“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded
you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18-20

I am involved with a church in downtown Minneapolis named Grace in the City. It is small with more or less 40 attenders but it has a huge heart for runaway teens and others on-the-run, drug addicts and pushers, people in and out of jail, centers, shelters and sober houses, prostituted people, homeless families, street people and struggling families. Grace is located in a tough neighborhood without a church. It is close to where I started full-time ministry in 1977 so being there brings back a lot of memories for me.

Its pastors are Ean and Wade, two young men who have a background of drug use but they are now new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). They are graduates of Teen Challenge and Bible college and dedicated to shepherding their unusual flock and teaching them the Word of God. Grace provides physical food for hungry bodies and spiritual food, the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ, for famished souls. Food, drinks and coffee is regularly donated to Grace by grocery stores, food banks, bakeries, churches and coffee roasters. Before in-person ministry was shutdown, due to COVID-19, the church building was buzzing every day with people of all ages eating meals, Bible studies and sharing groups for men and women, people dropping by for a cup of coffee and friendly conversation and fellowship for those who know Jesus as Savior. Each Sunday afternoon was a lively worship service with all kinds of people attending. Since the end of March, including regular Gospel outreach on the streets, all this has stopped till further notice. Worship services are now on FaceBook and shown on a monitor so people can watch from the sidewalk outside the building. Every noon people are picking up meals from the curb, and as they do, they are asking when in-person ministries will resume.

Grace is meeting people where they are in life and pointing them to Jesus, the Friend of sinners and our sympathetic Savior.

I have befriended Ean, Wade and their few regular volunteers. Ean, who is single, is the only one who gets paid, which is very little, because the church’s income is small. Wade, who is married with children, has a job and serves at the church some evenings and during weekends. They rotate preaching on Sunday. They are excellent expositors, with their own individual style, as they teach God’s Word. I walk alongside Ean and Wade as their friend, prayer partner, encourager, coach, shock-absorber and perhaps source of stability and normality. I am a Barnabas to them.

Now Ean and Wade are discipling Evan. Evan is 18 years-old and just finished his first year of Bible college. They have noticed that Evan has a calling and the gifts to become a pastor-teacher like them. Last Sunday Evan preached his first sermon *ever* during a worship service at Grace. He spoke from Revelation 2:1-7 and did an outstanding job handling the text. His message was clear, passionate and with many practical applications. As their big brother in Christ, I am proud of Ean, Wade and Evan! There is nothing fancy about Grace in the City Church and Ean, Wade and Evan are ordinary young men and I am an ordinary old-man. But there is something very special happening at Grace. It is that God has called this unusual church into being and is keeping it alive and well during a difficult time through guys who are living unusual lives. By the mercy and grace of God, disciples are being made as we go with the Gospel. Matthew 28:18-20 is happening in a rough and tough neighborhood of Minneapolis. We are His-story makers.  You can be a His-story maker too, by God’s grace, in unusual places among unusual people.