Reflections on Grace from the 'Urban' Mission Field

Greetings church family! Over the past 25 years I’ve been privileged to be a part of the Hebron Church community.  For the past 7 years, I’ve served full-time as an ‘urban’ missionary with Urban Impact, a Christ-centered organization ministering amongst at-risk youth and families on Pittsburgh’s North Side.
As Hebron embarked on its  study of grace this fall from the Book of Galatians, I thought I’d reflect on some lessons God has taught me on grace, in the context of the ‘urban’ missions field He has called me to.

Grace in the absence of the truth breeds entitlement.  When we start to believe that we deserve grace, and that we’ve earned it, grace is no longer receiving what we do not deserve, but simply claiming the blessings we believe we are entitled to. In the community I live and minister in, there’s a lot of groups extending grace to the poor and marginalized. This is all very good work, but when the reason for good is not clearly stated, in light of eternity, much of it is good for nothing. Rather than setting free, these acts of blessing, when mixed together with the sinful nature we all possess, can instead serve to tighten the strings of entitlement, and the grip of dependency amongst our city’s most vulnerable residents.

Sin is a big deal, but God is infinitely bigger. If we fail to grasp the magnitude of the amazing grace found at the Cross, we can unknowingly minimize everything the Cross conquers. I live and minister in a community were sin holds whole families and neighborhoods in generation cycles of enslavement; where sins and wrongs committed against others results in lives extinguished. On the North Side, sin is a very big deal, and its consequences play out every day. After all, the wages of sin is death.

But praise God that He did not look at sin and say, ‘it’s no big deal, I’ll just let it slide.’ No, the grace of God is perfectly seen in Jesus, God’s only son, paying the ultimate price to ransom us from an eternity apart from the presence of God. The Cross was not a Groupon offer or 30% off sale. Jesus paid the highest price possible to purchase our freedom. He paid with his perfect, sinless life.

Failing to embrace God’s grace forfeits freedom.  God’s grace aims to set us free from the present and eternal consequences of sin. However, Satan will readily use his one-two punch of shame and guilt to handcuff and isolate believers, leaving us duped into believing surely God can’t use me to accomplish his purposes. I’ve seen this happen to youth who respond with joy to the inward call of the Spirit in their life, but then, through a wrong they committed, or an unplanned pregnancy, they fall for the lie that God’s grace was somehow not big enough to forgive their sin, or restore them into right fellowship with God and others.  Rather than drawing close into the arms of the one source that can renew and refocus their heart, soul, and mind, too often their first response is to withdraw into darkness.

In light of this, I’ve also been privileged to see the grace of God set free and transform people of all ages into responsible followers of Christ. I’ve seen young men reverse the generational curse of fatherlessness, and through the power of God in their lives, set a course of blessing for their children and childrens’ children.  I’ve seen God develop youth into disciples of Christ, then mold them into disciple-makers, who today are impacting their peers, family, and the next generation for Jesus. The same students who withdrew into the darkness, I’ve seen Christ draw them as prodigals back into the light!

To my Hebron family, who has encouraged me as I’ve served, and graciously supported me through your prayers and financial giving, thank you for being a blessing. God is using you to transform lives!