December Update

Family and Friends,

Our annual open house was held in October. Margaret walked through the front door and ended up at my registration table. As I welcomed her I handed her a printed card, explaining that she could read it as she took a self-guided tour of our ministry center. I encouraged her to stop in each room to talk with our staff and learn more about the programs and ministries we offer.

“Do you teach people how to read?” She quickly interrupted.

“Well, no, we don’t have a tutoring program right now,” I replied. I automatically assumed she was interested in children’s tutoring programs, thinking she might have a son or daughter who needed a little extra help with schoolwork.

Later I spoke with Margaret a little more, learning much about her as we talked. She is 41 years old, has a daughter about my age, relocated here recently to stay with her sister, is single and eagerly looking for love, attends church down the street from our ministry center, and she can’t read. “Not one word,” she told me.

I also discovered through our conversation that Margaret is a determined woman working toward earning a GED. Currently she walks a great distance, despite health problems, to get to a center where she can take classes in hopes of accomplishing her goal. She asked if we could open a GED class in our building since we are so much closer to her home. However, we are not equipped to start GED classes.

It struck me as I was thinking about Margaret that it must be so difficult to learn about God when you cannot even read His Word. How much of my spiritual growth has occurred as I have spent time in private or group study of the book that tells us all about who He is? How much more limited might my understanding be if I could not read the Bible? Margaret cannot do this, she is ill-equipped to study the Word on her own. Thankfully, though, she is involved in a local church where she can receive solid teaching until she is able to feed herself.

Part of our ministry here involves training leaders for the urban church. But so many people we meet first need to be trained in how to read and study. There are barriers to overcome for many of the people we work with, but our God is a great God and He is daily turning mountains into pebbles as followers like Margaret seek to know Him and make Him known. Praise Him for changing lives and equipping the Saints!

Serving in the City,

Beth