New Around the Mission

Salt and Light to the Poor

March 17, 2010

Breakfast assembly line for the homeless in Kansas City.

It's been almost two years since Christ Church Anglican in Overland Park, Kansas, offered a class called Salt and Light (from Holy Trinity Brompton). No one could have predicted the long-term effects in their own backyard.

The course motivated several in the class to look for practical ways to reach out in their community. The group soon discovered opportunities to link arms with Hope Faith Ministry (HFM), a non-denominational, faith-based ministry serving the extremely poor and homeless of Kansas City, Missouri, about twenty miles away.

Five days a week, HFM feeds an average of 450 homeless men and women. On the first Saturday of every month, almost fifty people from Christ Church volunteer to organize, facilitate and serve breakfast for the clients.

Sorting clothing donations for men and women's clothing shop.

“Our church has huge gifts in hospitality,” shares Sarah Schultz, Director of Outreach at Christ Church. “We love to serve good food and are great at throwing parties. We have volunteer teams that go down to prepare and cook the food at 5:30 AM. They serve one of the best breakfasts in town.”

Volunteers also help out with the HFM clothing shop, filled with donations from people in the surrounding area. A client chooses what they will need to make it on the streets for a week, alongside a personal shopper. The youth of Christ Church often volunteer as personal shoppers and pray with each client after their shopping trip.

Organizing the women's clothing shop in prepartaion for clients.

“It has been a great entry level outreach for those that are new at stepping out of their comfort zone, and we now have several that serve HFM 20-30 hours a week on a regular basis,” Sarah explains.

Karen Bullard is one of those faithful volunteers who give countless hours to serve the ministry. “Being involved at HFM has been such a blessing in my life,” she says. “All of the staff members have become a part of my family, and I marvel at their ability to be the hands and feet of God in every situation.

High School youth receive orientation on reaching the homeless of Kansas City.

Hope Faith Ministry recently received the gift of a 50,000 square foot warehouse facility to expand their ministry. On May 1, Christ Church hopes to have 250 volunteers to help build the men’s clothing shop inside that facility.

Two years ago, an outreach course inspired a few to set the example of serving their community, and their faithfulness has multiplied into a congregation that expresses their faith in action by doing mission alongside the homeless.

Posted By: Cynthia P. Brust
Categories: Faith in Action