Have you ever heard that catchy expression, “Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words only when necessary.” What does that mean to you? For us, it meant a life altering decision to live in the inner city.
Our church is unique in a lot of ways, but one thing that sets us apart is that most of us live within a 4 block radius of each other. This is not at all to say that it is a requirement to do this to be in our church. . .but that as a body we have a vision to reach our community with the gospel by being living witnesses. We want our neighbors to see how our love of Christ affects us not only at church but in our daily and mundane tasks.
The inner city is a unique place in that everyone knows everyone else’s business. Drive down our block in the summer time and you may literally see hundreds of people on the side walk hanging out. Old men playing dominoes or dancing, young kids riding bikes, and moms sitting on the stoop of their building. . .just watching. There is a familiarity here on our block and everyone knows who we are.
What Do They See?
The people in the neighborhood know our family quite well. We automatically stand out because we have twins. All of our kids are fair skinned and have blonde hair and blue eyes (also rare in our predominantly Hispanic neighborhood). We attract attention wherever we go.
What they really notice and talk about however, is how my husband spends time with his kids. (He has been known to take all five to the park by himself. . .a feat I’m not even sure I’ll be trying anytime soon.) They notice that all of my children are by the same man. People who have been around for awhile notice that we’re still married (or as they would put it ‘together‘. Some people have even been known to remark that my husband holds a job and supports his family.
Beyond Basic Morality
It’s a sad state of affairs when the fact that all of my children are by the same man is remarkable. But it’s true. I wonder, had we not chosen to live here, what impact that may have had on our ministry as a married couple.
But Christianity is not about basic rules. Of course, our faith necessarily affects the way we live our lives. It must–we cannot call ourselves Christians and live consistently contrary to the Bible. What is interesting though is the effect it has on our neighbors.
Carlos
A man we’ll call Carlos one day approached my husband and in typical inner city fashion, gave him ‘props’ for taking care of his ‘peeps’. He then said, “I don’t know how you do it. I can barely get it together to support my two children and I can’t stand their mother. . .and before we knew it, Carlos was telling us his life story. He ends by saying, “I wish I had what you guys have.”
Of course he does! Everyone who is hungry wants food. And really, regardless of race, or background that’s what we all are–hungry. By living lives that honor God where we can be seen in our day to day activities, we can preach the gospel without words at all times. Look soon for more stories from the inner city!
Related Articles:
The Proverbs 31 Woman: The Virtuous Wife
The Big Picture in Short Term Missions