Homeless NY Teen Honored

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Responding to Homeless Neighbors

Have you ever seen a homeless person begging and not known how to respond?  It's not always easy to know how to navigate the situation.  Here's an article from Mission Year on how eyes can be opened when you push outside of your comfort zone and think about things from another perspective than your own.  


It's important for us all to really ask God how He wants us to respond when we run into these situations that are easy to avoid...and it's not always the same response every time! Think about asking God how He wants you to respond next time you bump into someone who's asking you for something, whether homeless or not, that makes you uncomfortable and see if He may want you to stretch a little.


-Robyn Elmore, CSM Washington DC City Director


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Ministry Partnerships in Boston

The folks at the Emmanuel Gospel Center in Boston are doing some amazing things for the Kingdom! For years, decades really, they have empowered local, urban churches with resources and effective ministries for reaching their communities. CSM Boston had the opportunity to partner with EGC's Starlight Ministry in their outreach to the homeless in downtown Boston.
Check out a recent blog post they wrote, entitled "Is 2012 God's Moment for Boston?".
It is truly an honor to partner with the beautiful ministries doing God's work in this community.

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"You have to be rich to be poor."

"You have to be rich to be poor."  This Washington Post article does a great job laying out a lot of the hurdles the poor have to jump over to make it in America.  Being poor often means higher costs, whether in grocery bills, rent costs, transportation, or just the increased time it takes to accomplish simple tasks.  Read this article, which is full of a lot of first-person accounts from Washington, DC.

-Kristen Erbelding, CSM Washington DC City Director

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Human Trafficking Awareness Day

Did you know that there are more slaves today than at any other date in history? It's true! There is an estimated 27 million slaves throughout the world right now. And today is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day - an opportunity to share with others this reality.

There are many organizations that are dedicated to eradicating slavery. The International Justice Mission is one of them:



Here are some other resources for you to learn more...
The Not for Sale Campaign (based in San Francisco)
RestoreNYC (safe house in New York City)

Authentic Ministry in the Mile High City

As I sit and reflect on 2011 I am so grateful for the opportunity to be connected to what the Lord is doing in Denver. One of my favorite memories from this year is a week I spent with 6 amazing women. I had the opportunity this fall to host a very special group that was unlike any I have served beside. They were a group of women who are currently homeless and living in a transitional housing program here in Denver. As part of their program the education coordinator wanted to implement a time to serve together, so we spent 3 days volunteering around Denver. I will admit that I was a little nervous at first, because our program is usually geared towards suburban and rural youth coming from outside the city. It was such a humbling week for me and so encouraging and refreshing to serve alongside women who are used to being served. They did a fantastic job!
 
The first day we worked with a refugee employment program, Safari Thrift. The women were very interested in learning about refugees and it was eye opening for them to make the connection that they had a lot of similarities with their new refugee friends. Many of them made comments about how similar their programs were in regards to helping people get a fresh start and become self-sufficient.  It was one of those days when the world seems a bit smaller. 
 
My favorite part of the week was taking them on the prayer tour. I’ve given our prayer tour about a hundred times, but this was a unique one that I won’t soon forget. It was a special time for us to pray over our own city, and to learn together through conversation and story. At times I was sharing with them and sometimes they were teaching me. I felt privileged that they were so willing to share openly and honestly. 
 
We worked with World Vision one morning and also went to a residence for seniors with low-income for their regular Thursday  afternoon dance. Watching the women serve at the senior center was really fun. They were dancing and visiting, and I didn’t have to encourage them at all. The just jumped right in! 
 
My hope is that this would become a regular part of the education curriculum at the Transitional House and we can do this every year. I would love to partner with a local church women’s group where they would each “sponsor” one of the women and also come serve alongside us. 
 
I desire to grow and challenge myself with what authentic ministry really looks like and the week I spent with these six women definitely continued that journey for me. I really appreciate the many different ways CSM can be connected and a resource to the city. 


-Keysha Boggess, CSM Denver City Director


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