Sandwiches and Burritos for Christ?

February 2008

It all began with 30 sandwiches in Mitch Heinz’s kitchen two years ago. He and his family had felt a strong call to make sandwich lunches and hand them out to the needy in West St. Augustine, Fla.

“God has called us all to fulfill the Great Commission,” said Heinz, a member of Good News PCA in St. Augustine, FL. “Most people do not consider their backyard as a mission field, but the truth is we have hungry, lost, and hurting people all around us.”

Heinz’s efforts have evolved into The Sandwich Mission, a ministry that assembles brown bag lunches (complete with a sandwich, drink, crackers, dessert, and a card with a Scripture verse on it) twice a week, prays with recipients, and hosts a Bible study one day a week.

“No special skills or talents are required,” said Heinz. “Just obedience.”

On the other side of the country, New City Church Phoenix in Arizona is doing something similar. On Friday nights, church members make 150-200 burritos and drive into the city to distribute them to the homeless.

“We decided it would be a good opportunity to really live out the gospel as Christ did—serving the poor,” said one participant.

Arklie Hooten, the director of ShortTerm Missions and Disaster Response for Mission to North America (MNA), thinks these are efforts in the right direction.

“I think these are some of the best things going on in the PCA,” said Hooten. “Many PCA churches are struggling with how to begin outreach ministry that will lead their congregations to God’s lost people. But both of these ministries are very practical. They’re administered by Christians who are not theologically trained, but are making a huge impact for the kingdom. Hopefully this will encourage others to think outside the box too.”

To learn more, visit www.sandwichmission.org or www.newcityphoenix.com.

Comments


Dave Bennett


Phoenix AZ


I want to thank you for mentioning New City Phoenix. We do much more than just hand out burritos. We also work with urban kids in a city center ministry and help with a cooking class, mentor elementary school children, help seniors with doing home rehab and interact with the arts community through handing out free bottles of water on First Friday Art Walk in downtown Phoenix. Our passion is to engage the people of Phoenix with the gospel and see life transformation take place as we do gospel 3D projects. I would love to hear what other urban churches are doing. I forgot to mention that we are a mission church that won't start a worship service for 8 months and are drawing people to New City through these 3D projects.

Dave Bennett
Church Planter
New City Church Phoenix

2008-03-05 22:48 Permalink Reply


Curt Moore


Bay St. Louis, MS


Thanks for highlighting these works. It's an encouragement to witness creative ways to minister. Something we can all do in our own community.

2008-03-06 22:12 Permalink Reply

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