I was asked by a good friend about a ministry I am marginally familiar with.
The Exodus Project.
I know almost nothing about it. I am asked often to give a "review" or Evaluation of various ministries local and national. It's a problem.
My problem is, ministry would be easy if it weren't for all the people. People being ministered to and people leading the ministry. It's a mess. Yet, it's the Mess God Uses.
My ultimate test for a ministry is simple, does it have the net effect of causing the hearts of those who come in contact to beat faster for Jesus?
If it doesn't draw people to the MAN Christ Jesus then I am not certain it will do much good. If a person connects intimately with the Living Christ he or she will change in ways that no ministry can replicate with a formal program.
So, about Exodus, I suppose it's well intentioned. What is more important than trying to change people is changing the heart of those who come for help, that is a sovereign action of the Holy Spirit. Nothing else matters.
If we want to change homelessness, divorce, adultery, gang banging, murder, poverty, and all the other ills confronting urban Chicago, first people must encounter Jesus one on one, so their heart is changed. A changed heart will change all those other things.
That is my single evaluation of an effective ministry. Most don't pass muster I'm afraid.
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