WHAT IS TRANSFORMATION STATION?

THE THIRD WAY: A VISION FOR THE 21st CENTURY
By Keith Wasserman

Transformation Station 3Since beginning Good Works in 1981, my HOPE has been that we might continue to discover the variety of different ways in our generation to fulfill the mission of Jesus from Luke 4:18-20, “to bring good news to the poor, bind up the broken hearted, proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free and proclaim the year of the LORD’S favor”. 

But what does it mean to bring good news to people struggling with poverty in the 21st century? How do we both proclaim and demonstrate good news?   How can we give to people and allow them to give back? What is the role of providing dignity in demonstrating our faith as followers of Jesus?

Something in my spirit is grieved at just giving more and more stuff and not allowing people the opportunity to  participate alongside of others in community and earn it.  God wants to bring us into relationships with people in our community who struggle with poverty. Therefore, we must create ways to allow those we are serving to use their skills and abilities to help others. Have we confused helping the poor with giving them stuff?  At Good Works, our vision is to create a “context” through which people move from the old identity of “needy” to a new identity of volunteer where they are brought into community, clothed with dignity and invited to use their skills and abilities to help others while obtaining things they need.  It is in the context of relationships that we get to know what God may already be doing inside a person’s life and heart and how we might support and encourage the work of the Holy Spirit who brings each person to faith.

CONCLUSION

By volunteering to serve others in order to obtain appliances, non-emergency food, furniture and cars, we are providing a third way for our neighbors to obtain things they need. In working together with us, they share their lives with us and we have another way to share our lives with them. In sharing our lives and getting to know one another, trust is built along with mutual respect and love. It is inside this context, the context of long-term relationships that we are able to earn the right to tell the story of the transformation Jesus has brought into our lives.