1 night on the street

Have you ever awakened from a deep sleep and had no idea where you were?

In the early morning hours of November 16th, I opened my eyes and stared at a cold metal ceiling that I didn’t immediately recognize.

To my left were a group of homeless people…sound asleep.

To my right was…Tom Roepke?

Then it all came back…I was in the fellowship hall of Trinity Lutheran Church, last night had been 2 live broadcasts of 1 Night on the Street, and now, in about an hour, I was back on the air again. Dozens of church ministries had come together to make this event happen, hundreds had been fed the night before, an impromptu worship service had even broke out between services.

I was laying on the platform, covered by a blanket, feeling really good about everything that had happened in the last 12 hours…

“Hey,” said one of the homeless guys, “you snore.”

Ahh, humility.

It has been 6 weeks since 1 Night on the Street, and a few days ago in northern Minnesota, I laid in a cabin bunk (underneath that same blanket) at Miracle Bible Camp on a 6 below zero Chistmas Eve and thought about all that had happened.

The phone calls and emails are still flowing. Individuals, Bible studies, families, even whole churches have come alongside city ministries to be Jesus hands and feet.

Ministry is happening.

Thanks to you. Thanks be to God.

And thanks to some wonderful people who responded to an interesting idea last spring: Tom Roepke…has created and administered this site, and has been quite a friend during this journey we find ourselves on. Dick Lee…and the whole team at WCRF - thanks for coming along with all your support. Pastors Joe Abraham, Juri Ammari, Robert Powell, and Dean Van Farowe - you painted the picture of city ministry so well during the Pastor’s Forum - may God bless your ministries and draw us together again soon. Joe Sanson…for feeding the multitudes, see you soon in El Salvador, amigo! Captain Randy Orr…thank you for allowing us to serve in your Army for just a little while. Julie Busch and her team of volunteers from Bay Presbyterian Church took all the phone calls during the event…Bay Pres has been working in the city for years, and if every church could mobilize like this group, there would never need to be a 1 Night on the Street! There are so many more people I could thank, but I’ll conclude with my friends at Trinity Lutheran Church: Pastor Jeff Johnson, Brian Upton, Ellen Steinberg, and all the Building Hope in the City volunteers who kept me worry-free on the site.

Now comes the hard part…keeping the momentum going!

If you haven’t volunteered yet…go for it! 2008 is a great time to begin a new ministry chapter for yourself and your family. Keep those stories coming, I enjoy reading them and posting them.

1 Night on the Street - Akron?

I’ll think about it…when I’m sleeping in someone else’s bed again - January 12-20 at the Love & Hope Children’s Home in Nejapa, El Salvador.

Saludos amigos - Mark