Summer “In His Midst” Hot Dog & Hamburger Ministry in the Park: "You Don't Look Like the Pastor"

​During the summer, CPC in The Hill brings a grill and homemade dishes, along with fruit, salads, and cookies, each Wednesday evening to a nearby park—and offers a meal to anyone who is there, or walking by, or the neighbors. A wide range of people are there: Families, single moms with their kids, a few dads with kids, too, teens (plenty of teens), and many people whose lives are broken, hurting, and struggling with addictions. There are a number of homeless as well, for whom this is their only meal for the day—for even a few days. So far (two Wednesdays) we’ve seen 60 to 80 join us each evening throughout the quick two hours.

Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word (Isaiah 66:1-2).

The scripture text from Isaiah 66 is the theme for my park preaching this summer. The good people in the park help me out. I explain the verses, then I lift my arm and point to the sky, and I say:

​If God’s throne is in . . . “heaven” (they yell out) and the earth is God’s . . . “footstool” (they announce), then God’s feet are firmly planted in the . . . “Hill” (they shout loudly). Our ministries in the community seek to show that God cares about The Hill and that our desire is to find ways to help our community to flourish.
 
One newcomer to our Park BBQ ministry, a 20something in dreads, this past Wed-evening told me, after I introduced myself as Pastor Chip, “You don't look like the pastor. You look like someone who belongs to this church.”

A former student of mine (when I taught at Prairie Bible College) commented when I mentioned this on Facebook. He said, "True shepherds smell like the sheep."

I can live with that.
 
Last evening at our second "In His Midst" this summer, I was asked how big is our church (I so dislike this question, but didn’t show it). I said, 

“We are very small right now. We are a small church plant in the Hill. You’re looking at almost everyone who comes on Sunday [I pointed to those serving the food and cooking] and then a number of people who always help us and consider this their church, but still, small. We are a church of and in the Hill, trying to do some things about church differently. I am amazed, I said, that being so small we can have such a major community impact—this [pointing to the crowd we were feeding] all from a small group. Imagine what we’ll be doing when we’re bigger, with more people joining us as a church. Imagine.”

Imagine.

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For those interested, this church plant is dependent on the generous gifts and support of others. You may contribute as well: Donations can be made through Mission Anabaino, a church planting collaborative of  Christ Presbyterian Church (New Haven).

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