John S.
"Serving All Men"
We live in a "me-first" world where people think of themselves before they consider others. However, scripture teaches us that we are to do the opposite and become servants first. Jesus did not come into this world to be served, but to serve us, and we should desire to imitate him. We need to carry a servant's heart each day and seek ways to serve our community. By serving our neighbors we share God's love and also create opportunities to share his good news. God has shown me that you don't have to have similar interests with others to be able to create a connection. Rocking Philippians 2 (holding others superior to you and caring about what others are involved in) will make people love being around you and in turn will give you an opportunity to share the good news. We are so blessed with God's mercy and grace and need to remember to not keep it to ourselves. By serving others we become living testimonies for Jesus and increase the chances of others coming into a relationship with him.
"For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win with more." 1 Corinthians 9:19
Rachel B.
In order to serve, there has to be a need. And as we are sinful people living in a broken world, there is persistent need all around us. But I tend to set my own terms for how much of it I acknowledge by asking the right meaningless questions, staying in the right part of town, etc. And to ease the guilty conscience, I might choose to fulfill some of the need by mentoring the inner-city kid once a week or buying a homeless person a sandwich when schedule and mood permit.
In New Orleans, God forced me to take another look at suffering and need. We interacted with hurting people all week, but I didn't really connect until dinner on our last night. We were walking to Café Dumont, a busy, well-known tourist spot. I remember laughing at a funny comment someone in the group made as I was stepping over the homeless people lining the sidewalk, trying not to trip over their feet. They didn't ask us for money, or even acknowledge us, but just stared off or closed their eyes. It made me feel sick for a second – how could I laugh while literally stepping over so much pain and hopelessness? Through that one moment, and through the opportunities I had during the week to see believers completely sacrificing their lives in order to serve others, God re-taught me another lesson I easily forget: When He calls me to serve, I don't think He is calling me to satisfy or meet other people's needs. Only He can do that. Instead, He asks me to take those needs and make them my own, make their suffering my own, share in it with them. This requires more than random acts of service that fit into my schedule – it requires an intentional lifestyle of service. And this is what Aletheia is all about: proclaiming Jesus through our lives by living with the people and serving and loving the city where He has placed us. \
By Tim S.
" Reaching Out to the City "
Everyone has heard the description of love from 1 Corinthians 13. You know, " Love is patient, love is kind..." Love is serving others as well. Not just your close friends, or your family. Love is also serving complete strangers. The Aletheia Co-Ed Community Group wanted to reach out to the homeless community this past December. We organized a clothing drive for hats, scarfs, gloves, jackets, you name it. As workers working for the harvest, God provided the increase. (1 Corinthians 3:5-7) The outpouring of support was above and beyond what we anticipated. We were able to bring several large bags and boxes of clothes out to the homeless in Monroe Park before the weather got too cold. It was tremendous to hear their stories and share the love of Christ with them. God blessed us with the opportunity to serve the city, and love the city.
There are opportunities to serve and do mission work all around us. There are over 37 million Americans living below the poverty line, and 12 million children growing up in poverty. I pray that God would open our eyes to those around us that are in need, and that we may love them however God leads us.
"I'm convinced that God did not mess up and make too many people and not enough stuff. Poverty was created not by God, but by you and me, because we have not learned to love our neighbors as ourselves" - Shane Claiborne
By P. Josh S.
" Loving the City "
Cities: Love or Hate/ Hopeless or Strategic?
To a majority of individuals, cities are places to be avoided rather than to be embraced. The prevailing perception of most cities is that they are places of heightened crime, poverty, and cultural activity that is antagonistic to the Christian faith. Thus, many evangelical followers of Jesus have forsaken the city in favor of buying their homes, raising their families, and building their churches outside the reach of the poisonous culture of the American city. But contrary to most Christians’ thinking, God has always viewed cities as strategic in His plan to redeem culture and the people enslaved to it. Cities are valuable in the economy of God’s thinking because they tend to be places that are densely populated with the lost and the hurting. They tend to places where culture is formed because it is where the brightest of the current generation make their homes. The major cities are also strategic cross roads of global cultures and people groups. Needless to say cities are loved by God because God is a lover of people. So, it should not surprise us that God’s heart for the city is clearly seen in the pages of the bible.
As God Loves the City So Should We
Dr. Timothy Keller, Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterians Church, in New York City makes the observation that when Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem, he brought thousands of Jewish exiles to live in the city of Babylon. At first the exiles refused to move into the corrupt city, settling outside the city, but God spoke to them through Jeremiah and gave them an amazing command. First, he spoke to them of their actions toward the city. He told them to move in, settle down, raise their families there, and invest in the economy of the city (Jer 29:5-6). Second, he spoke to them of their attitude toward the city. He said, “Seek the shalom of the city.” (v.7) The word ‘shalom’ meant full flourishing-economically, culturally, spiritually. And most amazing of all, God said, “Pray to the Lord for it, for if it prospers, you prosper.” (v.7) In short, God called his people to live in the unbelieving city and love it. They were to work for its health and prosperity even as they kept their own distinctive beliefs and practices. God said, “Increase there, do not decrease” (v.6b). They were not to assimilate and lose their identity as followers of God’s word and law, but they were to love their neighbors and love the city in which they lived. It is no accident that this mandate to the Old Testament people of God is exactly what we see the New Testament people of God doing in the book of Acts, with its mission to plant churches in major cities throughout the known world.
Love & Serve the City for the Glory of Christ
Aletheia, it is my prayer that we would be a biblical community that has a visible influence and impact on the city of Richmond. This means that instead of running from the city, we live within the city passionately, redemptively and counter-culturally. It means that we make ourselves aware of the needs of the city and are willing to invest time, talent and resources to the cause of meeting the needs with the hope of making Jesus known. It means tough decisions about questions like: “Where am I going to settle after college? Where am going to buy my first house? Where am I going to raise my family?” I believe that God has both sovereignly and strategically placed Aletheia in the center of Richmond to shine a spotlight on Jesus by serving the city. I challenge you to join me in this vision and be amazed at the outcome as we move closer to the heart God.
By Matt
" Serving the City "
After joining a community group, it wasn’t long until we all started thinking of other activities we could do outside of our Bible studies. Someone mentioned that it would be a great service to bring some food out to Monroe Park and witness to all the people around. Only a few weeks later, we had about 8-10 guys out in the park, equipped only with a few jugs of hot cider, some muffins, and a desire to serve the people around us. It was a marvelous experience, as everyone was grateful to get a cup of hot cider and a bite to eat. We also had the opportunity to hear the stories of a number of people in the park, as well as share our love of Christ with them. There were people from Canada, Argentina, and all around the US in the park that morning, and we shared God’s love, and a cup of hot cider, with all of them. It was a great experience serving them all as a community group. We all grew spiritually and hopefully our witness touched the hearts of the people we met that day.
One of the greatest things about this service project was its origin. This was not a forced project, but more a natural offshoot of so many men of God coming together. No one was there begrudgingly, despite how early we all got together. Not only was this a great community experience for our group, but it was a reminder of the city community that our ministry is located in. We all agreed that there was nothing else we could do but show God’s love to the people around us. The people around us in Richmond are people in need of God, and it was a beautiful thing to serve them and be a part of their community. I honestly can’t wait for us to have another chance to go out and serve our community.
" Loving the City"