Our Work is "For the One" - The Ones Displaced

Recently around our office, several large encampments were broken up. We watched as our friends' belongings—tent, clothes, medication, Bibles, books, food—were picked up and tossed in dumpsters. All that remained were the tears and anxious faces of those who had just lost everything. There wasn’t much we could do but sit with them while they watched. They are the ones we were called to love that morning—the many ones displaced from what they call home.

It’s in those gaps—when circumstances shift suddenly and the weight of loss feels overwhelming—that God places us: beside the one who has been displaced. To sit in that suffering can be heartbreaking, especially when there’s no way to fix what’s happening. But it’s there—in the silence, in the ache—where God begins to move. When we don’t have an answer, God will. Where we can’t see a way, He still shows up. And He was there that morning, as we stood with friends while they frantically loaded their lives into grocery carts or trash bags.

We went back out later that day to reconnect with our friends who had been displaced. They were scattered about, but we found most of them— small groups of men and women who know what it means to survive on the streets; they look out for one another, protect one another, care for one another. As we sat with them for the second time that day, there was one thing that was very clear—they knew God was still with them. Astonishingly, they ministered to us. The ones who had lost everything were blessing us, speaking of the goodness of God, reminding us of grace. Their faith was on full display—knowing that the God who woke them up that morning is the same God who will help them find a new place to live.

As God works to restore the lives of our friends, he restores us too. God reminds us in gentle and amazing ways that this is Kingdom work, and Kingdom work can be messy. It's not linear, simple, or easy to spell out, because it comes from a source who entered this world to turn our thinking upside-down. Jesus taught us:

The last will be first and the first will be last.

To love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.

That the meek are blessed, for they shall inherit the earth.

These promises made 2,000 years ago connect with the foundations of our work: in the ashes of displacement and despair, God’s love still rises to care for the ones who have been displaced. The ones who are not just displaced but consistently dismissed—yet are all God’s beloved children. When this work feels messy, painful, and upside-down, we know there is a purpose, often beyond what we can understand. And we know that for the one who feels lost or displaced, God’s restoration will come.

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We know that you don’t have to be homeless to feel lost or displaced, and we want you to know we care about you, too. We see you, and you are welcome in our community. Join us on Thursdays for prayer at our office at 9 AM. Friendships heal, and you matter to our work.