Hope In Hard Places: Homeless Ministry In MacArthur Park
HI FRIENDS! 👋
We hope this newsletter finds you well. This journey is not just ours, but it's shared by every person who gives and prays for us. We couldn't do it without you. Thank you for being an integral part of the ministry in our city. As we cherish the city God has entrusted to us, we are honored to love, serve, and expect greater things.
Today, we wanted to highlight one of our most cherished relationships and ministries in the city.
HOMELESS MINISTRY & BIBLES ✝️
Origin Story:
One morning over a year ago, the Holy Spirit woke me up (Jon speaking, hi, hello!) and told me to go to MacArthur Park. Well, I didn't hear an audible voice. But I woke up with the words "MacArthur Park" and pictures of the place weighing on my heart like a cinder block on a bathroom scale.
Side note: While beautiful, MacArthur Park is known for its sketchy vibes, rampant drug use, gang activity, and large population of unhoused people living in poverty.
Anyhoo, I grabbed my skateboard and went. Fast forward a bit, and that morning I would meet one of the most important people we've met since moving to LA.
After stumbling around the park for an hour or two practicing my broken Spanish with random people, I eventually stumbled upon a Korean man named Peter.
Peter was an unassuming, gentle man. He had stationed himself in the grass between four stone picnic tables where he was serving coffee and bread and reading the Bible with a small group of unhoused men and women whom he seemed to know by name. Behind him, taped to a small pop-up table holding his various food and drink items, was the most non-flashy laminated sign I'd ever read:
"Fellowship for Bible Reading, 7 - 9am"
Uncomplicated and sincere. The sign simply stated what it was (in Times New Roman font no less), and that was that. No branding. No colors. No complimentary font styles. Totally underwhelming from a modern marketing standpoint. I found it overwhelmingly refreshing in a world of mega-ministries and Canva try-hards.
After Peter finished his short Bible message, he and I chatted, and long story short, I returned to MacArthur Park at 7am the following week to serve with him.
Over a year later, that small connection has blossomed into a true ministry friendship (which has multiplied into even more ministry friendships and connections on top). Erica and I have continued serving the many unhoused people who frequent MacArthur Park together with Peter. Every week, there's coffee, tea, and pastries (often Erica's famous banana bread which is becoming more and more well-known in our section of the park). And every week, we build relationships with our unhoused neighbors in the community, striving to know them by name, sharing Jesus and studying the Bible with anyone who wants to join.
Why am I telling you this?
Answer: Because in a year and a half we've learned that "missions" looks like lots of things. Among those, serving the poor in MacArthur Park has been one of our most treasured and consistent. We get to do it every week. And we love it.
No, we aren't solving homelessness.
No, there aren't thousands showing up.
And No, not everyone with whom we share the gospel gets saved or even cares...Some even mock us.
But we are loving the unhoused.
There are dozens who show up, many of whom are regulars.
They come from all over the world (I've met folks from Mongolia, Sudan, Peru, Nicaragua, Britain, and loads of other cities and nations).
And through the many weekly conversations, slices of banana bread, cups of coffee, and gospel messages...
Some give their lives to Jesus (five did a weeks ago actually!).
And everyone has a chance to belong and be discipled somewhere, outside church walls, in MacArthur Park: A beautiful-yet-hard place known for sketchy vibes, gang activity, rampant drug use, and desperate poverty.
For more reasons than metrics, this is fruitful work. And our Spirit-planned relationship with Peter has been one of the high points in a challenging first year and a half in Los Angeles. It's been a constant, beautiful illustration of why we don't serve Jesus as lone wolves or solitary heros. On the contrary, we embrace not being the hero. We embrace not being the main character. We reach out. We accept help and give help. We follow the Spirit to find God's other servants in the city. Then, we link arms with them and watch the Spirit open doors we never could on our own.
And you've been a huge part of it.
Thank you!
From time to time, beyond the usual spread of coffee, tea, food, Bible study, and relationships, we bring additional gifts (like hygiene kits) to the unhoused people who attend the MacArthur fellowship. Recently, we've been trying to meet a basic discipleship need many of us in the modern church overlook: actual Bibles. Bibles in someone's own language, and in a font size big enough for them to read.
Many of you have helped provide those Bibles.
We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to all those who have purchased and sent Bibles. Your generosity has allowed us to continue serving the unhoused in MacArthur Park. So far, we've been able to distribute more than 30-40 Bibles (I lost exact count to be honest) to people who simply didn't have one, resourcing the spiritual nourishment of those who've been recently saved or who are being discipled. God's Word will always be an invaluable gift! Your generosity makes a profound impact in peoples' lives, and because of you we've been able to respond to peoples' requests in this vital ministry.
