Mere Missions

134 • M ere M issions : M oving F orward to M ultiply

5. Equip Your Church in Evangelism The Church is the steward of the Gospel and has the responsibility to equip their people in evangelism. Every believer must be able to, “make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Pet. 3.15). From this “pool” the pastor can identify those who might have a calling to church plant. There is no church planting without the feet of those who evangelize.

Connection Story Central City East (official name) in Los Angeles is the homeless capital of America. To Angelenos, it is known as Skid Row . The Independent (October 2021) gives a

graphic picture of this community: It is estimated that eight thousand homeless people occupy nearly sixty city blocks in downtown LA, living in tents and shabby squalid constructions. Some sleep in the open. Gangs, violence, and drugs run rampant. The rat-infested streets smell of urine and rubbish mixed with the pungent odor of marijuana. Drugs are abundant. “This has become a Disneyland for addicts,” one Skid Row resident comments. Heroin, fentanyl, crack, weed and crystal meth are the most popular. Crystal meth, brought in by Mexican cartels and distributed by local gangs in five-dollar bags, is quickly overtaking crack as the drug of choice. “It is Chrys versus Crack, and Chrys is winning,” another homeless person wryly comments. . . . Mental illness is rife and half-naked people scream, talk to the air and defecate in the middle of the streets.