It Was a Year Like No Other.

I was attending the church of my dreams First Baptist in Sunnyvale, CA. The people loved me, they loved my family, they were supporting and encouraging. Pastor Paul and Pastor Gary had taken an interest in my education and helped me. In their words they believed that I could be the "Billy Graham of the future." 

It was a wonderful experience.  I had just gotten married and my wife had moved to Sunnyvale to be with me.  Overall, my family and I loved our church for the simple reason that they cared about us and demonstrated the true Christian attitude toward us. 

At the time, I was attending San Jose Bible College.  In the process however, I read a book by Keith Phillips called, They Dared to Love the Ghetto.  It turned my word upside down.  This book had given me a vivid description of the inner city: the condition of the family, the death, the dying and the destructive qualities of the dysfunctional family. It really touched my heart and I haven't been the same since. I felt a calling to the inner city after reading about its condition and need.  I went to my pastor and shared my desire. 

Even though my church in Sunnyvale was a comfortable environment, my heart yearned for the inner city.  I asked my pastors about the possibility of starting a mission church in LA.  They prayed with me and encouraged me as I sought out the Lord.  The church raised an offering for me and I came to Los Angeles for the first time in 1981. 

I went to Friendly Friendship Baptist Church and discussed my desire to work with the poor and homeless with the pastor.  The pastor gave me permission to minister to the people in the surrounding area. Across the street from the church was a liquor store. I invited all the people who frequent the liquor store to church.  Men and women were accepting the Lord. When they came to the church services however, it was a challenge.  It is the ideal and hope that a church would be an open and welcoming community; however in some instances they were not accepted. I was dismayed, so I went back to Northern California and they gave me my job back.  My heart still yearned for the city. 

About three months later I came back again, but this time I went to another church, Cerritos Christian Center to serve with the pastor there.  He embraced me and gave me an opportunity to serve along side him.  Again, it was a challenge; my method of ministry and my theology conflicted. I returned again to my church where I was readily accepted and again, given my position back.

I talked with my wife, and I decided to return.  I said, "I am going to go back, and this time I am going to stay no matter the cost."  So I returned to LA and it was hard. I ministered to people on the street, the poor and the homeless.  It was very difficult because what I had seen and what I had saw: the homelessness, the poverty, and prostitution. 

One young lady in particular, Joanne really impacted me.  Joanne was a young girl about 16 years old.  She was being pimped and beaten by this guy.  Joanne was the first girl I reached out to.  I invited her to Teen Challenge and she stayed there for several years while my wife and I supported her.  Joanne graduated Teen Challenge; I really wish I knew where she is right now.

I usually listen to Christian Broadcasting on the radio.  I thought how wonderful it would be if I could do my ministry on the radio.  I felt lead to go to KTWM Inglewood, 1460 on the dial.  I spoke to Clair, the operation manager, and told her about my desire to start a radio broadcast.  I didn't have any experience and I surely didn't have any money.  Yet, she made a space for me to do what I believe was the Lord's work.  Faith In Christ Ministries started on the radio. We were broadcasting for about a year and a half.

While I was broadcasting, people were always calling in and asking if I had a church. I didn't want to start a church; I just wanted to serve. A lady by the name of Jane Baker, who owned a storefront in the community, invited me to start a church in the space that she owned. I shared with her that I didn't really want to start a church, but she convinced me that it would be good for the neighborhood. There was a tremendous amount of prostitution, drugs and gang activity. You name it—homeless and poverty. All these things seem to typify the conditions of the inner city.  I reluctantly accepted Ms. Baker's offer.  I canvassed the community to see if the people would be in favor of a church.  With the people from the community, we started the church. 

We began reaching out to the people of the community by providing food and clothes.  We networked with other organizations so that we could get the homeless off the street.  This went on for a while. 

Soon after a friend of mine, Jim Hooker, invited me to minister in the New Strand Hotel on 7th and Union.  I thought it was a wonderful opportunity to expand our ministry.  The hotel housed about 300 guests.  We provided food and a religious service every Tuesday night and we started ministering in the hotel. 

It was a great experience; people turned to the Lord. As the psalmist said, "I cried to the Lord in my despair and he heard me." A large percentage of the people accepted the Lord in the ministry at the hotel and that was good. I saw a yearning in the people.  In as much as the people on the streets are homeless and poor, addicted to drugs and prostitution, when the gospel is preached they are broken and respond to the gospel readily. And that excited me, because that's what I had envisioned in my heart to do.  I believe that God blessed that time.  I served there for several years while at the same time leading the church on Washington.  However, I never felt as though it was enough.  I desired to reach the poor and the down trodden.  I wanted to reach the brokenhearted.  So I was always searching for ways to bless those who are in need.

I remember when one afternoon I went to visit my friend Jim Hooker on 7th and Union.  On my way to visit him, I was led to walk over to MacArthur Park—just to see the surroundings; what it was like, and how I could provide ministry to those in need.  As I walked the park, I saw people shooting needles in their hands, but what was really different about MacArthur Park was that on one side you have families, and even though they're poor they are outside running around and having fun. However, on the other side of the park there are drug addicts and prostitution. 

I happen to wander on the east side of the park where I came across this man.  His condition was really beyond description.  He was lying down and mucus was coming out of his nostril.  His nostril had seemed to be rotted off. You could see when he put the rag to wipe his nose, an open sore where his nose had once been.  I was simply left without word or thought.  I looked at him, and I was really hurting.  I couldn't understand for one moment how he survived.  I began to cry.  And I heard a voice that spoke real softly, "feed my people."

I looked around to see if a person was speaking to me but I could find no one.  I began to walk away but I was somehow drawn back to this man, laying on the ground, without a nostril, mucus running down his face, blood and everything, and again I heard this voice saying, "Feed my people."  I hurried away from there, but the voice stuck with me. 

So I returned to the church and shared what had happened at MacArthur Park.  As a church, we decided that we would return to MacArthur Park every Wednesday night and we would feed the people.  So Tuesday nights we ministered at the hotel and Wednesday nights we provided food at MacArthur Park.  This is how we started the MacArthur Park Ministry.

Mr. Rich Burns from Center for Student Mission came on board during the process and I shared with him my desire to feed people in the park.  He thought it was a brilliant idea.  So we were serving in the park and it was a tremendous blessing.  So after we began to feed in MacArthur Park, I realized the need to start feeding for Thanksgiving.  And that's where we started.  We provided Thanksgiving in MacArthur Park by feeding the homeless and the hungry in that area. 

In addition, we also fed at our facilities over on Washington and Renpark.  So we were just serving and Rich Burns, who was always excited about doing something new, suggested that we take the students volunteering with Center for Student Mission to MacArthur Park.  And then we expanded to LaFayette Park.  Then we expanded to Skid Row.  (But all in all, as if the Lord had opened up my spirit and said, "Look,") I began to notice that we could be a bridge. We could assist in bringing people into the inner city to serve and so we spread the news.  Soon other churches connected with us who were willing to serve in the different areas

Thanksgiving for me has always been an exciting time.  As you know, people in LA, the homeless population, are transients. They move from one place to another.  They abandon their homes or they are kicked out of their homes, so to speak.  And as you know, Christmas and Thanksgiving has the highest rates of suicide because of the oppressive conditions that they live in and the environment is not necessarily friendly. When you are away from your family, when you miss your family you fall into depression.  So knowing all of these factors, we attempt to bring the churches together and focus on the need of the people.  We select churches to go into different communities to participate in Thanksgiving. 

As for me, I've always had this crazy idea of feeding 5,000 people. Jesus feed 5,000 people.  It has always been my goal.  If Jesus can do it, and He said "greater things will you do than this in My Name." Well if He said greater things can you do in my name, than my belief is that as I attempt to serve Him, He will give me the power and the resources to serve during Thanksgiving.

In summary, Thanksgiving to me is a tremendous opportunity for:

One: It brings organizations together so that we can respond to the needs of the poor.

Two: It provides an opportunity to respond to the needs of the poor in a loving way.  I believe the most wonderful demonstration of love is in sharing a meal and at the same time, you can share the gospel.

Thanksgiving for me is a time of joy and gladness and sharing the good news whether it's by the food that we give or the gospel that we share.  Additionally it is an opportunity for the children.  I have always encouraged the churches, sites and participants to have music, games, and fun.

Today we are serving at 12 different locations and by God's grace, as well as your participation and contribution, we will continue to serve over Thanksgiving for years to come.

-Pastor Joe, Gwynn Browne & Friends