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As
followers of Christ, Bible believing Christians, we believe that the
Bible is the word of God. We also believe that what the Bible
instructs us to do, we are to do. The Bible, and in fact Jesus
himself, told us to go out into the highways and byways and preach
the good news that Jesus told us to share, giving hope to the
hopeless, clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, and loving the
unlovable (outcasts of society, drunkards, drug addicts, prostitutes,
etc)
Street
Church is a gathering of Bible believing Christians from churches
throughout the City, ministering under the umbrella of Street Church,
with the same heart of compassion; to provide the needy, poor, and
homeless with a message of hope and daily necessities. The Bible
clearly states what a believer is obliged (commanded) to do. To
follow the Bible is not an option for a Christian, according to
Jesus’ words in John 14:15 – “If you love me, you will obey my
commandments”.
According
to the Bible we are commanded to go out and reach the people where
they are. Most of the people that we minister to would never enter a
church because of their condition (their look, smell, language,
behaviour, addictions). They feel unwanted and unwelcome in a
“traditional” church environment. Through the repetition of the
message of hope, music that literally changes the atmosphere, and
testimonies of people that were where they are today, impacts their
self-worth, changes their mood, and in many cases their entire life
and future, from troublemakers (in and out of jail) into healthy
contributing citizens.
With
the large crowds that come to our services, and the noise from
traffic, planes, C-Trains and other disturbances that happen all the
time in the down town area, amplification is an important and
necessary aspect of our work and ministry. Think, for example, about
when a speaker comes to Calgary to give a speech, and they give that
speech in an auditorium where there is a controlled environment which
keeps outside noise out, amplification is used on every occasion in
order to ensure that the message is communicated properly, not with
shouting, but with proper and straight forward speech. How much
more is amplification needed outside with all of the excessive noise
to contend with? Without the use of amplification, we have to resort
to shouting in order for people to hear, which changes the tone of
the message, is much less effective, and at times stirs people up
negatively, which is not what we desire.
Here
are some passages from the Bible, although there are a great many
more, that instruct us not only in what we are to do, but how we are
to do it. This instruction is the basis and foundation for all that
we do at Street Church.
Mark
16:15-16: And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach
the gospel to every creature. (16) He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Matthew
25:32-40: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall
separate them one from another, as a shepherd divided his sheep from
the goats: (33) And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the
goats on the left. (34) Then shall the King say unto them on his
right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world: (35) For I was
hungry, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I
was a stranger, and ye took me in: (36) Naked, and ye clothed me: I
was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
(37) Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we
thee hungry, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? (38) When
saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
(39) Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? (40)
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you,
Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my
brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Luke
14:16-23 Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper,
and bade many: (17) And sent his servant at supper time to say to
them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. (18) And
they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto
him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it:
I pray thee have me excused. (19) And another said I have bought five
yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.
(20) And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot
come. (21) So that servant came, and showed his lord these things.
Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out
quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither
the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. (22) And the
servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there
is room. (23) And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the
highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be
filled.
James
1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is
this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep
oneself unstained from the world.
James
2:14-17 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith
but does not have works? Can that faith save him? (15) If a brother
or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, (16) and one
of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled,"
without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is
that? (17) So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is
dead.
Even
the Lord Jesus himself said, I did not come to be served but to
serve. As his followers we must do the same.
Luke
4:18-19 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed
me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the
broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering
of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, (19)
To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
The
commandments of Jesus Christ our Lord are very clear, we are to go
out and do what He did. The regular North American method of church
is very different from how the first century church operated.
Churches soon after Christ rose from the dead where most often
outside, since that was where the needy were located. When it comes
to poverty and hopelessness, nothing has changed. A couple of
examples of those that ministered outdoors more recently, are William
Booth founder of the Salvation Army, who ministered and preached once
a day outside and once a day inside, and Mother Theresa who for a
great deal of her ministry was helping the poor outdoors.
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