CHURCH UNDER THE BRIDGE

On Sunday, November 11th, I was privileged to be among a group from our church that joined Church Under the Bridge in Oklahoma City, to minister to the homeless at their usual spot under the bridge at Oklahoma City Boulevard and South Virginia Avenue. Our time working together for the homeless was both joyful and sobering, and I want to share a bit about it.

We went prepared with the usual elements of such benevolence ministry, to set up a food line and distribute donations. We gave the homeless hot soup and hot chocolate. We handed out warm clothes, blankets, and sleeping bags. We also offered sincerely warm smiles, handshakes, and conversation. However, we were there for more than their physical and emotional needs. We were there to share the Gospel - to point them to Jesus.
 
Our worship and youth pastor Drew Posada passionately led us in worship, and Abraham Gomez, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Holdenville, compassionately preached on our true home with Jesus. And throughout our time there, the rest of us talked directly to individuals about their need for Jesus, as the Lord gave us opportunity.
 
I spoke with Vincent, who looked out of place, being well-dressed with a phone and tablet. He told me that he had been homeless for three years but is now in an apartment on a property owned by the Oklahoma City Housing Authority. He knows about Church Under the Bridge from being homeless and still likes to go, but I didn’t see him take any food or items. I asked him about his spiritual background. He told me that when he was growing up his parents were involved in a branch of the Church of God denomination. On his own he had been attending a Church of Christ but had also visited a Baptist Church. He eased out of the conversation after that as he looked at his phone and tablet and eased away from the crowd.
 
I also spoke with Jacob. He was sitting on the concrete slope under the bridge and had an orthopedic boot on his left foot. I asked him what happened, and he told me that he broke his foot for the second time on a construction job. Unable to work and pay his weekly rent, he was kicked out of his place to live and is now on the street. He described a long run of “bad luck”. This is his second time on the street, the first time being after a rookie coworker mishandled a piece of red iron and crushed Jacob’s right ring finger, making his hand useless until it healed. As he spoke, his humiliation and frustration came through. Being on the street at forty-five years-old (two years older than me) was not what he had planned.
 
Now, I don’t know if there are other things Jacob didn’t tell me - things that contributed to his dilemma - but based on what he did tell me, I expressed my sincere hope that he would heal up, get back to work, and be able to turn things around. I then asked Jacob if he knows the Lord. He didn’t really know how to answer the question, and he awkwardly talked about belief in God and being the best man he could be. He then said that he didn’t really know what knowing the Lord means but that he would like to know.
 
As I sat down beside Jacob, I shared with him what we all need to soberly and joyfully remember: None of us are good enough to deserve God’s salvation and blessings, yet, in His amazing grace, He gives them anyway. As I stressed to Jacob, the ultimate reason I am better off than Jacob is not that I am better than Jacob. Any of us could be destitute and homeless, and any outside of Christ are spiritually destitute and homeless, being separated from God by sin. We have all sinned and need a Savior. I used the bridge we were sitting under as an illustration of what God has done in providing us that Savior. That bridge connects two points that would otherwise be disconnected. Similarly, God sent His own Son Jesus to be the bridge that spans the gulf between Him and us, having died for our sins on the cross. In repentance and faith - in turning from living for ourselves to live for Him, trusting Him alone to make us right with God, He reconciles us to God, giving us an eternal home with God (see 2 Corinthians 5:11-21). This is our greatest need and greatest hope. I told Jacob that if he went on to have a great job, a great home, and all the money he could spend, but died without Jesus, it would all be futile as he died lost and condemned. On the other hand, if he turned to and trusted in Jesus that moment and died on the street that night, he could be sure that he would be with God, at home in Heaven. Jacob said that he wanted to be sure of that, but he struggled with knowing he could be sure of that. I told him about the thief on the cross (Luke 23: 39-43). Hanging on his own cross beside Jesus, justly condemned to die for his crimes, the thief pleaded, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” In His incredible mercy, Jesus lovingly assured him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” I told Jacob that he could have that assurance and asked him if he wanted that assurance - if he was ready to say to Jesus what the thief said in full surrender and saving faith. Jacob said yes and asked if I would pray for him. I prayed with him as he expressed his faith to Jesus from his heart. I believe Jacob is a new brother in Christ.

I told Jacob that he must not walk alone. As I looked around for the lead lady with Church Under the Bridge, I saw Rob Lindley, the pastor of Northwest Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, about to leave. I called him over and asked him if he knows her, and he said that he had just met her. I told him that Jacob had just expressed his faith in Christ, and we needed to connect him with other Christians. Rob kindly introduced himself, welcomed Jacob into the kingdom, and told Jacob where he pastors, with an open invitation to join them on Wednesday and Sunday.

Sometimes we can want to see something so badly that we read into someone more than what is actually there, so I try not to let my imagination run away with me in these situations, but it seemed that a beam of light had broken through the dark cloud hanging over Jacob. As we said goodbye, he had a gleam of joy in his eye, and as he walked away with a New Testament in his hand, he seemed to have a spring in his step in spite of his limp. I pray he truly has and goes in the joy of the Lord. Please join me in praying for Jacob “to make certain about [God’s] calling and choosing” of him in salvation (2 Peter 1:10) and for him to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).
 
It’s a bit of a cliché, but a necessary call: “Get out of your comfort zone.” Attachment to our comfort zones will always stifle our usefulness and fruitfulness. To be used by God, we must detach from our comfort zones, especially if we are going to have church under a bridge to minister to those that sleep under a bridge. Some of the sights, sounds, and smells are not pleasant, but we must ask if God and they are worth it. God and they certainly are. And I know that as we did them good for God’s glory in His Gospel, He has blessed the work of our hands, and He is pleased with the worship in our hearts.

Church Under the Bridge is such an eye opening experience, I never knew existed until we hosted it in 2015. I did wonder how many bridges I’d driven over in the past where homeless people are staying. We donated 70 sleeping bags and about 40 were handed out that day. The next evening we had freezing temperatures so God's hand was obvious in the timing. A great pastor once told me, 'God is rarely early but he’s never late.'
​He proved it.
~Tom Janes, men's ministry leader, First Baptist Church, Holdenville