Nestled in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan sits LaGrave Avenue CRC. Over thirty years ago, LaGrave was the very first church to host SERVE – a week-long mission trip experience for high school students run by ThereforeGo Ministries (formerly known as Youth Unlimited) – and they have kept that momentum going. Due to their location in the very center of the city, helping the unhoused and disadvantaged is the very heartbeat of the church.
This summer, 55 students and 21 leaders traveled to LaGrave for SERVE. Throughout the week, they packed meals for an organization that provides stable housing for youth; worked at a thrift store where everything is free for shoppers in need; cleaned pastures at a therapeutic equestrian center; painted, weeded, and completed other tasks for elderly members of the congregation; and much more.
One of the days, students spent the afternoon at a housing simulation where they were given a profile of a real person who was unhoused with the goal of finding long-term housing. Depending on the profile they were given, they may be on crutches, have no family, struggle with mental health, etc.
“We can’t fill in the blanks about what’s going on in someone’s life because we truly have no idea."
This exercise showcases the nuances of finding housing. Rachel Thorne, Minister of Youth at LaGrave, said, “This experience opened up the students’ eyes to the realities of being unhoused. It’s not as cut and dry as people being lazy or on drugs.”
The housing simulator shows how some people are not far from being unhoused. All it takes is losing a job or experiencing a medical crisis for someone to end up unhoused. “We don’t know the whole story of how someone got to this point,” said Thorne. “We can’t fill in the blanks about what’s going on in someone’s life because we truly have no idea. All we know is what’s happening right now and that we are still called to treat people with dignity in every circumstance.”
Another experience that LaGrave provided for the students during SERVE was a prayer walk around downtown Grand Rapids. As they walked, a member of the church staff pointed out pieces of the neighborhood that have the intention of keeping unhoused people away, such as gardens, benches with armrests, and bright lights. “We were trying to show the kids a different side of the city,” said Thorne. “Things that seem pretty or inconsequential to us are trying to keep our unhoused neighbors away.”
Taking that knowledge back home to their own context is worth more than any souvenir.
One of the SERVE leaders, Mollie Kelderman, lives in downtown Grand Rapids but joined as a leader for her home church in Minnesota. “So many of the organizations that we volunteered with serve my actual neighbors,” said Kelderman. “It was eye-opening to see the impact these organizations have as well as to see the struggles many people living in downtown Grand Rapids face on a daily basis.”
Part of ThereforeGo Ministries' mission is that SERVE will introduce students to spreading the gospel through missional living and confronting issues of justice. It’s all about a transformation that lasts a lifetime.
“Before (this experience) I never really saw everyone as created in God’s image,” said a student who attended LaGrave SERVE. “Throughout the week God used many people to open my eyes for me to see that, no matter what, everyone is created in God’s image, and that I need to love and see them as he sees them.”
LaGrave SERVE models missional living and confronting issues of justice by giving students the knowledge and language to engage with unhoused and disadvantaged neighbors in a manner that reflects how they were made in the image of God. Taking that knowledge back home to their own context is worth more than any souvenir.
“We recognize students will be exposed to things that are very different than what they’re used to,” said Thorne. “It’s an exciting feeling of ‘welcome to our home; this is where God has put us.’”
To learn more about ThereforeGo Ministries or SERVE, visit www.thereforego.com.
Photo provided by the author.
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