It’s been three months since the Prodigal House opened up. By God’s grace, and with the generous support of friends like you, we continue to serve more homeless and poor each day. Since we opened August 1, we have doubled the number of showers and loads of laundry we do each day.  The very first day we opened we had 6 people… this past Friday, we had 22.

And we keep seeing lives transformed. You remember Scott, addicted to crystal meth and heroin … lived on the streets for over a decade, except when he was in prison. Today he’s a faithful member of our Prodigal’s Home discipleship group. And we just got great news: he’s been hired as Maintenance Supervisor at the Crossroads for Men Midtown rehab facility. Now he’ll be helping others who are going through what he went through.

But even with all of this great ministry happening among the homeless, we know we’ve got to do more. We’ve got to keep people from spiraling down into addiction and poverty and homelessness.

Looking around this neighborhood, it’s clear that we’ve got to catch them when they’re young, and help them grow up strong and healthy, with an understanding of God’s love and God’s plan for their lives. So they can skip all the stuff that Scott went through, and go straight to a productive, rewarding life as an adult.

So we’re starting a youth ministry at the Prodigal House. The national average of fatherless families is 40%. Here in Sunnyslope it’s 70%. As we’ve talked to homeless people over the years, we hear this time and time again: my father was absent. I had no father. My father left.

We need to be “a father to the fatherless.”

Maybe you’ve heard the old saying about charity and justice. Charity pulls bodies from the river … justice goes upstream to find out why they’re floating down in the first place. We’re seeing too many bodies in the river to just keep doing what we’re doing.

Yes, we will continue to actively and assertively serve the homeless. Our mission is not, and will not, change. But starting November 18 we’re going upstream. By serving the youth of Sunnyslope.

We’ve put in a basketball court. We’ve lined up three youth leaders. We have serious plans on the table. But we need your help.

We just got word that Thrivent for Lutherans will match dollar-for-dollar all gifts up to $10,000 (for a total of $20,000). So I’m asking for $10,000.

Pretty bold, eh? Maybe so. But God has called us to follow Jesus on a bold, daring reckless adventure of bringing grace to the world.

What portion of $10,000 could you give today? $100, maybe? or $1,000? Maybe $50? Whatever you can give, the impact of your generosity will be doubled, up to the moment the goal is met. And even then, your gift will make a real impact on young lives in Sunnyslope.

Thanks for praying about it, and getting back to me right away.

Grace & Peace,
Mike