Reaching Those Who Live In The Shadows

Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. Sometimes going to all the world is made more difficult because some of the world does not like being found. I have found the homeless population in Rapid City to be this way. If we are to get the gospel to portions of the world that live in the shadows we will need a way to bring them out into the light to bring them to the true light. With my Native American homeless population I have found that distributing some small necessities of life in what we call "Rescue Packs" has worked well!

Proverbs 19:17

17 He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.

Pity is a character trait that God has had to develop within me in order to reach hidden people for the cause of Christ. These Rescue Packs that I mentioned above are pity put into shoe leather.

Here are the specs for the kits as suggested by Brother Travis Sharpe, Missionary to homeless for over 20 years.

Suggested list of items for your snack packs:

Peanuts

Granola bar

Individually wrapped peanut butter

Bottle of water

Vienna Sausage

Slim Jim

Chewing gum

Crackers

Fruit cup

Hand sanitizer

Gospel tract

Pocket size New Testament

You can add anything you want to add just be sure that you don’t include chocolate or other snacks that might melt or go bad.

Suggested list of items for your hygiene kits:

Sterno

Space blanket

Hand sanitizer

Deodorant

Wet wipes

Wash cloth

Band aids

Bottle of water

Razors

Individually wrapped candy

Lip balm

Small bottle of shampoo

Body wash or soap

Gum

Socks

Gloves

Stocking Cap

Cough drops

Toothpaste

Gospel tracts

Pocket size New Testament

Use small sandwich size bags to put the individually wrapped candy and cough drops in. This will help to safeguard against them melting and messing up the whole bag.

Avoid putting anything in the bags that could possibly be abused such as medicines, mouth wash, etc.

The packs are a financial burden and the time spent putting them together and distributing them is considerable, what is the worth of a soul?

We have had the opportunity to witness to hundreds of people that we would have never met without the rescue packs.

What hidden population do you have that is unreached due to inconvenience or perceived low return on investment? I challenge you to step outside of your zone and find someone that is not being reached in your area.