I have a call to Baltimore City.
It doesn't make any sense. I grew up in a suburb outside of D.C. with virtually no exposure to the urban realities of America's cities until I was 18. I am an Eagle Scout and spent one weekend a month going camping from 5th - 12th grade. As I got older I got heavily involved in mountain biking, backpacking, and rock climbing. When College came on the horizon I wanted to go into forestry and ultimately live someplace where I could pursue all my outdoor related hobbies.
Jesus changed that.
When I was in college I had the opportunity to do street ministry in one of the worst neighborhoods in Harrisburg, PA. Why 12 white students from the local Christian college decided to go to the hood on Saturday night at 8pm to pass out tracks still baffles me. The administration must not have known where we were taking the college van.
When we arrived on the scene I got partnerned up with a fellow student who was a pentecostal. I told her I would be praying for her and she could do most of the talking. She wasn't even 2 steps out of the van and she was witnessing to a woman walking by. She told me it was my turn now. I approached a young man standing up on a stoop. He was looking down at me. Intimidated and full of fear I told him we were out talking to people about Jesus and asked if he had ever heard about him. He said he had just gotten out of jail where he went to a few church services. My fear heightened as I was now witnessing to an ex-con. However, in that moment the Holy Spirit filled me and I began to preach. I don't even remember everything I said. But I told him about God creating the world and Jesus coming to die for us on the cross. The girl I was with was stunned as she watched me speak. From that moment on I knew I was called to urban ministry. I didn't know where or how but I knew I was called.
The adventure continued.
From there I went on to complete my B.A. in Urban Ministry at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. I got married and we had our first child 9 months later. We stayed in Chicago for a few years after graduation serving in a great church, Uptown Baptist, and working. It was there that God called me to preach and plant a church. God then led my wife and I to move back to Baltimore with no clear plan other than to live and do ministry there. God opened a door for me to work with the Baptist Convention of Maryland Delaware to plant a Church in Baltimore. So we moved to Pigtown in Southwest Baltimore not knowing anyone to begin planting gospel seeds. We did a ton of ministry and had many experiences that changed our lives. One thing we did was paint a mural on the side of my house with about 20 volunteers from the neighboorhood. It is still there (632 Scott Street Baltimore 21230).
However, after 3 years of work and not a lot of fruit we were discouraged and burnt out. God led us to connect with a church planting network called Acts 29 (www.acts29network.org) and they assessed me as a church planter but one who needed some more training and growth. So I made the hardest decision I have ever made in my life and shut down the ministry I had labored to build for three years to focus on my family, theology, and personal ministry growth.
He sent me back.
Upon receiving the advice from Acts 29 to shut down the ministry we were also invited by Pastor Shaun Garman to move out to Portland, Or and do an internship with Red Sea Church (www.redseachurch.com). It was a hard time for me as I was working out all my feelings of failure at planting a church and questioning my call into ministry. However, God slowly began to restore me and build up our family and ministry. We became an integral part of Red Sea and were deeply blessed by our spiritual family there. We were able to do alot of minsitry there and be a part of seeing the church grow from about 80 to 140 in weekly church attendance. I learned a ton from Pastor Shaun who became one of my closest brothers and my spiritual mentor. He is my "Paul" and I am his "Timothy."
During our year and 10 months there I wondered if I would come back to Baltimore. There were times when I highly considered staying in Portland where I had a great spiritual family and an opportunity to minister. But, God would always bring Baltimore back to my heart. There was a time when I was particularly frustrated and asked God for a clear "sign" on whether or not we were to come back. Then he reminded me of a literal sign 2 blocks from my house. "Baltimore Next Signal." The image above is an actual picture of a sign down the street from where we lived in Portland. What are the chances that we of all people would buy a house in Portland right near this sign? I think it was because God wanted to remind us while we were there that Baltimore was next. It was coming up. And it came up... because we are back.
Congratulations if you got to the end of this long blog. If you know Jesus, would you please pray for us and the ministry God has for us here.
