Jesus Coming to You

How would you feel if this van showed up in your yard? Would you greet it friendly or would you run and hide?

I would be afraid.

And I was when I first laid sight on it this weekend while visiting Sylvania, GA. It was a quiet Monday afternoon as Kevin, his mom and I were driving around town in area where his family owned several rental properties. And then I saw this! I made Mrs. Hagan stop the car. I had to take a photograph, just to make sure my vision wasn’t deceiving me.

Once I got over my initial shock, I asked if anyone knew what exactly the purpose of this van was. I learned that the owner of the van created his ministry for himself. He called himself an independent evangelist and went to visit people carry food and then shared the plan of salvation with them.

While I am not a fan of door-to-witnessing, gospel presentations that emphasis neither the blood of Christ nor overt displays of Christianity that keep a person from being in the world, I did find something redeeming about this van ministry.

He gave out food!

James 2:14-17 says: “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

And I agree. Often times sharing the gospel comes in what we do, not necessarily what we say. Remember the famous saying of St. Francis: “Preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary use words.”

Often times the social gospel movement which was popular in the early twentieth century gets a bad rap, but I have to believe that Christian leaders like Walter Rauschenbusch (who was a Baptist preacher in fact) where on to something when they said we as a society are all responsible for the meeting the physical, social and emotional needs of humankind. We can’t just preach Jesus and sit at home doing nothing to help those who go without basic human needs.

So, kudos to my unknown friend in Sylvania for meeting some of these needs of those the community.

Just let me know if you see any other sighting of Jesus on Wheels. He may be coming to a town near you soon.