MoveIn fosters neighbourhood interaction
WINNIPEG, MB—For many people, doing missions means moving out of the city. For John and Katie, it meant moving into the city.
The couple, who are married with two grown children, moved to Home Street north of Ellice Avenue from an acreage outside of Boissevain, Manitoba in October 2010 after joining MoveIn, a ministry that encourages Christians to move into, and live amongst, high needs neighbourhoods, with the idea of doing daily life with people as a means of living out the gospel.
John and Katie, who asked that their real names not be published because they believe the ministry isn't about what they're doing, but rather, what God is doing—and because they do not want to draw attention to their neighbours—had heard about MoveIn at a Mennonite Brethren conference and felt called to be a part of it.
Katie says that MoveIn's simple concept appealed to the couple. John adds that their wish for the community is simple, too:
"That they all come to know God," he says. "We want salvation for our neighbours. And we hope that it will spread. We want to plant seeds so they can grow, so that they can talk to their friends and neighbours about the gospel and it spreads from there."
This is MoveIn's first Winnipeg location, which the organization refers to as a "patch." John and Katie's patch includes both sides of Home Street on the block that they live on, as well as the neighbours who live along the back alley behind their house.
Katie says there are many challenges facing people who live in the area, including poverty, gang activity, prostitution and violence.
The couple's work has included dedicating at least one evening every week to spend time praying for the people in the neighbourhood. It has also involved getting to know their neighbours and building relationships with them.
"We intentionally walk so that we can meet our neighbours, when they're coming home or they're out walking their dogs," Katie says.
They have hosted Christmas parties as well as barbeques during the summer in an effort to build friendships with the people in the community.
That's led to some opportunities to share the gospel, Katie says. When a neighbour was involved in a car accident and didn't have the money to bring his vehicle to a mechanic, John helped him fix the car. That led to conversations about faith, which led to the man and his family attending church with John and Katie.
Another highlight for the couple was when they were invited into the home of one of their neighbours (who is a newcomer to Canada) after teaching the neighbour how to drive a car. They asked John and Katie to pray during the visit.
"To me, that was a big answer to prayer," Katie says. "Not just that they would tolerate [prayer] in our home, because that's what we practice and we believe, but that they would want a blessing on their food and our time together in their home as well."
Katie says that while the couple sometimes misses living out in nature on an acreage, she has appreciated becoming familiar with her new surroundings.
"You often think of small towns as friendly, and [living in the city has] been far more open and friendly than we ever imagined it would be," Katie says. "There's a lot of beauty in the city."
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