By Jennifer Taylor
Crossroads Christian Church (Newburgh, Indiana) encourages its thousands of members to participate in churchwide outreach events, volunteer with ministry partners like Habitat for Humanity, and attend seminars on generational poverty, evangelism, and more.
But Eric Cummings, community outreach pastor at Crossroads, says the church”s “inner-city van tours” are the most valuable educational tool they”ve developed.
Each month, 10-12 adults participate in the two-hour experience, seeing the reality of crime, poverty, and homelessness while also stopping at many of the schools, government agencies, and ministries working to help the city”s residents.
“We don”t get out of the van, we simply explain what each organization does and spend a few minutes praying for each one,” Cummings says. “At the end of the tour we talk about ways to get more involved.”
The tours started three years ago, after the adult ministry staff asked Cummings””then new on the job””for an overview tour of the community.
“We wanted to be more involved in ministry to our urban areas but didn”t know how to get started,” he says. “We weren”t connected to the needs or aware of the ways to help. After our first drive through the city, we agreed more of our people needed to have this experience.”
So while the church continues to present high-quality outreach training on its campus, Cummings says the short van tour presents the issues and the opportunities more effectively than any six- or eight-week class.
“When people get off that van, they are ready,” he says. “Their hearts are softened and they”re motivated to make a difference. It”s a transformative experience.”
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Jennifer Taylor, one of Christian Standard”s contributing editors, lives in Nashville, Tennessee. Read her blog at www. christianstandard.com.
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