My name is Josh Avery, and until 2007,
I was born-again lazy. It's a strange sounding term, but it's one that my
friend J.R. created for the kinds of people who accept and profess Jesus but do
nothing about it. From a young age, I had accepted the sacrifice of Christ and
had become "born again," but beyond that Christianity had very little
impact in my everyday life.
I attended Church every single
Sunday morning, helped with my local youth group, and was even taking Bible
classes at Geneva College to achieve a Bachelor's degree in Student Ministry--
but I was still lazy when it came to actually doing something about my faith.
Faith was something I talked about on Sunday morning and within my classes, not
something that transformed day to day interactions.
This boring state of existence
was forever altered on one late and snowy February night on the streets of
Pittsburgh in that fateful year of 2007. Getting back late to a hotel
conference I was attending and finding no open seats, I decided to hit the
streets to hand out a free Bible I had acquired earlier that day. It was dark,
cold, and every road was populated by countless homeless people attempting to
keep warm in the winter winds. I eventually met a man with a pillowcase full of
belongings slung over his shoulder named Clayton-- a man who asked an
inevitable question I was expecting from the homeless: "Do you have any
change for some food?"
Instead of handing over cash and
walking back to the warmth of my hotel, I decided to walk with him to a Chinese
restaurant several blocks away and buy his meal. As they prepared the food, I
gave him the Bible and he placed it inside his pillowcase next to the other
items he had collected over the years. Since the place was closing down for the
night, Clayton grabbed his meal and we headed back onto the icy streets once
more. As we walked, he pointed out a group of people sitting across the
street-- young and old of both genders-- who were huddled together in a pile.
Clayton explained that it was highly likely that the members of the huddle
didn't even know each other but were simply gathering for warmth, and that this
phenomena happened often to avoid people freezing to death on the February city
streets. When survival is at stake, he explained, you don't worry about who
you're snuggled up next to for the night.
It's been over eight years since
I met Clayton in Pittsburgh and quit being born-again lazy, because I simply
couldn't live in complacency knowing there were people starving and freezing on
the streets. I now work at the Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley as a Men's
Client Advisor, and I meet face to face with the homeless each and every day I
go to my job. While most people (including my past self) assume that homeless
people are uneducated and aren't interested in getting a job, I have come to
find out that those thoughts simply aren't true. I've met countless people with
GEDs who have an incredible work ethic and will take any job thrown at them,
and I've also met others who have Master Degrees but have absolutely nothing to
their name, nowhere to stay, and nothing to eat.
Being born-again lazy is easy,
but it's an incredibly boring story to tell with your life. Trust me, I used to
be the laziest Christian you could ever meet. When I started to get involved in
the lives of the poor, the destitute, and the needy, it changed my life
forever. I'm no longer living the kind of story that revolves around me-- I'm
constantly learning from the people that I'm tasked with helping at the
Mission.
If you've realized that you might
be born-again lazy like I was, consider introducing an interesting plotline
into your life story. If you feel God's prodding, come join in on the stories
we've been telling here at the Mission: volunteer to serve during a meal, come
take a tour; get involved in the life changing processes that occur here every
single day. As you attempt to change the lives of others through your help,
you'll find your life being transformed as well.
My name is Josh Avery, and I was
born-again lazy... but now I'm alive, past the monotony of simple existence, in
the transformational work of Christ.
Well, not
really. But the new Marshall’s Department Store in Boardman invited Executive Director
Jim Echement and Board President Marisa Volpini to cut the ribbon for their newest
store’s grand opening. As part of the event, Marshall’s donated $5000.00 to the
Rescue Mission.
Currently, we have approx.
800-900 volunteers that serve at the Mission. This consists of
individuals, church groups, students from YSU, and local business
employees. The most common area for volunteering is in the dining
hall. Numerous churches in the area have specific days that they serve a
meal during the course of a month, and some of the churches even prepare and
cook the meal for our clients! Most of these church groups have been
serving for many years, and come in so often that they have really grown close
to the clients and other staff members. We also look for larger groups to
help with our Super Saturday event, which is a morning of spring cleaning
around the mission designed to accommodate groups of 10 or more.
We are always looking for
additional volunteers. We would love to meet with you and show you around
the Mission and talk to you about the opportunities we have here!! If you
are interested in serving here at the mission, please contact Brad Weber, our
Volunteer Coordinator, at 330-744-5485 x212. He would be happy to setup a
tour and meeting with you to discuss more about volunteering!
This boring state of existence
was forever altered on one late and snowy February night on the streets of
Pittsburgh in that fateful year of 2007. Getting back late to a hotel
conference I was attending and finding no open seats, I decided to hit the
streets to hand out a free Bible I had acquired earlier that day. It was dark,
cold, and every road was populated by countless homeless people attempting to
keep warm in the winter winds. I eventually met a man with a pillowcase full of
belongings slung over his shoulder named Clayton-- a man who asked an
inevitable question I was expecting from the homeless: "Do you have any
change for some food?"
This is a
group of Pastors, wives and church leaders of the Bethany Fellowship of
Northeast Ohio. This group represents about a dozen Baptist churches in
Trumbull and Mahoning Counties. Here they are at lunch at MVR in Smokey Hollow
in Youngstown after having spent the morning at the Rescue Mission. The group
held their monthly meeting at the Mission where they were treated to breakfast,
a tour, and helpful information.
