Hey, friends! If you are local to Birmingham, I want you to know about a fabulous opportunity to support Urban Purpose. Urban Purpose is a ministry run by our friends Jim McFarland and Mark Jenkins. The ministry is really two-fold. Jim and Mark lead a team who go downtown every Sunday afternoon and feed about 100 homeless people. Their purpose is to go to the same place each week so that people know where and when to expect them. They aim to not only feed people, but to build relationships with them in order to provide further ministry to them. People become homeless for a variety of reasons, and the Urban Purpose volunteers do a terrific job of listening to their stories and providing help in any way they can.
Because of the relationships that are built over time, Urban Purpose then has the opportunity to help people on a deeper level. Sometimes they help people find jobs. They often assist in finding addiction treatment. They help make housing arrangements. And they do it all very overtly in the name of Jesus. Each person they work with is introduced to the gospel. They is a lot of prayer that goes on. People are taught that God is bigger than their circumstances and He wants to give them His Son. Many of the homeless have never been told that someone loves them and wants them and has good plans for them. Urban Purpose is a place of hope and healing for them.
There are several ways you can become involved with Urban Purpose:
Pray for them: Light doesn’t break through darkness without a fight. The ministers and homeless that are involved with Urban Purpose go through some major warfare as they try to pierce the darkness. God desperately desires for these folks to come home to Him, but many of their lives have been so entangled with sin for so long that they have a hard time letting go of their past. Please pray for the ministers to have strength and patience and persistence to do all they have to do. Please pray for the homeless to see their worth in Christ and come to Him for salvation, hope, and healing. And pray that they would then use their past for His glory.
Go downtown with them: The team meets at Shades Mountain Baptist Church student building each Sunday at 2:30 rain or shine. They spend a few minutes getting updates and praying and then head downtown to set up the tent and get the serving line ready. There is always a line by the time the teams arrive. This is a fantastic way to get your entire family involved in ministry.
Provide a meal: If your family, Sunday school class, baseball team, small group, or whatever other group you’re involved in would like to provide the food for a Sunday meal, go here to sign up. There are usually around 100 people to feed. If you need more info before signing up, please shoot me an email or contact Urban Purpose through their blog.
Buy a Boston Butt: Urban Purpose holds two major fundraising campaigns each year. One is the Urban Purpose 5K race, held in the fall. The other is a boston butt sale, GOING ON NOW!! The boston butt sale provides a major chunk of the funds needed to run the ministry for the year. If you would like to purchase a DELICIOUS smoked boston butt, please click here for ordering information. Butts are $35 and can be picked up from Shades Mountain Baptist Church on either Friday, October 25 (2:00-6:30) or Saturday, October 26 (7:30-11:30).
If you’d like to become more involved with a ministry like Urban Purpose, there is always room for more help! To read more about our family’s involvement, check out their blog.
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