Returning to Action

A message from our executive director, Dr. Terry Goodwin.

It has been a long time. Life goes on and the ticking clock pushes us closer to the end of this life. Tick – tock – tick – tock clicks the passing of the chronos  - the finite time we have on this earth. A few years ago I came face to face with my mortality. I had 16 surgical procedures in 2 ½ years. I thought I may never work again. The end of my calendar was staring me in the face. In that dark and desperate time I found a second chance at life. The Kairos of God swept in and I was lifted up again to continue the work He had called me to do all those years ago.

I am no different than you really. We all will leave this earth. We will all succumb to the Chronos ticking clock. No one gets out alive. Throughout the New Testament there is an urgency proclaimed: Repent, the Kingdom of God is at hand. They lived and acted as if the return of Christ could happen at any time. The measure of our service will not be placed upon scales balanced by wealth, possessions or church attendance. The other side of the scales of God’s justice are balanced by obedience, sacrifice, and the deeds we do in service to God on behalf of others.

Now I am focused on the Kingdom of God. I am looking at my mortality as an unknown deadline to complete the work I have been assigned to do. I cannot afford to waste another moment of self-indulgence or indifference to the hurting. We all end up in the cemetery. The Chronos seeks to put us there. The Spirit of God seeks to give us life in this age through the selfless service to others on behalf of Jesus. That is where I found life. I will not exchange it for the fleeting temporary pleasures of this world.

The New Opportunity Center Expansion

The facility that will replace the Penrose Project is located at the corner of 14^th and Salisbury. The first stage will be to finish the garage at 3624 N. 14^th. This will house our woodshop, maintenance services, rehab and auto repair shop. Phase two will finish the lower level of 3628 N. 14^th where we will relocate The Second Chance Bazaar. Phase 3 will bring the sewing center into the building. Phase four will add the audio and video recording studio.

There is no time frame for completing this project. We are still recovering from the damage that was done to us. We invested two years, hundreds of man hours, a considerable amount of money, and our reputation into a project that was ended outside of our control. We also realized the need to focus on making disciples and developing faith communities. We will spend 2018 rebuilding our relationships with volunteer groups and our supporters. There is a lot to do.

Our goal is to focus our energy on the core businesses that allow us the flexibility in our schedules to do what our mission and name declares. We are first and foremost a ministry.

If a business is not accomplishing our vision and mission then it does not serve its intended purpose. This is the conclusion we have come to regarding Sun Cafe. Sun Cafe has become the most visible expression of our ministry. Some people even refer to us as Sun Cafe and not Sun Ministries. This is not what we want to be known as. We are not a restaurant. We have also concluded that Sun Cafe has not moved the mission of Sun Ministries forward in proportion to the effort, management time, and cash required to operate it. So we have made the decision to permanently close Sun Cafe.

Upon completion of the Opportunity Center Expansion, we will have all of our core businesses operating out of our own facility. We will prioritize adding alternative energy sources to the building to lower our overhead. This will give us the lowest possible operating overhead and allow us to operate with as little management time as possible. It will give us new tools for empowerment and the operation of our core mission. We are ready to plant more faith communities.

Moving Forward

We had embarked on the Penrose Project because it was an incredible opportunity. The building would have been an impressive resource, we could stabilize and expand our businesses and offer all kinds of empowerment for the community. And then, after two years of labor, networking, and promotion, we got the letter from the city that they didn't own the building and were immediately cancelling the lease.

We have suffered greatly due to this error. Our reputation has been damaged. We have alienated financial supporters. Our relationships with volunteer groups were damaged as we had to cancel at the last minute, leaving them no place to serve. We lost revenue from our woodshop. We incurred debt and spent thousands of dollars on obtaining the building. Most importantly, we did not get to add the Art and Technology Center to our community. Instead, the building is used as storage by the City Treasurer's office as it sits and deteriorates. What could have been an incredible community asset will instead sit and continue to be a blight on our neighborhood.

The result of these events over the last two years have caused us to re-examine how we approach our work in the city and the businesses we run. Sun Ministries is going back to basics. We have wandered off track a little. Our good intentions to build the community and form beneficial partnerships did not take into account the greed, corruption and incompetency that has led to the current conditions all around us. We firmly believe that God is doing a great work in the inner city and we are called to facilitate that work.

We know our primary function as Sun Ministries is to plant faith communities that operate by God's design. These faith communities will rebuild the inner cities of America. We cannot do this in partnership with the government, people motivated by greed, or people looking to control our work or control those in our community. We want to see unity in our community and these things can never achieve unity. They are fundamentally divisive. They bring their unholy motivations into everything they do.

Sun Ministries has had a rough year. We are turning the corner as we move into 2018. We are refocused and ready to continue planting faith communities that are united to serve by showing the justice, mercy and love of Christ to the world. We plan to do this by multiplying disciples that live under the power of the Holy Spirit proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ. We have already been doing this through the Church@HydePark.

Today we are announcing that the Opportunity Center expansion will still take place. It will happen in a building we already own. It will take a little longer to accomplish but it will happen. Once it is finished we will have an incredible tool of empowerment in the Hyde Park neighborhood. The goal is to concentrate on our core businesses and the tools we need to fulfill our mission. The complex will house an expanded woodshop and sewing center, an audio and video recording studio, our second hand store, our maintenance services and rehab operations and give us space for the Opportunity Garage.

What will be missing from this version of the project? There will be no space dedicated to community use. This facility will be for our use. It is unfortunate, but the facility is not as large as 1901 Penrose. We really wanted to facilitate that kind of space but we are not able to do that in this building.

What happened to the Penrose Project? Part 2

In order to complete the lease of the property, a law would have to be passed through the Board of Alderman and signed by the mayor. The bill was submitted by our alderman and passed through the board vote. When I got the paperwork, I noticed that the original proposed lease document had been passed and signed. I asked why they changed their minds only to find out they submitted the wrong bill. They quickly submitted a repeal and replace bill (Board Bill 304) which included the correct version of the lease with the shorter term and oversight board requirements. That bill also passed the Board and was signed by the mayor and all required parties.

We were full speed ahead and very excited. We had hundreds of volunteers lined up. It was spring break time and the weather was cooperating. All we needed were the keys. We insured the building, as was required by the lease terms and asked for the keys. We were told it would only take a few days. We started working on the outside of the building. We were cleaning, landscaping and painting. We asked to get let into the building and started removing the trash and debris. The project was on track and looked like it would soon be open.

As we worked with a large volunteer group one day, we were told to leave the premises. Immediately after this my emails and phone calls were not returned. I still did not have keys but I had a signed copy of the lease and insurance on the building. I couldn't understand what the problem could possibly be. Several influential people agreed to look into it for me. Everyone that did would soon stop returning my phone calls and emails. I knew there was a problem but I never expected what came next.

Approximately three months after the lease was signed, over two years since we started the whole process, I got a letter from the city of St. Louis. Are you ready for this? They didn't actually own the building! They had offered an RFP to sell a building that they did not own. They passed two bills through the Board of Alderman, had both signed by the mayor, signed and executed a lease with us, supplied us with copies of all of these documents and did not own the building.

We were floored. We had invested hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars in the project. We had weathered all the issues and obstacles. We accepted the restrictions and the shorter lease terms. We arranged for and scheduled hundreds of volunteers. The cost to us was staggering. We had taken on debt expecting to have facilities for expansion. We shut down our woodshop in order to prepare it for the move. We invested labor and money over a 2 year period. All we got was a letter saying the city didn't own the building so the deal was over. The Penrose Project was dead. 

Being the Church

So what do you do when your experience and observations of faith don't add up to what you see in Scripture, or what you hear about happening overseas, or on the “front lines” of ministry, or the stories involving “heroes” of the faith? We have found ourselves in that place at one time or another, which is what led us on the path of looking for something more. That path finally led us to living the Gospel (to the best of our ability) here in north St. Louis.

In answering the call to live by God's design, make disciples, and minister in broken places, our flesh has been challenged and our understanding stretched. We have come to the place where faith is necessary, where we are truly interdependent, where our reasonings and strength consistently prove to be insufficient. This is a good place to be. You can't accept a gospel of grace by striving to be good. You can't love if you are not humbled. You can't know an invisible God by memorizing His biography, but only by walking with Him, listening to His voice, and obeying.

While we know we don't know everything, we are sure that God has called us to this work, and that part of this work is rediscovering God's patterns for the church – this supernatural body present here on the earth. We've been trying to find ways to communicate this, and so we started writing books. Dr. Terry Goodwin, our executive director, has written three books. The first we've already covered. The second is called “Being the Church: Planting faith communities in a post-modern world.” While “Disciple Driven Church” is a book about history and a discussion of hurtful practices, “Being the Church” is a guide to what we can start doing. It is also a collection of stories and vision from living this out in a place that has long been abused and oppressed.

Below are some excerpts from the book. You can download it for free, or purchase a physical copy, in our online store.

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There is a movement happening during our current age. Look around you. God is calling people out of the man made structure of religion that calls itself the church. The structured church organization maligns, labels and ridicules the movement. They don't see what God is doing. They call some of them the "Dones" and others are labeled as bitter or church haters. Don't be fooled by the name callers. This movement is a work of God. He is setting His children free from a religious system born out of pagan practices. He is returning them to their rightful place as stewards of His creation. It is in this position of God-given authority, working through God-given methods and power, that the church of God will once again transform the known world.

When the church functions by its design, it is the most powerful force on earth. It can correct every problem and thwart every kind of evil. The idea of a group of people laying down their lives for the common good of society may seem like fantasy. The truth is that even small groups of people throughout history have had huge impacts on society by living as Jesus did. The goal of every Christian should be to become more like Christ. You cannot do that if you do not follow God's design. Jesus knew this and communicated it in John 5:19 - "Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner."

I am a full believer in a simple Gospel of sola scriptura - sola fide - sola gracia. The truth I see in Scripture is that works are not required for our salvation. I also see the truth that our Salvation is not the only goal of the Gospel. There is a much bigger result desired by God. He designed the Gospel to produce His desired result. If we lose sight of the desired result, we will settle for a weaker, partial Gospel. God desires the Gospel to produce a royal priesthood zealous for good works. He desires the Gospel to produce a functioning body of believers that lives together by His design, set apart from the world and united by the Holy Spirit. This priesthood will fulfill the covenant of Adam as it is fruitful, multiplies, stewards and rules over God's creation.

In order to "Be the Church" we must be seeking the things of God. If we seek His ways we will find His ways. The hard part about finding God's ways is that He expects us to live his ways and obey His commands. Consecration is the process of setting ourselves apart from the things of the world and the ways of the world. One visible quality of the church should be that it lives differently than the rest of the world. It lives supernaturally. It does not live under the same priorities as the rest of the world. It does not seek the same things as the rest of the world. Its value system is God's value system. Jesus instructs His disciples to seek the Kingdom first. In order to "Be the Church" we must be set apart. The primary method that is outlined in scripture to accomplish this process is discipleship. If you go back to scripture you will see that we are never instructed to go and start churches. We are commanded to go and make disciples.

We didn't have to go start a church or grow a church. We had to Be the Church! We had to do for others what Jesus did for us. We had to give up everything and lay down our lives for others. What a great concept. Think of the greatness of this Gospel. As Jesus is proclaimed and people place their faith in Him, they will sell all they own, move to the desperate places and care for the oppressed. If you are the oppressed in this picture you will fully grasp the goodness of this news. Who else but God can compel people to do this?

We had no idea where we were supposed to do this thing God had called us to do. We began by seeking the Lord. We prayed and fasted and responded when God prompted us. It was a very strange experience when compared to how I had done things in the past. It was an exploration with God. In the end, God made it very clear where we were supposed to start. He prompted someone to give us a wood shop in the neighborhood He had been drawing us to for over a year. Once we were there, we continued to walk and pray and fast and listen. God had prepared a place for us to go and "Be the Church". I did not pick the place. In fact, I objected to His choice at first. I wanted to go somewhere else.

When we walk according to God's design we are powerful. We have the ability to change things. We can lift physical oppression through our own sacrifice and commitment. We can suffer and endure for others. We can intercede through prayer and fasting. We can use our spiritual gifts to bring to light the lies of the enemy. All of this is within our power.

Too often, we as Christians place our attention, time, resources, energy, dreams, gifts, and hopes on the growth of a church and doing things the church's way. When that is so, we face the danger that our focus will be on ourselves and we will use the community to grow our church instead of the church to bless our communities and show them how to follow God's ways. When we embrace God’s design to bless our communities and show them His ways, our focus will be outward rather than inward.

People are hungry for the supernatural things of God. They are leaving the institutional church by the thousands. God is preparing to receive this remnant by raising up groups of people that are dedicated to living by His design. The inner cities of America are prepared for revival and renewal. These places represent the worst of Satan's attacks on America. They are filled with neglect, racism, oppression and poverty. These places need God's people to come into them and live sacrificially for the sake of the residents that have suffered in them for generations.

Sewing Center - Social Entrepreneurship, pt. 3

Our sewing center is located in the upper level of the Opportunity Center at 1515 Newhouse. It was the first business we moved to our target neighborhood of Hyde Park. We started sewing products at the suggestion of Chris at Picasso's Coffee House, one of our first supporters. He was selling messenger bags made from recycled burlap coffee sacs when his source left the area. We adjusted the design and started sewing them in our house in the suburbs. We could only do this because Suzette, Executive Director Terry Goodwin's wife, was already an excellent seamstress.

Sewing away!

When we began making bags, we were looking for businesses to start. But what would work in this setting? What would work with our existing skill sets? We knew we had to provide employment and supply our own income. Through starting businesses, we become less dependent on outside funding. We can support ourselves with the work of our hands. We didn't set out to be involved in social entrepreneurship. We didn't even set out to make bags (or have a wood shop, for that matter). We were looking for solutions to problems, and walking through opened doors of opportunity. Along the way, we encountered questions and answers we had never thought of. How do you empower people to minister? How do you create space that allows people to overcome obstacles? How do you use the work of your hands to build the Kingdom? How do you move someone from being surrounded by chaos to becoming a great employee?

In the beginning, we were sourcing bags from the local roasters in St. Louis and purchasing material at fabric stores. Eventually, we were connected with Charity Sharity, which gathers craft materials and disperses them to local charities and non-profit organizations. So now, all our fabric and other materials are free. This greatly decreases the overhead for producing the bags.

Burlap coffee bean bags waiting to be transformed

Initially, we did all the work of making bags ourselves. We had never managed a business like this before. We had never made bags like this before. Once, when we received a large order, Suzette had to teach all of us to sew, and we did from the time we got up until we went to bed. This season of the business helped us all better understand the product and labor involved, and certainly showed us how to work together. Eventually, we became better at managing production, and were able to employ a few people in the space.

We started by selling our bags at craft shows and Earth Day events. This gave us great opportunity to talk with people about our mission. Later, we took the bags to CoffeeFest, a national tradeshow for the coffee industry. We now have retailers in several states and Canada. Everywhere a bag goes, it tells a bit of the story of Sun Ministries.

Finished messenger bags waiting to be tagged and shipped

The Sewing Center has also experimented with other products, including paper, jewelry, and book covers. While we have established our regular items, we are still looking to future possibilities.

As mentioned in our previous blog, the sewing center space used to be the home of our missionaries before we bought the Leadership Center. When we moved in, there was no climate control, kitchen, or shower. There was no privacy. In the winter it got very cold. In the summer, it got very hot. Living in this environment, with close quarters and no escape, forced us to deal with relationship issues. We had to learn to work together and communicate. The thing that helped us is that we were all united in vision to accomplish the work. We knew what God had called us to, and that our work was doing more than producing bags. We were laying foundation for opportunity and hope. The Sewing Center has since been painted, insulated, and organized. A finished bathroom and office have been added. Extra lighting, air conditioners, and ceiling fans have been installed. We enclosed the top of the staircase to keep out noise from the woodshop. It is now a much more pleasant place to work.

Sewing Center today.  Notice, the work stations are set up so workers can see each other and converse.

One aspect that makes the Sewing Center special is that it allows participation from home. We've sent fabric and sewing machines home with ladies to make products. This is helpful for single mothers or other people with circumstances that would prevent them from coming in to work every day.

Through the sewing center and other endeavors, God is showing us that He has a purpose for our creativity and skill. In the Bible, God sent His spirit upon His people to be able to perform many crafts and creative works in order to build the tabernacle. We see God continue to do this. He has given us creativity and skill to work with Him to create products. We can express our selves and what He does through different materials, whether they be burlap, fabric, or wood. Utilizing repurposed materials not only lowers our overhead and helps us care for the earth, but it is a fitting metaphor for the hope God is bringing here. He is providing a second chance. He is coming alongside people to make them into something new, wonderful, useful, and whole.

Read Social Entrepreneurship, part 1 - Sun Cafe

Read Social Entrepreneurship, part 2 - Wood Shop

Wood Shop - Social Entrepreneurship, pt 2

We will continue discussing social entrepreneurship by looking at our wood shop.

The building that contains our wood shop, located at 1515 Newhouse, has quite the story. Originally, it housed a printing company. Starting in the 60's, G. W. Helbling and Sons moved in. They produced screens for silk screeners. It was a family business. One of the elder Helblings was well-known for being able to produce the smallest font size in the area, because at that time, lettering was hand cut.

The ghost sign from the original tenant of the building is still visible on the back wall.

In early 2009, we began walking the Hyde Park neighborhood, praying and picking up trash. Occasionally, we would meet people. We knew God had called us here, but we were certainly strangers. At the time, we would regularly pray and fast, asking God to lead us in what He was building. We were sewing and doing wood working at one of our homes in the suburbs. We didn't know what we would do as winter approached. So in November, we told God our concerns. We can't pick up trash when snow is covering the ground. There's no public restroom to use. We know we don't need facilities for ministry, but we don't know what to do.

A few days later we were back in the neighborhood, eating at the only restaurant in Hyde Park. Terry, our executive director, was explaining to the waitress how we were having trouble trying to build deck chairs in his garage when we didn't even have a work bench. About a week later, she called Terry and told him someone was selling some workbenches. Not long after, Terry drove up to 1515 Newhouse and met Tim Helbling for the first time.

How the Opportunity Center looked when we got it.

After some pleasantries, and realizing the work benches were far too large for us to use (they were constructed inside the shop), Tim asked Terry what he was up to. Terry told him about what Sun Ministries planned to do, living out the call of Isaiah 61, rebuilding ancient ruins. Tim remarked that Terry was the most optimistic person he knew, and offered to sell Terry his building. Before Terry could answer, Tim laughed and said he could either let it rot, or give it to someone who could use it. “If I give it to you, will you use it?” Of course. “And how about all these wood working tools?” Definitely.

But why were we doing woodworking to begin with? We were inspired by a man pastoring his community in Kigali, Rwanda. He was using sewing and woodworking to provide jobs for women and orphans, moving them from homelessness and sex trafficking to a steady livelihood. We learned early on while walking the streets that there is not a lack of Jesus being represented or preached. “I can get Jesus from my grandma,” remarked one kid. “I need a job.”

While we had planned to have social enterprises (businesses), this remark, and Eugene's work, solidified the goal to create businesses that could employ people with multiple obstacles and minister to their physical needs, while we proclaim and demonstrate the Gospel. The Good News is not simply about salvation. It is the Good News of the Kingdom where the poor and orphans are cared for, where humanity functions more like a living organism, and God's glory is like a light in a dark place. This is not done by words alone, but by sacrificial acts of love and service.

We started with basic wood products, buying lumber from big box stores. Eventually, we were convinced by one missionary's father to check out some pallets, and this transformed our wood shop. We now had free (although labor intensive) wood.

pallet smashing 101

So now that we had a woodshop, a few product designs, and free lumber, we still didn't quite have a business, and certainly didn't have full understanding of how to utilize it to bring opportunity. We tried a work re-entry program, partnering with another non-profit organization. That was eye opening, to say the least. After that, we were convinced that we needed to establish our foundation. We needed to create a work space, design specific products, develop training, and learn the skills ourselves.

Since then, the woodshop has seen a number of people come through. It has proven to be a difficult place to employ people. It requires math skills, intuition, and extreme attention and safety due to the dangerous power tools. It has also laid the groundwork for our maintenance services, as it gave us the environment to learn how to use saws, drills, hammers, etc.

our commercial table tops made from recycled pallet wood

The woodshop established us firmly in the Hyde Park neighborhood. Now that we had a work place, and work to do, we were here much more often, usually with the doors wide open. Eventually, we moved in to the upper level while we continued to look for housing, and then rehabilitated the house we finally did find. We have made numerous items for charitable auctions, fixed widows' stairs, installed cafe bar fronts, and of course, built all our own tables and chairs for Sun Cafe. Our commercial furniture can be seen in several local coffee shops, as well as some further out, as we've gotten customers from places like Kansas and Wisconsin.

tables and chairs in a local coffee shop

The woodshop continues to evolve. Having started from ground zero concerning both skill and tools, we've come a long way. We are developing and stabilizing product lines, exploring marketing, and continuing to transform the space into a safe, efficient, work environment.

To see examples of our past work, visit one of the posts below:

Recycled Pallets

Recycled Pallet Furniture Continues

Pallets and Pews

New Pallet Products

More Pews

Read Social Entrepreneurship, part 1 - Sun Cafe

Read Social Entrepreneurship, part 3 - Sewing Center

Sun Cafe – Social Entrepreneurship, pt 1

 Our previous blog discussed our perspective on Social Entrepreneurship. We will continue this through examining each of our social enterprises, starting with Sun Cafe.

The vision of Sun Cafe has been with us since we first began the Isaiah 61 Initiative in early 2009. Our plan was to have a coffee and ice cream shop that could employ people and provide hospitality. As we pursued that goal, it became clear that the cafe was not the business with which to start. Instead, we focused on our wood shop and sewing center, and began the never-ending work of understanding what God had called us to.

1435 Salisbury, the location of Sun Cafe, before work began on the building

However, the vision was still with us, and we knocked ideas around in the midst of all our other projects. Eventually, we were approached by a developer who offered us an amazing location at Blair and Salisbury, two blocks off I-70, in the first floor of a three-story commercial live-over. The building had been vacant for decades and was in terrible condition. When we first entered the space, we could look down through a hole in the floor and see the dirt of the basement, and look up and see blue sky.

This started a lengthy and convoluted process of really developing the nature and goals of the cafe. Starting a restaurant is not easy, and it is one of the riskier businesses to start from scratch. None of us had managed a restaurant, although most of us had food service experience.

We discussed the menu, which began as a simple list of some of our favorite foods, exploded into an international selection, and eventually settled down into something similar to most diners, but with a few house specialties thrown in (such as the Louie, cornmeal pancakes, and the dirty mug). Some of our own family recipes were even included. Of course, we had a full coffee menu, including espresso drinks and pour-over coffee. Desserts included ice cream and baked goods.

mmm...coffee...

The décor was intended to represent the history and future of the neighborhood. We wanted to mix industrial and Victorian elements, with a color scheme that brought warmth and hearkened to our love of coffee. We put in a stage so that we could bring musicians and other artistic acts into the neighborhood. We left wall space for displaying visual arts.

1435 Salisbury in its (first) heyday

As I mentioned, the building itself needed a lot of work, and the blueprints saw numerous revisions. The rehab of the building took over two years and gave us time to develop the idea of the cafe, source equipment, and mature our existing projects. We finally opened in February of 2014, initially by simply taking down the paper on the windows (we had a “grand opening” a couple weeks later). We were assisted by equipment donations, flooring donations, some favors from friends and partners, and a lot of hard work. We finished out the space, including painting the walls, installing the flooring, building our bar, bakery case, and chairs, and putting finishing touches on the place.

our grand opening

However, these are all simply brick-and-mortar issues. The real story of Sun Cafe is in its very purpose. Sun Cafe exists to create a hub for connecting, serving, casting vision and providing hospitality. As mentioned in previous blogs, our businesses support the ministry as well as provide employment environments. However, each business also takes part in the rebuilding of Isaiah 61. Not only are buildings being renewed, but economy is being built up, and hope restored. We may be biased, but Sun Cafe is a nice space. We wanted to stand against the physical decay and negative attitudes over the area by making a beautiful and welcoming environment. The cafe brings people, and money, from outside the area into our neighborhood. We've hosted celebrations and discussions. We often have music to enjoy.

Sun Cafe definitely made the work of Sun Ministries very public. It has served as a connecting point with neighborhood residents, government officials, non-profits, churches, artists, police, and families. It certainly put us face to face with many people, and opened up opportunity to cast vision.

art displayed at Sun Cafe

The cafe has many challenges. It was our first business to have set hours. It is in very close quarters with the general public. The kitchen is always a stressful place. It contains lots of big equipment requiring regular maintenance. And like I said, we lacked restaurant management experience. Add all that on top of running four other businesses and trying to take on ministry projects, and you have quite the work load. While we've had our bumps, we are hopeful that the cafe can be a positive environment for our employees and customers. We plan to utilize its public nature to promote more community organization and progress. We host regular ServSafe certification courses for our employees and the public.

Besides offering food, coffee, and ice cream, Sun Cafe also does catering. We host meetings and parties. And we're open to other creative partnerships for utilizing our space and services.

You can learn more about Sun Cafe by visiting our website, or checking out our facebook and twitter  feeds. You can also visit the Isaiah 61 Initiative site to read some different perspective on the purpose of the cafe.

Read Social Entrepreneurship, part 2 - Wood Shop

Read Social Entrepreneurship, part 3 - Sewing Center

Pastoring the Community, pt. 3: Social Entrepreneurship

Social entreprenuership is generally defined as the use of business to address social problems. That is essentially what the Sun Ministries Opportunity Center does. We currently run 5 businesses which act as employment and training environments for people with obstacles. We are also using them to rebuild the economy of our neighborhood. They provide jobs, bring money and visitors into the area, and act as a tool to highlight the problems we face. Our customers are aware of the nature of our work, regardless of what business they're patronizing, and learn about the challenges people have and the immensity of the solutions necessary to overcome them.

We are creating opportunity for the oppressed with the work of our hands, instead of storing up wealth for ourselves. Our missionaries are not paid, and they live a modest lifestyle so that we can use most of our resources for the ministry. We can improve our businesses, provide steady hours and decent pay for our employees, and be involved in other ministry opportunities in the neighborhood.

We are utilizing all of our resources - money, labor, creativity, skills, materials – for the sake of the Kingdom. Our businesses provide skill and tools for ministry. We've used vehicles and tools to do community clean-ups. We've used our maintenance and construction skills to fix widows' homes. We've utilized our cafe for our employees' family gatherings, and for employee Christmas parties. This is simply taking the values of the Good News of the Kingdom and applying them to everything we do- not just to our own personal attitudes and actions, but also to our businesses. In living the Gospel, we can utilize all we have and do in outwardly-focused ministry opportunities. The Gospel of Jesus is always bigger than our selves and always sacrificial, and there's no reason that should not permeate our businesses.

This business model also fits in to the long-term, big picture view of Pastoring the Community. Rebuilding economy takes time. Reentering the workforce takes time. We have to be creative, patient, and always looking to solve problems.

We have learned that not all people can perform all tasks. Having multiple businesses gives us the ability to move people around. It also diversifies our income so that the ministry as a whole can continue to function, even if one of the businesses does poorly for a while.

Pastoring the Community also involves care, and we've already shared some examples of that. In restoring buildings, creating nice spaces, and stabilizing areas, we are caring for the neighborhood as a whole. Our restaurant, Sun Cafe, has especially played a role in being a meeting space for all sorts of businesses and organizations.

We've also found that when you set your intentions on following God's design, He builds something you didn't expect. We've already talked about the idea of a prepared work, which is spoken of in Ephesians 2:10. Besides the miraculous provision and planning that has come about, we've witnessed that the businesses God has built here function differently. They are places where ministry can occur, where pride can be challenged and yet esteem built up.

To learn more about the Opportunity Center and our businesses, visit our websites:

http://www.sunministries.org/WhatSocial.html

http://www.isaiah61initiative.org/Opportunity.html

http://www.suncafeandmarket.org


Read Pastoring the Community, Part 1 - Social Justice

Read Pastoring the Community, Part 2 - Urban Renewal

Pastoring the Community, pt. 1: Social Justice

We refer to our approach to urban ministry as “pastoring the community”. We did not create the term, and the model was inspired by missionary work done in various parts of Africa. However, it is a model of ministry that God has led us in to, and which we feel is a new paradigm in not only inner-city ministry, but for the Church itself. While what we do is contextualized to the inner-cities of America, any community can be “pastored”. Though God has given us a model, there is not a script to follow. It is certainly guided by principles and values, and the problems are going to be similar in different areas, but the unique situations and individuals of each community will require that the specific solutions differ from place to place.

There are several avenues we can use to explore the concept of pastoring the community. The first avenue we will pursue is “social justice”.

The Google dictionary definition for “social justice” is as follows:

justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society.

While our views on justice, and the work we do, certainly address some of these areas, we're convinced that God is the source of true justice, and that He is leading His people into manifesting that today. God certainly didn't leave us ignorant when it comes to justice

Zechariah 7:9-10 NASB

“Thus the LORD of hosts said, 'Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.”

While that bit of instruction can feel lacking in light of current socio-political concerns such as racism, corporate corruption, ecological disasters, sex trafficking, etc., it is still God's heart on the matter of True Justice, and should not be dismissed. He desires compassion. We ourselves should be sure to not oppress anyone, nor even have evil in our hearts. Our compassion should spring from our hearts and inspire our actions.

Our ministry has been influenced by Isaiah 58, which describes a lifestyle of fasting – daily laying down your life for the sake of the oppressed. It is living in such a way that yokes are not even in your midst. It is not a religious show of piety or devotion, but an authentic giving up of your self to others. This passage is concerned with watching what you speak, providing food, clothing, and shelter, caring for the homeless, oppressed, your laborers, and even your family. Again, it could be dismissed, as it doesn't directly address global concerns. But these are corporate instructions to the people of God, and again, concerned with the content of your heart and how that directs your actions towards others.

One thing God has led us into is the idea of equity, contrasting that with equality. Equality is a term often used concerning social justice. But let's look at equality and equity in this manner: imagine we are all standing outside a building, and we need to get to the third floor. There is a stair case. All are welcome to go up the same staircase, and end on the same landing at the third floor. This is equality – the pathway is open to all and the goal is the same. However, what if you have just broken your foot? Is equality good enough for you? Will you be able to walk up the staircase as easily and freely as everyone else? Certainly not. You require someone to come along side you and help you up the staircase to the third floor. This is equity. Equality is really just advantage for those without any obstacles, those for whom the circumstances were designed to serve. Equality leaves you with these options: begin a slow, painful, and awkward struggle up the stair case, or simply accept that the third floor is not accessible to you.

Jesus manifested equity. He had all rights, privilege, power, and authority. He deserved everything, was entitled to everything, and had the ultimate status. He possessed every advantage imaginable. Yet he set all that aside, and came down to helpless, hurting people, to live among them as one of them. He then became a sacrifice for their sins to reconcile them back to the Father and usher in the Holy Spirit. Even in His saving grace He enacted equity How many sins were you forgiven when you accepted the gracious gift of salvation? 10? 1,000? What about your neighbor? How many sins were they forgiven? 40? 4,000? All of them. God didn't forgive a thousand for you and a thousand for them, letting you deal with the difference. He compensated for everyone's differing abundance of sin and forgave all the same. He didn't come only to the not-so-least of these. He came to the very least of these, to create a way for all of humanity to come to know and live with their Heavenly Father.

As Jesus' disciples, we are called to walk the same way He did. To lay aside our rights, privileges, expectations, demands, desires, and reservations in order to come along side those in need, so that they can receive love and assistance, and come to know their Father in Heaven. This is compassion and justice.

One obstacle to truly understanding justice is our own context. God's justice is as above our ideas of justice as He is above us. Standards of justice are culturally relative. Modern Americans may feel it's unjust to lack access to clean water. However, for millenia, all of humanity had to walk to the nearest water source to retrieve drinkable water, water that would likely not pass most of today's standards. Furthermore, God's sovereignty is far above our understanding of the times. Neither of these, however, lets us off the hook when it comes to compassion or serving the least of these. Despite our context, God's heart is the same.

Even so, this reality can lead some to a frustrated and overwhelmed state. What do we do with the innumerable things we observe and experience that deeply hurt us? We start where Jesus did. Laying down our life, and doing what we see our Father doing. Living obediently. Loving our neighbor. Scripture states 8 times that loving your neighbor is the fulfillment of the Law. That's a good a place as any to start.

Ephesians 2:10 states that God has prepared good works for you to do long before you were born. These prepared works are part of why you exist. They are the good things you were designed to do. These works will minister to this world in ways only God could orchestrate. These could be small and seemingly meaningless, or they could change the course of history. The important thing to realize is that they are only found in God.


Read Pastoring the Community, Part 2 - Urban Renewal

Read Pastoring the Community, Part 3 - Social Entrepreneurship

Isaiah 61 Initiative, pt. 6: What is the Isaiah 61 Initiative?

We've spent the last few weeks discussing Isaiah 61, the scripture that inspired the Isaiah 61 Initiative. So what is the Isaiah 61 Initiative anyway? It's sort of a big picture thing, so we'll start with the vision.

Vision

To declare God’s Glory through the spiritual renewal and physical restoration of the people and the land of America starting in the most desperate areas of our major cities.

Mission

To call for and facilitate a major missionary movement back to the devastated areas of our inner cities to establish homes and businesses, restore the land, and serve the people living there with the love of Jesus Christ.

The Isaiah 61 Initiative

Sun Ministries launched this nationwide effort to rebuild America's most devastated inner cities in 2009, starting in north St. Louis, Missouri. This aggressive initiative utilizes three main components (Leadership Center, Opportunity Center, Narrow Gate), along with some creative community engagement and use of resources, to solve problems that have plagued these areas for generations. By training and relocating young missionaries to live and work in these areas we will rebuild the decaying structures, minister to the neediest residents and make a generational impact.

So how do we actually do that? How does it work?

We will break down the three components in future blogs, but let's cover some big picture purposes here:

The Leadership Center

The Leadership Center trains and equips people for this work – primarily missionaries. The important aspect of this is that missionaries live and work in the neighborhoods where they minister. They are personally invested because it is their neighborhood, too. They walk the same streets, breathe the same air, hear the same gunshots, etc. They interact with other institutions as members of the community instead of as temporary outsiders. Furthermore, they do all of this without pay. Missionaries have basic needs met, and live meager lifestyles. This does two things. It puts the maximum amount of our resources towards our mission. It also prevents us from being motivated by money.

The Opportunity Center

This is essentially the business/employment aspect of the ministry. The businesses provide for the ministry, so that we can achieve financial sustainability. We work with our hands and lead a quiet life, gaining skills we can teach to others, and providing employment environments for people needing to turn their lives around.

The Narrow Gate

This is our approach to life change. It addresses major obstacles, with the goal being a transformed person. We lead people to the opportunities for owning a vehicle and a home. We provide housing as available and as needed. This is also the aspect that provides housing for missionaries. Our missionaries continue to move out into the community in their own homes.

Those three components work in concert to not only address an individual's problems, but the obstacles that weigh down an entire community. We call this approach, “Pastoring the Community.”

Pastoring the Community

What does it take to pastor a community? It takes faith, hard work, commitment, self-sacrifice, and more. It takes people willing to serve others. We pray, serve, assist, support, and give. We use what God has given us physically, spiritually, and materially and dedicate it to serving others. We preserve what is decaying. We inspire what has been discouraged. We challenge what has been unmotivated. We provide where we are able. We empower what has been hindered. We rebuild what has been broken down. We revive those that have become faint at heart. We restore the Spirit of God to mankind through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Because the issues facing communities are complex and longstanding, we have to get outside the box in every area. We have to be humble, flexible, and patient. Poverty is not simply a lack of money. Racism is not simply judgmental people. Violence is not solved by arrests. We interact with people and institutions in nearly every social realm: politicians, educators, police, churches, non-profits, residents, etc.

Pastoring the Community requires us to stand against evil. We are agents of reconciliation sent to serve and defend the defenseless. We build up the defenseless. We equip people to stand alone but teach them to always stand together. Pastoring the Community requires us to give up our rights to and ownership of the resources God provides for us. We Pastor the Community best when we stand as good stewards of that which we can never take with us.

The Isaiah 61 Initiative is the real life expression of what it means to Pastor the Community. It is the answer to the call that is essentially God's pattern for life. God demonstrates, teaches, and commands sacrificial love to restore the broken. No issue will be solved simply, so He has led us into a diverse and challenging approach to live, minister, and engage serious problems.

New Pallet Products and Etsy!

This past year has given us some opportunity to continue to experiment with recycled pallet wood. The Sun Cafe and Market is set to open sometime in early 2013, which will give us space to display our wood products. In the meantime, we have started an Etsy account and will be putting on one-of-a-kind items from time to time. In case you didn't know, our Products with Purpose are made in the Opportunity Center here in Hyde Park.  Our missionaries learn to work with their hands, and the sales (and skills) support the ministry.  It also gives us skills we can then teach to people ready to change their lives.

Here are some of the things we've made in the last year or so:

 



Recycled Pallet Candle Holders



Candle Holders

Simple, rustic, and artsy. A couple different styles. Sold pretty well at the Old North Christmas Bazaar.





Recycled Pallet Night Stand Dresser



Rustic Night Stand Dresser

This was designed by our executive director. Has a rough finish and simple, rustic construction. The lap joints were nailed together.



Recycled Pallet Hall Shelves



Hall Shelves

We tried to find something that would use some smaller pieces of wood. We made a sleek, modern one, and a more traditional/country one.

Patio End Table

Patio end table

This was a custom order piece. Sort of a combination of two table designs we already had. The frame is mortise and tenon joinery, while the slats are simply screwed and glued. I really liked this design because it was sturdy and attractive, and matched our deck chairs perfectly.

Crazy large sliding door

Sliding Door

This was another custom order. The door was two inches thick, 89 inches tall, and 40 inches wide. It weighed A LOT!  The mix of woods gave it lots of character.



Recycled pallet picture frames, and Mark Goodwin Photography.



Picture Frames

Used best to house Mark Goodwin's photography.

Recycled pallet stools with upholstered seats

Stools

A custom order from someone in the community. The design was based off a really simple stool that was in the Opportunity Center when the building was donated. Mortise and tenon joinery. We tried to use oak as exclusively as we could in these.  Getting the stain color right was tricky, as the customers had a table we were supposed to match. The table was really really dark, so we didn't quite make it, but they compliment very well. Also, they were our first upholstery job.

Recycled pallet bookshelf

Book Shelf

This thing is heavy! I tried to make something that really emphasized the material we use, which is recycled pallets. So it's chunky, there is quite a mix of woods, and plenty of character.  The sides are framed panels.

Growing Again

Amy hard at work turning the soil.

We are gardening again. But this year it's a lot different. Last year we had 3 gardens with 32 beds. This year we have one 8 x 24 foot bed. So why did we change?

In late 2010 we had an idea of utilizing the 300+ vacant lots in our neighborhood for growing food. City-owned lots are available for lease from the city for $5 for 5 years for gardening. The idea was that having residents grow food on the lots beautifies the neighborhood and gets fresh, healthy food available here. Also, it reveals the glory of God in creation and how He set us to rule over it. An added bonus is that the city no longer has to spend tax money to keep up the lots.



So that was our idea, but we weren't sure where to go with it. Then we more or less stumbled into taking on three defunct community gardens. We were up for the task, and thought we would have another opportunity of selling the produce and paying neighborhood kids to work in the gardens. At that point we began the journey of learning how hard gardening is. The summer was one of the worst in St. Louis history, being incredibly hot and dry. Our gardens didn't produce much at all. But we were able to reward one youth for working in the garden with a donated laptop.

By the end of the season, it became obvious that the method we were using was not the way to accomplish our goal, and not just because it was a lot of work. We were on other people's land, and the gardens were massive. The original vision was to come alongside families and teach them to garden. We were not leading the vision with our actions. So we let everyone know we were done with the gardens. They reverted to their previous organizations. Luckily, two of the three are still being utilized.

We were left without a garden, but still had a vision with such real potential - not only for provision, but for teaching skills and revealing who God is. Then came the Leadership Center. The Leadership  

Center is where missionaries transition into full-time ministry, shared resources, and living in their own housing. When we got the house, there was an 8 x 24 foot raised bed in the backyard. Now we could really engage the vision. We have a reasonably sized garden with the goal of supporting a family (or nine adult missionaries plus a baby).



the bed before any work.  all grass!



We ended up planting rather late in the season, due to a missionary wedding, but things are growing. We are also starting a medicinal herb garden, and there are plenty of flowers promising to pop up.

Tomatoes!