MoveIn keeps missions close to home
“MoveIn is about inviting neighbours into your day-to-day activities and sharing Jesus when God gives you those opportunities.”
TORONTO, ON—Christians of all ages are leaving the comforts of suburbia and choosing to “MoveIn” to the struggling neighbourhoods of their home cities, sharing life—and Christ—with the urban poor.
“I did a lot of ministry before I joined MoveIn, but there is something about saying, ‘your issues are my issues,’” explains Rose, who along with her fellow MoveIn-ers, has asked that her name be changed to protect her neighbours’ privacy. “It’s incarnational and that changes the dynamic when you share Christ with someone. They see that you are not just talking the talk, but you are living and getting your hands dirty with them.”
MoveIn has no special evangelism programs. Teams explain it as simply living life engaged in your community as salt and light.
The idea still has it’s challenges. When Catherine first moved into her Montreal neighbourhood, her apartment had bedbugs and cockroaches. On top of that, the janitor was excessively flirtatious and disrespectful, even though he was married.
“All these things happened at once,” she says. “Sometimes they made want to leave, but I knew I was called to my neighbourhood and I stayed. I prayed a lot during those times and God gave me the courage to face those challenges.”
God brought Catherine a MoveIn teammate and together they have been working to get to know their neighbours.
“This fall, we made banana bread and gave it to the people on our floor. It was a good opportunity to introduce ourselves and learn their names. During Christmas, we gave each family a card with a personalized message and chocolate. Slowly, we are developing friendships.”
Catherine says she now sees so many opportunities to help, love and impact the people in her area. As she and her teammate pray together, she says God has given her a deep love for the people in her neighbourhood.
Prayer tends to be a central topic for MoveIn-ers. Every team meets on a weekly basis to share a meal and pray for their neighbours by name.
Coming from a church-ministry, Rose was used to planning and executing outreach events, but when she Moved-In in Ottawa, she had adjust to the different style ministry.
“When I started, I had the attitude that I’m going to go reach people and change lives, but I can’t make people trust me, it’s God who changes hearts and lives. As a MoveIn-er, it’s much more about waiting on God. We see the difference that through prayer people’s hearts are changing and they are more open to hanging out with us.”
Rose’s team has been Moved-In for a year and a half now and although it seemed at times like a slow start, increasingly they are seeing the fruit.
“When we first moved-in, we knew no one, but now we’ve built a kind of family in the community,” she says. “We had 29 people over for a Christmas party. We sang carols and told the Christmas story to people who might never have heard it before. This is a long-haul idea, but we’re in a sweet spot right now and it’s really great to see the fruit of it.”
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