I’ve never been big on numbers and statistics. It just seems that sometimes we can get so busy counting that we don’t leave time for serving. However, I do admit that stats can help in two ways. They can help us evaluate and they can help us plan.
We’ve been looking at the numbers for 2022 at our two shelters, mainly so we can plan for 2023. If we are going to serve those that God sends our way, we have to be prepared. Every number is a person, and every person is a story.
Of course, in the business of serving the homeless, you always hope the numbers go down. Less beds of shelter hopefully means fewer people are homeless. The same goes for meals.
We would just as soon go out of business for lack of customers … if you know what I mean.
But there was one number that I hope goes up. We have increased our efforts in sharing the Gospel and encouraging people to attend church and it has paid off. In 2022, we saw 60 men and women from our shelters baptized. Some were baptized in a make-shift tub while others were baptized at their home church by their pastor.
That statistic goes to the very heart of why we exist. People hearing and responding to the Gospel. We believe that the Holy Spirit is at work in the heart of every person, and we want to partner in that work by telling them about Jesus.
With the increase in baptisms, it’s no wonder that we have also seen an increase in graduates from our programs. God is restoring family relationships, changing old ways of thinking, and providing blessings we could have never imagined.
I’ve always believed that blessings follow obedience. When we are obedient to share the Gospel and live it out in the way we serve others, God blesses.
In this case, 60 men and women have trusted Christ as their Savior. Their lives will never be the same. They may not have come to a homeless shelter to find a Savior, but a Savior found them.
I hope you will pray that we will never lose sight of our main purpose. Yes, we exist to meet the physical and social needs of our homeless and addicted neighbors, but we can’t forget the words. The Apostle Paul said it this way, “And how can they believe if they have not heard the message? And how can they hear if the message is not proclaimed?” While you are serving, don’t forget the words.
