If you haven’t heard of Family Promise, a national organization that supports families with children who are experiencing homelessness, I think you’d be inspired by their work.
This morning I read a story from Family Promise of Irving about a family who had just “graduated” from the program. That means moving from housing insecurity into stable living. It immediately took me back to 2010, when the congregation we served there was part of a core group of thirteen churches partnering with Family Promise.
The organization does many things to support families, but one of the most powerful pieces is how they work with churches in a creative, practical way. So many congregations have space that sits unused most of the week (sound familiar?). Host churches open their buildings to vetted families for a week at a time, offering a safe place to sleep. Other churches serve as “buddy churches,” providing meals, supplies, and volunteers to support those weeks of hosting.
I remember that in our church, participating wasn’t an easy or automatic decision. There were real conversations and real concerns. But what finally moved us was a statistic from the local school district. I don't recall the exact percentage of students that were classified as homeless, but it was an extremely upsetting number.
That was it. Once we heard that, we knew we had to be involved.
I share all of this because sometimes we feel overwhelmed and unsure about what we can actually do. I often say we need divine imagination, but we also need to be shaken awake to how serious things are for some families. And we need to realize that there are already people doing good work. Often, the faithful response is simply to join them.
It makes me wonder about our own school district. What are the numbers here? How many children are considered homeless, whether that means living in shelters, cars, or bouncing between relatives’ homes?
And honestly, what else are we doing with all that space?
Stay blessed...john
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