I prepare to walk into a stuffy gym at the youth detention center like we do every week. The final buzzer blares and the heavy door swings open. A large group of girls yell with excitement and run over toward us but my eyes lock with someone immediately. Across the gym stands one of our teens who has been involved in our youth program since day one. She drops her head and makes her way toward me. I ask her what happened and she tells me a story she obviously is not proud to share. When she is finished, I look her in the eyes and tell her I am sorry to see her here, because I know who she really is. It is heartbreaking to see her locked up. I tell her that it must be hard to be in here since I know this is not where she belongs. She looks up at me, eyes filling with tears, and says, “Thanks for knowing me. Thank you for knowing I am better than this.”
To be known. The simple ache of every human heart and where God most profoundly comes to meet us. If God desires to know and love each one of us, then this, too, must be where ministry begins. Although a simple concept, knowledge of a person must be at the beginning, middle, and end of every one of our interactions when seeking to disciple others in their journey toward Christ. Before we can convey the facts of our faith, invite someone to Church, or expect them to hear what we have to say, we must first take the time to get to know them and walk alongside them where they are. In many senses, we have to earn the right to be heard. Discipleship is not about clocking in a high number of people who we can convince to believe in God. Discipleship is about investing in the lives of others, proving you care about who they are and where they are going, then leading them to Christ.
To most fully understand the nature of authentic ministry and how to truly encounter others, we must look to the Incarnation. God is uniquely passionate about each one of us. He is passionate about our stories, our desires, our dreams, our aches, our mistakes, and each detail in between. He cares so deeply about us that he became man to be like us, to know us even more. He reveals this truth countless times in his ministry: sitting with the woman at the well, walking on the long road to Emmaus, seeking to know the woman who was healed by the hem of his cloak, and the list goes on.
There is, however, a vulnerability inherent to ministry: when we open ourselves to others we run the real risk of rejection. For many in the world today, rejection is our biggest fear. We would rather avoid a situation altogether if there is potential that rejection could take place. We fear rejection because, in many ways, it makes us feel like we are not known. This is where we once again must look to the life of Christ. Even Jesus did not go without rejection in his attempts to draw others to himself—not only on the Cross but also by people he walked alongside for years. In Christ, we not only find examples of rejection, but we also find his response to it: keep loving anyway. Keep doing the work, keep showing up, and never stop finding new ways to love others well.
We can rest assured of a few things when it comes to ministry. First, we will be rejected at times. Not all will accept the Gospel immediately—or at all. Secondly, Christ is present in our rejection, urging us not to grow discouraged. We can think of the countless times we ourselves have rejected God, and we can be reminded that the human heart is always capable of returning to him no matter how far it has wandered. And finally, we can place our hope in the fact that as those ministering to others, our role is simply to provide opportunities for encounter, to plant seeds, keep showing up, and let God handle the rest.
———————
As Jesus was a vagabond during his earthly ministry, wandering to the margins of society to bring home the wanderers, our missionaries follow his example and bring the Good News to those the world ignores. Vagabond missionaries build friendships with and serve teens in urban and inner-city communities through weekly programs, outreach, and personal mentorship. Vagabond serves teens at 13 sites in 9 different cities throughout the country.
