PRIDE AND JOY: THE JOURNEY

"Don’t abandon your friend or your father’s friend, and don’t go to your brother’s house in your time of calamity; better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away" - Proverbs 27:10

Housing insecurity causes mothers to move from house to house and couch to couch, not always in the best environments for their children. Reported by The Annie E. Casey Foundation on the 2018 Kids Count Data Book results for Texas, "the percentage of children living in single-parent families, who tend to have fewer resources, was higher in 2016 than in 2010". Often women face housing insecurity after a break-up, divorce, the financial or medical crisis in which they get behind on bills. This snowball of unfortunate events is oftentimes detrimental to the healthy development of the children.

The Gospel is clear in calling out Christians to be fruitful, to take on hard tasks and helping those in need. Consider James 2:14-17:

"What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and filled' without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also, faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."

Therefore, the question in mind is: are we doing things that truly meet the needs as commanded by Scriptures? Or, do we establish ministries that are just easier to do, to better accommodate ourselves?

The gospel we proclaim has an accompaniment track: "But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace." Being full of mercy, good works (Ephesians 2:10) good fruit are some of the notes that should accompany the gospel. We have to demonstrate gospel mercy and power, not just proclaim the gospel. Moreover, simply finding ministries does not appear to meet the requirements of Scriptures (Matthew 25:31-46). More increasingly, the government's takeover of social ministries has deluded the church at large into a false sense of obedience. We are as much dependent on the government as some welfare recipients, as we let the government do what we have historically done. That is a chain needing cutters!

Hays Hills Baptist Church, over the years, has been providing practical help to single mothers in the community. This ministry that started with one simple act, extending a helping hand to one single mother, is increasingly growing. We cannot be blind to this growing need in our community. Many of our members, compelled by a call to support, began contributing time and funds to support these mothers initiating grassroots activities. After much praying and consideration on how to best utilize these resources, and to act on the needs of single moms in our community, the idea of a Restore & Rebuild ministry emerged.

#restorerebuild