settlement "matches the values of our congregation in many ways.'" He added, “We have a lot of members who have served or are actively in the military. We have a newly established veterans committee that will walk alongside any of the veterans that live in the Sacred Settlement..."  The church will be working with a non-profit organization that partners with churches to develop such communities.

Playing off what this minister says, we recognize that Jesus walks with us, and He will empower us to walk with those in need.  We can literally reflect the compassion of our Savior. We just have to get involved. 

These homeless communities are giving those without a home a place to call home.  We can rejoice in the stability that Christ brings.  But, these churches are not merely giving temporary shelter - they are bringing the people into a community.  In the context of that community, ministry can take place. 

As we see so often with charitable Christian ministries who deal in the housing arena, out of encountering the love and wisdom of Christ, people can walk the road to what can be termed, "self-sufficiency," which ideally could be more accurately defined as sufficiency in Christ.  He is the One who can communicate a sense of belonging, He can provide and equip people with the necessary skills to navigate this life.  Each of us are truly lost without Jesus - He calls us to be grounded in Him.