heroin addicts, business men and you

"Kelli is a heroin addict and a prostitute. She does sexual favors for cigarettes. She has been enslaved by sex traffickers..."

My first job out of college was as a Junior High Youth Director. I had no idea what I was doing. Andy was my boss - he was the Senior High Youth Pastor. Every summer, we drove to Atlanta, Georgia with a group of kids for a ministry week. We worked with a group called 'Church on the Street.' This was a church for the homeless. The pastor was a friend to the forgotten and marginalized by society. Today, Andy is that pastor. Church on the street is a great organization that serves and loves those on the streets of Atlanta. They do this with no strings attached. This week, Andy sent this note:

Kelli is a heroin addict and a prostitute. She does sexual favors for cigarettes. She has been enslaved by sex traffickers, abused by her alcoholic father, and written off as useless by the world. She is a high school drop-out, yet surprisingly intelligent and articulate. She is ashamed of herself, yet knows there is something better for her. She feels worthless, yet somehow knows she is of infinite worth. Kelli is a paradox: she fits neatly into stereo-types, but defies most of them at the same time. (Continue reading here: http://ow.ly/16rwak)

I love the Church - the body of Christ - the community of followers of Jesus. They are all over the world, learning to love God completely and love others with no strings attached. They are on the streets of Atlanta, in businesses of Scottsdale ... they are in London and Jerusalem and Lima. If you are a follower, you are a part of the body. Sometimes we lose sight of the Church - and we believe that church is what happens on a Sunday morning where we gather. Church is happening today, every minute, every hour, around the world. You are the Church and God desperately needs you to help Him accomplish His purpose.

Your life matters. God desperately loves you. And He wants His love to spill out over your life into the lives of others. Allow Him to use you to love others. Love people today, no matter where you are, with no strings attached.