Bus ministry

Bus ministry.
Wow.
It’s a life-changing event, unless you’ve been through it- you truly can’t relate.
Someone came up with the idea to buy a school bus, fill it with gas and pay a driver to take it into the projects of Los Angeles and pick up juvenile delinquents, fatherless children, single mothers, gang members and others who will never be able to repay back all we plan to bless them with.

First, we load the bus up with bus pastors; imagine 4-6 (mainly White) suburban young adults who God had called to do missionary work in the inner city. Drive 30 minutes to Watts, knock on doors, wake up the teenagers, (who were out too late last night) mediate a couple minor disputes, load the bus, stop an argument from turning into a fight and head off to Angelus Temple.

Once we get all the kids off the bus, the true ministry begins; we must convince them that they can’t leave their seats during service so they must go to the bathroom before or after, attempt to persuade the younger kids that kids church is definitely more fun than big church and then corral the teenage boys to their seats, separate from the teenage girls. What a joy.
The service goes amazing, another wonderful word from Pastor Matthew, then back to the busses, and we can’t forget to grab the pizza and sodas along the way and get everyone comfortably settled.

The trips home are usually the best, engaging those beautiful children with the reality that they are children of God. We discuss everything from the sermon that morning to the latest rap CD. It doesn’t matter what you talk about, they are fully enamored with the idea that someone has taken time from their schedule to pour into them.
Sure it’s overwhelming and we don’t get paid to do it; but I find the blessings of watching these young men and women grow up to become Godly role models for the next generation is so much more rewarding than any amount of money.

If you haven’t done it yet, do it now, it will change your perspective and enhance your relationship with God more than anything else I’ve ever found.

Adrienne