Missionaries Wanted

Sun Ministries is looking for dedicated Christians that feel called to the mission field of America. This is not a clergy only position. Ministering in the desperate places in America requires all kinds of gifts and skills. Perhaps God is nudging you to take what He has gifted you with and dedicate it to building His kingdom.

If you think this might be the case, just submit the simple form using the link below. We will send you a list of available positions and locations along with an explanation of how you can get involved. Some positions are part time and some are full time. Some require the missionary to raise support and others can be done as a volunteer.

Today is the Day to answer the Call.

Click here to apply.

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

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