“I believe that the great tragedy of the church is not that rich Christians do not care about the poor, but that they do not know the poor.”* – Shane Claiborne

Everyone has an opinion about the plight of the poor – how they became poor and how to help. But most people don’t know the poor. For the youth at Haymarket Baptist Church, a recent mission immersion weekend in Washington, DC, sponsored by the CBFVA, gave them the opportunity to experience poverty and urban life up close.

The mission immersion experience moved the Haymarket youth away from their comfort zone and placed them in an urban environment where they were able to see God at work in a different setting. The weekend was planned in conjunction with CBFVA and Calvary Baptist Church who hosted the group. Calvary is a historic Baptist church located in the District’s Chinatown neighborhood, situated in the shadows of the Verizon Center and the White House

“We hear about the homeless and the poor a lot on TV and at church,” said one youth participant. “But it wasn’t until this weekend that I could say I actually know someone who is homeless. For me, this weekend has brought new meaning to the word poor. She has a name and a story.”

The experiment for the Haymarket youth, who live in the suburbs of Northern Virginia, was to see if the place where many of their parents work from day-to-day was any different than the place they lived, just thirty miles down the road. Upon arriving, the youth were asked to think about questions like: What are the challenges and benefits of living in an urban area? Do the people who live in this urban area look and dress like me? How much does it cost to live in this neighborhood as compared to my neighborhood? Do we see people sleeping on the streets in our neighborhood? Is God at work in a place that has so much wealth and power and so much poverty and crime? If so, how do we join in with God’s work?

From the minute the group left to the church on Friday until they returned, they intentionally immersed themselves in an urban culture. Instead of driving into town, the youth and their chaperons depended completely on public transportation or their feet to get from place to place. And they were quickly introduced to the different sounds and sights of an urban setting.

“Each morning, we would walk across the street to get breakfast,” said one youth. “Walking less than a block, we saw three homeless people. One was sleeping against a wall on the church step. On the other side of that wall was the room we were sleeping in. That was an eye-opener and a little unsettling.”

The highlight of the weekend was spending time at Rachael’s Women’s Center, a day center for women that offers a range of services from providing basic needs such as food and shelter to education and support programs. The youth cleaned the center, sorted clothes in their clothes closet, improved the front and back yards, and served the ladies lunch. During lunch, many of the youth ate with the participants and learned a little about their stories.

Afterward, during a debriefing on the National Mall with their guide Jason Smith of Calvary Baptist, the youth had plenty to think about and share. “I learned that poverty is not always the fault of the person who is poor,” said one participant. “There are lots of factors for why most people are poor or homeless.”

During their stay, the youth walked to the White House where they prayed for the nation, its leaders, and those who work, study, and visit Washington. They visited with Brent Walker, director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, and learned about the BJC’s advocacy and education efforts on Capital Hill. The youth also got a chance to explore the city and sample some Asian cuisine in Chinatown. The weekend was capped off with Sunday school and worship at Calvary Baptist Church. Calvary is a diverse church that has worked to intentionally reach the community in which it is located. Its worship and mission reflect both its historic roots and its present diversity.

Many churches desire ways to move their members from a discipleship that is removed from the rest of life to one that is holistic and intersects with the world’s needs. In doing so, they are asking members to understand that God is at work outside the church walls, to look for God’s presence in all of life, and to respond to the places and people in which God is working. While bible studies are useful in training our churches for this missional approach, mission immersion experiences like the one in Washington, DC are truly formational.

Matthew Hensley is Minister of Education at Haymarket Baptist Church in Haymarket, VA and Northern Virginia regional representative on the CBFVA Coordinating Council.

*Shane Claiborne, “Downward Mobility in an Upscale World,” The Other Side (November 1, 2000), http://being.publicradio.org/programs/newmonastics/claiborne_downwardmobility.shtml

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