Ecclesiastes 4:1
“Again, I observed all the oppression that takes place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have great power, and their victims are helpless.”

Psalm 12:5-6
“The Lord replies, “I have seen violence done to the helpless,
      and I have heard the groans of the poor.
Now I will rise up to rescue them,
      as they have longed for me to do.”
The Lord’s promises are pure,
      like silver refined in a furnace,
      purified seven times over.”

Modern day slavery takes on many forms these days.
With the increase of globalization and technology over the past few decades, many good things have come about-
However, those looking to exploit the system for evil purposes have also made advancement and taken advantage of opportunities.

With clear mandates from our God in the scripture about how we are to treat our neighbor, the alien, the widow and orphan, and even our enemy- it is imperative that the church stay abreast of the many situations happening across the world.  We need to be globally-minded more than ever.
And really, if you think about it- God’s plan for spreading the good news of the Gospel had this transnational, globalization notion embedded in it.  It is His will that all people have the opportunity to see and respond to His redemptive love.

In the trailer we saw the verse that is typically called the Great Commission.  It ends with the line ‘to the ends of the earth’ and that is so often thought of as a far off geographic place.

But I see it as more than that. 

I think the ends of the earth can be the damp basement of a cell, where trafficked individuals are being held.
I see the ends of the earth as a dim upstairs room of a brothel.
I see the ends of the earth in the humid working warehouse of a sweatshop factory…

Yes we are called to go to nations and cities- but beyond that, we are called to bring light to these hidden places in the corners of the tiniest villages- to the wide open streets of major cities.

Exodus 22:21-23

"Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt.

Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan.  If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry.”

Just as God reminds the Hebrew people to remember their days as oppressed people and to therefore enact justice to those living among them now, so too are we expected to understand the plight of those in need.

As we were once in bondage and far from God, we now understand the fulfilling nature of His presence.
It is our responsibility as the church, to extend ourselves and offer a place where this presence can be encountered.

It is our mandate to create places for widows and orphans, who have been left behind in the world, to come and find rest and restoration.

Instead of merely overlooking them, or even worse, exploiting their vulnerability, we are to care for them and tend to their needs.

Beyond that, we are to step in and protect them from those looking to take advantage of their poverty and hopelessness.

• Every 15 seconds a child becomes an AIDS orphan in Africa
• Every day 5,760 more children become orphans
• Every year 2,102,400 more children become orphans in Africa alone
• 143,000,000 orphans spend an average of 10 years or more in an orphanage or foster care
• Approximately 250,000 children are adopted annually
• Every day 38,493 children “age out”.  (See below for definition)
• Every year 14,050,000 children still grow up as orphans and “age out” of the system
• Every 2.2 seconds another orphan child ages out with no family to belong to or a place to call home.
• In Ukraine and Russia 10% - 15% of children who age out of an orphanage commit suicide before age 18.  60% of girls are lured into prostitution.  70% of the boys become hardened criminals.

1. http://www.habitatforhumanity.org.uk/current_appeal.htm
2. According to figures from the United Nations. These statistics include children in the American Foster Care system
3. This is an estimate. Infants may stay as long as 18 years while children who become orphans at an older age stay a shorter time.
4. To AGE OUT means to grow to the age where a child is forced to leave the orphanage or foster home with no place to call home.
5. http://www.hopefororphansoftheworld.org/default.aspx?id=30.  Above photo by Rose Dannells with orphans in Gulu, Uganda (2008)

*hasler

“I was so ignorant and uninformed about HIV that I thought if I began to minister to people who had it, touching them, loving them, and ministering to them would make me sick, too. Now I know you can’t catch HIV that easily. It’s not airborne. You can’t get it by sitting next to somebody, eating after somebody, hugging, touching, or loving them. It doesn’t spread that way.

“HIV/AIDS is spread through blood. It’s spread through babies born to mothers who are HIV positive. It’s spread through HIV positive mothers who breast feed their babies. It is a sexually transmitted disease. It is not spread by you loving and ministering to somebody who is HIV positive. But I didn’t know that. That’s why, even though I told God I was willing [to minister to those with HIV/AIDS], I was so afraid.” -- Kay Warren

Rick and Kay Warren have since gone on to be some of the greatest advocates for AIDS awareness-raising in the church.  However, many people, inside and outside the church, are still extremely uninformed about the realities and magnitude of this disease.

It is my hope that tonight we can both learn more about the issue and see what can be done to support and assist those who are most dramatically affected.

It is an honor and a privilege to have both Carolyn Wetzel from Food for the Hungry and Pastor Zeb Mengistu from Beza Church in Ethiopia here tonight to provide both information about AIDS and share stories of hope about what can be done.

Matthew 10:7-8

“As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.'  Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”

We may not be able to see the miraculous healing of God every time that we pray or lay hands upon a person.  But what we can do is approach and engage them. 

We can speak a message of hope to them- the good news of the Gospel.
We can embrace them with an overflowing love that we have received from God.
We can assist them and provide for their needs, so that they might have a fulfilling life in spite of their sickness.

Jesus ends the command with Freely you have received, freely give.

The ends of the earth may be more than a geographic place-

It can be a place of shattered hopes and dreams.
Working closely with the homeless community over the past four years has taught me a lot.

I have heard stories, seen the difficulties in the system even for the most diligent of men and women.  What I know, is that we are all God’s children-  We are all created in His image and He expects us to treat one another with respect and dignity.  We strive to form loving community and restore hope where hope is lost.
We try to bring good news and live it out.

But there is a difference between mercy and justice.
The things that we are going to hear about tonight are both and.

Mercy is seeing and responding  to a legitimate need-  maybe this is providing a meal, clothing or temporary shelter.

Justice is working to overturn systems that create and perpetuate poverty.

Both Convoy of Hope and Central Union Mission are both/and organizations.

Convoy provides mercy response but also empowers and mobilizes the local church to help people get out of the cycle of poverty.
Central Union mission also cares for the pressing needs for those on the streets, but they go further in trying to install values that help individuals get to the next level of restoration.

We as Christ followers need to be both/and people.
Urban poverty is complex and entails both acts of mercy, but also demands the hard work of enacting justice-

God calls us to love and to care for one another.
He doesn’t call us to have a mere guilty conscience or live in apathy.
We must find ways to act-

Proverbs 28:27:
Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing,
      but those who close their eyes to poverty will be cursed.

At first this verse seemed strange to me.  Cursed?  But the more I thought about it, it is true.  When we do not care for the poor we are missing out on one of the most central characteristics of God.  When we turn away from the poor, we are not acting in the fullness of God, and that is a curse.