m2m = am2m

Having a bit of trouble with certain features of this site so a “phase two” WordPress site has been activated: am2m.wordpress.com is available now. All new & future posts, expanded links to pertinent websites, photo displays and audio descriptions will be found there.

Plans for interaction with Habitat for Humanity operations in Monroe and Detroit figure prominently in the next trip to Michigan. I’ll have a bit more detail — and some of those promised images from the recent trip — up Wednesday. Hopefully.

m2m: First Report on the “D”

I’ve been back for a few days now, but am still searching for the best way to report on findings from the first trip to Detroit. Please excuse this weak and late beginning; now that I’ve begun this writing, it should improve and expand quickly.

Thanks to those who made it possible for me to travel to Michigan and see first-hand the many faces of economic catastrophe and daisy-fresh hope, each delivered in full daily. The fillers that occupy the space between those opposing concepts are what is making it difficult to know where to begin.

For now, I’ll stick to the basics — but keep in mind that these are my own opinions. Apparent proofs and other evidences will follow later.

• the “D” is down but definitely not out
• effective recovery will require including a transition to new thinking
• strong religious faiths are easily found. I felt at ease and welcomed everywhere I went
• “working together” has multiple meanings, as many of them negative as not
• cities, counties and their various departments need to improve internal/external communications
• a decent house may indeed be bought cheaply, but that’s the last consideration on many lists

We can make a difference in Detroit, and do so pretty easily and quickly. I have several ideas on effective approaches that will be presented in the next installment. There are lots of pix you really want to see as well, and they’ll be included with their descriptions.

Special thanks to my Detroit friend James Williams for his Christian encouragement, insights and assistance. God’s blessings and comfort to you and your dear wife, your children and all those wonderful gran’babies. Be well and continue to trust in Jesus. I hope to see you again soon.

For all my other friends: if only you could have been there to see for yourself. I’m going back; ya wanna ride along?

Time for Show & Go

Thanks for the responses received RE “what we’re doing” in going to Michigan. And thanks, too, for the hard questions about the why & how of this mission. I’ll post most of the pertinent questions and comments before tomorrow’s church services. I’d really appreciate any/all feedback within a few days if at all possible to aid in evaluations.

Sorry that there isn’t a published mission statement or concise position paper about our endeavor. I’ll try to correct that as well.

Don’t just be an armchair participant; we are all in this together — ministry to others in Jesus, that is! Let me hear from more of you, please.

A Welcome, Pleasant Surprise

It’s a pleasant surprise; the last few days have seen a marked increase in viewers to this page and that’s very encouraging. I welcome everyone who hasn’t been following our ministry and hope you will continue.

To quickly acquaint new folks with the project, m2m is a mission to the Detroit area of Michigan. Our goal is to assist residents and others in as many ways as we can while building contacts and partnerships with existing faith groups and charitable organizations.

From day to day, we may paint porches or provide occasional transportation; clean up a vacant lot or provide home care & meal prep alongside church groups. All that we do will be done in Jesus’ name, without expectation of repayment or fanfare. A simple Christian ministry is all we are.

Got ideas? Suggestions? Don’t just sit there; everyone can help us help others. Just write and ask us “how?”.

On The Road

Finally, I know I’ll be heading to Michigan between now and the middle of August; most likely it will be in the first weekend of the month. Numerous contacts have been made and meetings are penciled in among church folk, a few missions, real estate reps and lodging facilities. The trip should require no more than four to six days, depending upon the schedules of others and unforeseen events.

Funds for the trip are in place, and there is a small reserve that should remain. In this trip, I intend to size up our primary options based on m2m participation and support to this point. The season is passing rapidly, and if we are going to gain a foothold in the Detroit area it needs to be accomplished quickly. A report will follow upon returning.

I also have to consider that my own home church, Pleasant Meadows Baptist, has work that needs to be accomplished before the onset of winter weather. The choice must be made soon as to which one will take precedence.

Your prayers in these regards are continuously requested. If you haven’t done so already, please email me with your thoughts and possible suggestions. Thanks. May God bless you and our various missions.

A Cry for Help

I received a message a few days ago from someone in trouble. Their wording and descriptions of events made understanding difficult, and I wasn’t sure how to respond. I asked for it to be printed here in simple English in the hope that maybe someone can help me understand more about the needs of the writer:

“Please help us. We are in a bad situation and cannot do anything more by ourselves. We are hungry and our children cry often. We are afraid that no one can hear us or cares about us. Please, if you or someone you know can send help, please do it quickly. Our situation is serious.” The letter ended without a signature.

I  wondered about the writer and what could have happened, and quickly called everyone I know who might be able or willing to help. The only thing I haven’t been able to tell anyone yet is exactly where to send help. The only thing I know for certain is when to send help — NOW.

The message may have come from someplace close or from Tiananmen Square; Wounded Knee or a little town in Costa Rica. I couldn’t tell if it was sent 100 years ago or just last week. Maybe it was from some point in the future;  maybe something is about to happen here that we cannot foresee.

Will we be the ones who will need immediate help? It has happened before, and I believe you remember it well. The need is actually everywhere, and the time is always now. But what about you? Are you helping anywhere, or needing help yourself? Who will you call upon? May God always remember to send us help in times of need. Or maybe, just send us.

The Line Starts (here)

Just reviewed the 30-Hour Famine material I requested from World Vision. Have you heard of it? You will if you return to this blog, along with several other options for service that can seriously and dramatically impact lives.

Info about one of the programs that we will be taking to Michigan, known as Student Alpha, will be coming here as well.

In other news, we got a couple of good leads for housing possibilities in the Detroit area this week. Mark White is helping me to evaluate the options being presented. He believes, as I still do, that a local church there may be the key to finding appropriate and geographically effective temporary housing.

What are you doing? Want to take a trip west with us for a few days and see how other folks are getting by? Let me hear from you. There will be lots of opportunities coming in the next few years as m2m serves communities in Michigan.

Encouraging Words Ministries

A trusted, long-time ministry advisor recently made a good suggestion: try some new ideas here in northern New York that will be used in Detroit to see how effective they are. The idea is that while awaiting support funds to accumulate for the (first?) trip to Michigan, let’s run some tests here of programs that m2m will offer in the Detroit area. Any costs should be comparatively negligible. We can thus gauge their effectiveness and get valuable feedback from folks here who are in similar situations to those in Michigan.

Encouraging Words Ministries was organized by me in 1994, registering the name and ministry in Gloucester, VA, where I then resided. In this ministry, I have been privileged to work in numerous technical and information-gathering endeavors assisting missionaries, churches, teachers and Bible students. Through the Internet, there is no way of identifying all the places and persons that may have been aided by EWM. More information may be found at GospelWord.org.

More detail will be posted here in the next few days. As always, I ask for your honest input and suggestions. Have a great day!

ROI? COB? Simply Serve!

Return on investment, cost of business — there are a lot terms used in evaluating the soundness of various business practices and their operation. I suppose many similar concepts can be applied to Christian ministry also; but in business, the primary goal is to show progressive advancement and profit. In ministry, such performance benchmarks are far more difficult to gauge.

In business, demonstrable asset management and growth are desirable to keep investors and the tax man happy. Oh yeah, and to create resources for the owner’s present and future security as well.

But in ministry the “investors” are actually receivers. They are the ones who, without needing to put anything into the support of a given ministry, nonetheless get the benefits. The profit of ministry is souls ultimately finding the love of God and his salvation in Jesus.

Retirement from business is fraught with ifs, ands, buts, maybes and more with little assurance of adequacy. Retirement from ministry is guaranteed by a heavenly promise from God.

I don’t know too awfully much about business, except that a lifetime of hard work may ultimately bring no tangible rewards. I do know that active ministry has guaranteed rewards for all Christians, however they may pursue it.

Before I start rambling too much, let me end by saying that all the earnest work we put into our business stays here after we have left this world. The earnest work we put into our ministry builds rewards that mostly come after we’ve left this world.

May the Holy Spirit cause you to see that your primary business should be ministry to others in God. Selah.

The Soul Purpose…

Think about it: why would God send his Son into the world, knowing in supreme detail the suffering and death that awaited Him? The words of John 3:16 are all that anyone should need to understand the answer.

But there isn’t very much understanding in the world today. Actually, there never has been.

I think it could be argued successfully that only as single individuals are we best able to understand what God wants us to know. And yes, I’m trying to start an argument here to get a response from those who sit passively on the sidelines — the ones the Bible says are neither hot nor cold. You know, the “fillers” of the world.

The m2m mission isn’t so much about showing the world that someone cares as it is about showing someone that God cares. The purpose of Christ was to save individuals; by God’s grace, that’s what groups like the Detroit Rescue Mission are attempting. That should be our primary calling as well.

Want to talk about it? I’m here now but hope to be leaving soon.