"It's awesome that people are down here. It's exactly what the Lord wants you to do."
These are the words of a middle-aged homeless man talking about Vineyard Boise's Feeding God's Children ministry. He looks 10 years older than his age due to a lifetime of living on the streets, the results of a tragic childhood and a wounded spirit.
A team of Feeding God's Children volunteers cooks a free meal every Sunday afternoon at Julia Davis Park in downtown Boise.
"It's a place to gather and talk, to pray," the man says. "People listen to your problems."
Another middle-aged woman, who lives at the Community
House, says that she comes every Sunday afternoon to be around loving, caring people. It's the loving and caring that made her want to attend worship services at the Vineyard, where she has become a regular. And so it goes.
"What the poor need most is not pity, but love. They need to feel respect for their dignity, which is neither less nor different from the dignity of any other human being." A visit to the Sunday afternoon barbecues will show these words of Mother Teresa being put into practice.
"We love 'em and we feed 'em. It's about building relationships, building trust," says Tim McFarlane. He and his tireless wife, Tempe, oversee Feeding God's Children.
Tempe says that the volunteers often get more blessed than the homeless people do. (Doesn't it always seem to work out that way when doing the work of Christ?)
Five years ago, Tim and Tempe helped serve coffee and donuts at the Boise Rescue Mission. This evolved into barbecues at the park and a full-blown ministry that now involves 150 volunteers and served 8,000 meals last year.
"That number will probably increase to 10,000 this year" says Tim.
Team leaders coordinate 20 to 25 volunteers for each Sunday event. Some people pray with the guests, others help set up, while others serve food or clean up afterward.
"There is always something for everyone to do," says Tempe.
Even those who can't make it to the park can be involved. There are salads to prepare (hot soup in the winter), supplies to pick up and phone calls to make.
One volunteer talked a major retailer into donating a large amount of new clothing. A family in Nevada recently donated 10 head of cattle, with a local company butchering and packing the meat free of charge. "That's about a six-month supply" Tim says.
Like an old-fashioned barn-raising, it seems like everyone wants to pitch in and help. Right now the ministry could really use a couple of 15-passenger vans for transporting people. And of course, there is always a need for more volunteers. Tim, Tempe and their team leaders make sure that each volunteer gets to contribute in a way that best suits that individual. Whether it's a few hours per week or even a few hours per month, it all counts, and everything is appreciated.
Tim and Tempe recruited volunteers by visiting
Vineyard Discipleship
Groups. The response was enthusiastic. "We order food and make sure the leaders are equipped, but they actually make the whole thing work," admits Tim.
It's a good thing, because the McFarlanes also are involved in the Compassion in Action ministry, and Tempe just joined the
church staff as director of evangelism. Their ministry involvement also takes them to Mexico and Latin America regularly. That's a long way from eight years ago, when a troubled life brought the McFarlanes to the Vineyard and Tim rededicated his life to Christ.
All the hard work is well worth it to hear a heartfelt "thank you" from one of the homeless people, says Tim. Some will even contribute part of what little money they have or offer to help set-up, and others are opening up their hearts and asking for prayer. A special Discipleship Group was recently started where homeless people can fellowship and study the Bible.
Tim would like to create a foundational group to reach out and recruit former homeless people to work in the ministry and to establish a 1-800 number that homeless people can call for support. He also would like to spend more time working with orphanages in Mexico and Latin America. Ministry has become a way of life for Tim and Tempe, and a way of touching other lives.
- Ken Winkleman
