Acts 29

"So, do you know exactly what we are doing?" I asked.
"It's a free store. That's all I know."
"God said, 'get out of bed at 6:30 a.m., drive to a not so great part of town through a minor snow shower, and just trust me."
"Right."

As Yi and I exited onto McNichols, we realized immediately this inner city had been forgotten. Every other stop light was burned out. Barbed wire scaled the tops of fences. Overgrown weeds, boards on businesses, vacant cars...no we weren't in the suburbs anymore. We found the building without trouble and entered with an open mind.

We were standing in what was once "the place" to buy your car in Detroit: Century Chevrolet. Big glass windows and mirrors along the wall somewhat resembled the old showroom. On the large wall opposite the windows was a giant mural of downtown Detroit with the Chevy symbol hanging like a cross over the city. This was Acts 29.

Pastor Mike greeted us and we secured our stuff upstairs. Joining the other volunteers, we received a crash course orientation. There were going to be three stations: working in the free store, serving meals and acting as host. Of course, Yi and I were picked for host. We both quickly declined not feeling quite ready to sit and talk with people. How funny. God had just sent me to Germany to talk to people and yet I couldn't do it here. Yi volunteered in the free store which was in an adjoining building. I stood behind the food and served the Lord from there.

I saw many hungry people come through the line. There was no racial or age discrimination. Muslims, Christians and the hopeless wandered through the food line patiently and with a smile. During small breaks in the flow of people, I got to know an Indian woman named Aparna. She told me about the Acts 29 vision: to reach out to the inner city community. Her stories told of a woman in a wheelchair who only asked for some fresh fruit and company. Another story was about walking the street doing outreach and coming face to face with gang members.

"You just look them in the eye," she explained. "Don't show them fear even if you are crying to the Lord on the inside. They wonder why you are there but they let you go by."

Her pastor would come by to check on us and I noticed he was wearing the ugliest, orange, gardening shoes. These shoes didn't go well with the nice coat and jeans. I actually wondered if he knew he had them on.

We spoke to Cathy who passionately runs the free store. Her vision is to train people and branch out to other communities. Providing clothing, toys, dishes and other basic needs is Cathy’s vision. “It really is easy to do,” she said. “Just ask people to donate the goods about two weeks before the store opens. Then, you let people know. They’ll show up.” In fact, one family showed up three hours before the store opened. They patiently waited in the car: one mother, three kids.

Before we left, Pastor Mike gave us a tour of Acts 29. He led us upstairs to the women’s ministry office and the nursery. To my amazement, we then followed him down a hallway which opened up into four more rooms: the future ESL classroom, prayer room and another office. The open room was to be used for various events. We then went up a set of stairs into an unheated, vast area. “The third floor vision is to make these into dorms for interns and addicts. We want to provide a place for people, help get them back on their feet and teach them skills they can use.”

Pastor Mike led us back to the first floor into a room they are converting into a kitchen. Presently, it is doubling as a bike shop. A couple of guys drive around various cities looking for mangled bikes. They repair the bikes and bring them to Acts 29. “Some of the kids who came today rode up on bikes given to them by our ministry,” Pastor Mike said. “This is one of the ways we are reaching out into the community. We want people to remember us so they can contact us again. Anyone notice our Pastor’s shoes?” We all nodded. “Pastor does that so people will remember him and be able to approach him anytime.”

The support Acts 29 is receiving is a testimony for Christ. There are so many areas any of us can support financially, through donations, prayerfully and rolling up our sleeves. The opportunities are abundant.

Yi and I left with eager hearts. “Quick, let’s read Acts 29,” Yi said as we got into the Trailblazer. As she grabbed the bible (I keep one near me when I can), I said, “I’ve never read all of Acts…but someone mentioned there isn’t an Acts 29 or something.”

“That's right!” Yi said, “it ends at 28 but it ends kind of abruptly. It is so we can write our own Acts 29…all of us. Holly, let’s write our own Acts 29.” We discussed our excitement to help out with the ministry while we sped back to the suburbs. The Lord had sent us to the other side of the world to help people and now we were sent into our own city. God had touched our hearts by bringing us to a place Detroit had forgotten but God hadn’t. And the biggest gain of the whole trip?

“Someone got saved today,” Pastor Mike said.

Check out www.acts-29.us to learn more about this ministry.