Love Thy Neighbor
God is a champion of the vulnerable. That’s why MBI is committed to helping ministries like YWAM San Francisco, CA, maintain their life-changing work among people subsisting on the streets.
YWAM SF focuses on the people living within the Tenderloin—San Francisco’s most diverse and unusual neighborhood—part of which sits outside the front door of their main ministry center at 357 Ellis Street. Their mission is to engage San Francisco with a loving God.
Director Tim Svoboda says: “Homelessness is a large problem across American cities. There are many
reasons for this. Housing, high rents, unemployment, mental health, drugs, and so on. We find the number one problem facing most of the unhoused is loneliness. A lack of family connection. The isolation and loss of dignity people find on the streets can make them want to give up and live on the street because it’s easier than solving the complicated problem of finding a job or a place to live.”
At the Ellis Street center, the YWAM SF staff engages their homeless, lonely, and addicted “neighbors” in practical and relational ways, from providing showers and haircuts to playing ping pong and hosting community Bible discussions. “Whatever we do,” Tim says,” it focuses on building relationships so people feel loved, accepted, safe, and trusted. We concentrate on belonging first, which then leads to believing.”
Does it work? Tim points to Jason, who is beginning to embrace faith in Jesus, actively volunteering at YWAM, and contemplating his future with newfound optimism. As one of YWAM SF’s Mission Adventure outreach participants noted: “God taught me that some people just need someone to listen or talk to.”
YWAM SF’s current practical needs include volunteer help in communications, maintenance, and renovations. They also need mature, relational staff and an administrative assistant. We invite you to volunteer and help them continue loving their neighbors into God’s kingdom.
Recent Comments