Mere Missions

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children “hit the ground”; being the first and only visitor of a young man in jail who was in my Bible Club just after he killed three rival gang members at point blank range; a gang member shot in the leg on our lawn; a gun pulled out during teen club; a major gang fight after a teen club in which I was hit in the jaw. At the time, Fresno was the most violent city per capita, and we were right in the heart of it all. But how does one make a lasting change in the “Devils Half-Mile?” Answer: Plant an Outpost of the Kingdom of God. I didn’t really have a specific strategy, but I did know that we would faithfully continue to evangelize, make disciples, and begin to bring them together in community. Who would have thought that a weekly Bible Club would be the tool the Spirit would use to establish a church among the poor for His glory? During our weekly Bible Clubs on our front lawn, I would see James watching his little boy who attended. He would watch from the second floor of the house two doors down, as we sang Bible Club songs, played games, made crafts, and share a story from the Bible. James never said anything except he would give me that urban nod of the head recognizing me and that what we were doing was good for the kids in the neighborhood, even though he was struggling with drugs and the harshness of the inner city. Something about the simplicity and purity of children laughing and full of joy in “The Devil’s Half-Mile” could break through the hardest heart. It was New Year’s Day 1996, that I heard a knock and a voice at our front door early in the morning. It was James my neighbor. “Bob! We need to talk! Jesus spoke to me last night!” We went out for breakfast at a neighborhood Mexican restaurant. During the next several hours, James unfolded his life and the encounter with the Lord he had that night. There was a true experience that James had apart from anything I said or did, other than the Bible Club on our front lawn. I prayed over James, and he prayed