Following Jesus from the streets.

Christmas on the Streets

2012-01-10T09:55:00.000-08:00

Like many, I had a great Christmas this year. We celebrated with all of our family, a bonus for us was our grandson's first Christmas. We had a warm home, plenty of food, and lots of gifts. We have so much to be thankful for..

But this is not the reality for many. We were so overwhelmed by the need this year. I have been doing this for 37 years and never have i seen so many people in need, and for many of them it was their first time. We had to turn away many many people simply because we ran out of food, and other items we usually have plenty of. It broke my heart to see so many turned away.

I met single moms living in their cars, men working and sleeping in their cars, several elderly people taking up panhandling because they can't afford to pay heat and buy their meds, or buy food, or simple things like toilet paper. To see old people sitting on the sidewalk with a cardboard sign saying please help, I have to wonder if we are seeing the new reality in this country.

For the Month of December,

We passed out 400 pairs of new socks to the homeless
Passed out 140 hats.
Gave out 701 $10 gift cards to Bruegger's and McDonalds.
We provided 919 bags of food to people in need.
We gave out over 300 lunch bags in City Hall Park
We had special Christmas services in three places on the street with 74 people participating. We sang Christmas Carols in an alley, read the Christmas Story in City Hall Park and on Church Street.

What really touched my heart this Christmas was that these 74 homeless people all appreciated the time I took to visit with them and celebrate Christmas with them, and not one complaint, all felt grateful for a God who cared enough for them that He became homeless, and demonstrated what real love is, and went to the Cross and redeemed them. A few of them told me this was their best Christmas ever.

This is what we are all about!

Your Missionary to the Streets,

Dave Russell

Autumn on the Streets

2011-11-05T13:39:00.000-07:00

By now everyone has heard of the "Occupy Wall Street" protests all around the country. Well we have one going on right here in Burlington. About a hundred people set up camp at City Hall Park. This has been an incredible opportunity for us for ministry. I have participated in prayer sessions, discussions, and spent a lot of time just meeting and engaging in some wonderful conversations about the spiritual with these folks. I have even conducted several bible studies on Joel, Amos, Micah and some of the other prophets regarding social justice issues. Quite a few of these folks are well over 50, some older, some younger, a very diverse group of people.

I know a lot of people don't like what they are doing, but it has led to one of the most incredible ministry opportunity for us in many years.

Beside this opportunity, we are gearing up for the Holiday season, and we have some needs we need help with.

We need:

McDonald's Gift Cards loaded with $10 on each card.
New Socks to be given out to the homeless
Energizer Lithium AA Batteries
Postage stamps

Please pray for us as we enter our winter ministry, pray for the harvest, pray for open hearts as we minister to the many people in great need in our city.

Your Missionary to the Streets,

Dave

Summer of Ministry

2011-09-22T10:13:00.000-07:00

It has always amazes me when we see God among the people on the streets in unusual places and people. I have meet so many homeless and street people who are living an incredible living vital faith and even sharing Jesus with other street people. Faith is alive and well on the streets. I doesn't look like the typical evangelical faith and life we see in our traditional churches. These believers are homeless, some have mental issues, some are even addicts. Most of these know so well that they have screwed up their lives and only by God's grace and faith in Him that they can go on.

I find a refreshing honest faith being lived out on the street. I found this video that is amazing, which show a homeless man coming across a Christian singing on the street and the praise and worship that breaks out among them. Watch it here, http://www.godvine.com/Homeless-Man-Joins-a-Musician-for-a-Moving-Performance-653.html

From July - September, we were able to:
Give out 994 bibles
Have personal meetings with 234 individuals to share about faith in christ.
Gave out 1,909 $5 gift cards to McDonald's and/or Bruegger's Bagels to homeless and low income people in need.
Gave out 2,899 bags of groceries to hungry people.
We saw 4 people come to faith in Christ.

Now our winter ministry begins, we move indoors, but the work continues. We are so grateful for your support so we can minister to the people who call the streets home.

Dave

Ministry Report for April - June, 2011

2011-06-20T11:46:00.000-07:00

The word for this quarter is RAIN! It has rained every single Friday we have had a permit to set out our booth except this past Friday. It has been frustrating, but ministry to our streets took place even in the rain.

So many of the homeless that have been part of our fellowship and ministry have moved on. Some of these folks have been our friends for several years. Now we feel like we are starting all over again. Many of the homeless have felt pushed out of Burlington because of the increased aggressive stance taken by the Church Street Marketplace. I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, you can't have lots of panhandlers and homeless just hanging out disrupting business and scaring tourist.

We minister to more than just the homeless. We also minister to tourist and locals and anyone on the street. We have seen an increase of ministry to artists, and to local folk who find themselves in need.

So in spite of all this rain, we accomplished the following for the last three months:

Gave out 342 bibles.
Gave out 2,040 $5 gift cards to McDonald's and Brueggers to needy families and individuals.
Gave out 4,804 bags of groceries to needy families
Had personal meetings with 110 people to share about faith in Christ, and we have seen 4 people come to faith in Christ.

The homeless may be leaving the area, but needy folk will always be here, and anyone who is downtown will at some point be confronted with the reality of Jesus Christ. Your support allows this to happen, rain, snow, sleet or hail, our team is down on the street.

Your Missionary to the Streets,

Dave

Why do they panhandle?

2011-04-18T08:02:00.000-07:00

I think it was Salvadoran Bishop Oscar Romero who once said, "When I feed the poor, people call me a saint. When I ask why are people poor, they call me a communist".

Well the question today is Why so many people panhandling on the street? Why don't they get off their butts and work? Well the question to this has as many answers as the question why are people poor!

Some of the panhandlers are homeless, but this is actually a very few. Here in Burlington almost 90% of all the panhandlers are not homeless. They either have jobs that don't pay all of the bills, or they are people on disability whose monthly income does not cover all of their expenses. Can you imagine working a forty hour week, for $9.00 an hour, paying your rent and maybe your electric bill, then have to decide, do I buy food or pay for my phone? Or how about the kids medication, or can I afford to buy gas, or even a bus card. So they take a few hours downtown and ask for spare change.

One of the women panhandling downtown is Ester, a 78 year old woman who has worked hard all of her life in minimum wage jobs, and now living off of Social Security, about $800 a month, she does not have enough money to make ends meet, so she sits on her milk crate with a sign and collects spare change so she can buy toilet paper that food stamps won't cover. she has two cats which she dearly loves and needs to feed them.

Then of course there are those who for some unexpected situations find themselves in great need, perhaps homeless, perhaps mental health issues, those who fall through the cracks. These are the ones that Burlington Street Ministries minister too. The McDonald's and Bruegger Bagel certificates help us feed so many. And it gives us a credibility to meet people and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them as we seek to make it a bit easier for them to get the help they need.

2011 Winter Ministry Report

2011-03-10T09:29:00.000-08:00

This has been a pretty bad winter, especially for ministry on the street. The weather hindered quite a lot of what we could have done, but we still managed to do quite a bit over this three month period from December - March. Downtown sure did look like a winter wonderland. It would have been tempting to just stay home, but the needs of the poor are often harder in the winter than any other time of year.

This is what we were able to accomplish over the past three months:

1) Personal contacts with 55 people to share about faith In Christ and what it means to have a relationship with God. Out of these, 6 people embarked on a journey of faith in God.

2) We gave out 76 bibles to people who did not have one.

3) We gave out 1,450 $5 gift cards to McDonald's, Quizno's and Bruegger's Bagels, to the homeless and low income families.

4) We gave out 4,929 bags of groceries to people in need.

Even though the weather has been snowy and cold, the homeless and the street people who hang out on the street are still out there, and so are we to share the Good News of the Gospel to all who will listen. Remember it is your support that allows us to do this.

Your Missionary to the Streets,

David Russell

Whatever happened to simplicity in Christ?

2011-01-29T21:00:00.000-08:00

"He hath shown thee, O man what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God" - Micah 6:8.

When I look at the face of people who end up on the street, many of them wear the hardness of their lives on their faces. They so desperately need to hear that God loves them so much. This is the message that needs to be shared on the street. But so many times that message gets lost in the controversies and doctrines and theology that we so bitterly fight about. But these things bring nothing to the people who are the most needy. People need to know that "for God so loved that He sent His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him has everlasting life.

All to often people will come and work with our street ministry and they cannot minister very well out there. They loose credibility, they want to push their way, their theology, their understanding of what they think that God has taught them. The simple Gospel of Christ gets lost in the controversies.

The people who want to demand "sound doctrine" which to them is only what they believe, will not last, they soon quit and do something else. They will never be effective ministering on the street.

There is only one issue for us on the street. It is not abortion, it is not homosexuality, it is not Saturday worship versus Sunday Worship. It is not Charismatic versus non Charismatic, it is not Catholic or Protestant, Liberal or conservative. The issue is whether people are saved by grace or not. This is all that is important..

Our message is very simple. God loves them just the way they are. God has wonderful plans for them, he wants them to follow Him, to be part of His Kingdom. He wants them to live a simple life of simplicity and love, to do justice, Love Mercy and walk humbly with their God.. Can we dare to believe that the Holy Spirit will do His work in their lives and that maybe, just perhaps it may not look like yours?

I have been doing this long enough to see how much damage all of this doctrinal arguments about things not important has done. Christianity has lost it's credibility, and we need to get it back. We need to get back to the simple Gospel, the simple faith that God loves us and has a wonderful plan for our lives. All we have to do is believe, repent and let go of our life and go and walk with God, doing what is just, and showing mercy and living a simple humble life of love for God and man.

Does the Church have an obligation to the poor?

2010-12-29T11:54:00.000-08:00

This past year, both in person and on facebook postings I have heard Christians say that they don't believe God requires us to help the poor. I have to wonder if they are reading the same bible that I am? there are over 300 verses that deal with reaching out to the poor and needy, here are a few of them. So if you don't see your obligation to help the poor, you will have to deny hundreds of bible verses.

Our ministry exist to bring God's love and compassion to the streets and the poor, but we are not the exception. I believe this is priority ministry for everyone who calls God "Father". I will let the Bible speak for itself;

God's concern for the poor

Deut. 26:5-9. The Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, and imposed hard labor on us. Then we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction and our toil and our oppression; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror and with signs and wonders; and He has brought us to... this land flowing with milk and honey.

Luke 4:16-21. And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read... "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He appointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD... Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
Ps. 140:12. I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and justice for the poor.
Is. 25:4. For You have been a defense for the helpless, a defense for the needy in his distress.
Ps. 10:14. The unfortunate commits himself to You; You have been the helper of the orphan... O LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear to vindicate the orphan and the oppressed.
Is 41:17. The afflicted and needy are seeking water, but there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them Myself, as the God of Israel I will not forsake them.
Luke 6:20-21. Blessed are you who are poor, for yours in the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.James 2:5. Did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

God's commands concerning the poor

Deut. 15:7. If there is a poor man among you, one of your brothers, in any of the towns of the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand to your poor brother; but you shall freely open your hand to him, and generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks.Deut. 26:12. When you have finished paying the complete tithe of your increase in the third year, the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan and the widow, that they may eat in your towns, and be satisfied.
Lev. 19:19ff. Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the LORD your God.
Prov. 31:8ff. [Commandment to kings.] Open your mouth for the dumb, for the rights of all the unfortunate. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.
Is. 58:66ff. Is this not the fast which I choose, to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke? Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into the house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
Jer. 22:3. Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. Also do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place.
Luke 12:33. "Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves purses which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near, nor moth destroys."
Luke 3:11. And [John the Baptist] would answer and say to them, "Let the man with two tunics share with him who has none, and let him who has food do likewise."
Mt. 5:42. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

Blessings on those who serve the poor

Prov. 22:9 He who is generous will be blessed, for he gives some of his food to the poor.Jer. 22:16 "Did not your father eat and drink, and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy; then it was well. Is that not what it means to know Me?" declares the LORD.
Deut. 15:10. You shall give generously to [your poor brother], and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings.
Prov. 19:17. He who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, and He will repay him for his good deed.
Jer. 7:5-7. "For, if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly practice justice between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to your own ruin, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever."
Is. 58:10. "And if you give yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness, and your gloom will become like midday. And the LORD will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail."
Luke 14:12-14. "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return, and repayment come to you. But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
Luke 12:44. "Sell your possessions and give alms; make yourselves purses which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near, nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."Mt. 19:20ff. The young man said to Him, "All these commands I have kept; what am I still lacking?" Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."

Consequences of not serving the poor
.

Ezek. 16:49ff. "Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food, and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it."Is. 10:1-3. "Woe to those who enact evil statutes, and to those who continually record unjust decisions, so as to deprive the needy of justice, and rob the poor of My people of their rights... Now what will you do in the day of punishment, and in the devastation which will come from afar?"
Luke 1:52ff. [Mary's Magnificat.] "He has brought down rulers from their thrones, and has exalted those who were hungry. He has filled the hungry with good things; and sent away the rich empty-handed."
Ezek. 22:29,31. "The people of the land have practiced oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice... Thus I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; their way I have brought upon their heads," declares the Lord GOD.
Jer. 5:28f. "[The wicked] do not plead the cause, the cause of the orphan, that they may prosper; and they do not defend the rights of the poor. Shall I not punish these people?" declares the LORD. "On such a nation as this, shall I not avenge myself?"
James 5:1-6. Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. ...Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and with you have withheld, cries out against you; and the outcry of the harvesters has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.
Luke 6:24. "But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full."Luke 16:19-25. "Now there was a certain rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, gaily living in splendor every day. And a certain poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table; besides, even the dogs would come and lick his sores.
Now it came about that the poor man died and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom.
And he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue; for I am in agony in this flame.'
But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony...'"

Biblical attitudes for believers toward the poor

Prov. 29:7. The righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor; the wicked does not understand such concern.1 John 3:17. But whoever has the world's goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?
Luke 6:33ff. "And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, in order to receive back the same."
2 Cor 9:7. Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver.
Mt. 6:2-4. "When therefore you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you."
Mt. 6:24. "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Money."
1 Tim. 6:10. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang.
Gal. 2:9ff. Recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John... gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we might go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. They only asked us to remember the poor-- the very thing I also was eager to do.
Lev. 19:15. "You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly."
Acts 2:44. All those who had believed were together, and had all things in common; and they began to sell their property and possessions, and share them with all, as anyone might have need.
Acts 4:32-35. And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. And with great power the apostles were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles' feet; and they would be distributed to each, as any had need.Eph. 4:28. Let him who steals steal no longer; but rather let him labor, performing with his own hands what is good, in order that he may have something to share with him who has need.

God's identification with the poor

2 Cor. 8:9. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. Prov. 19:17. He who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, and He will repay him for his good deed.
Prov. 14:31. He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker, but he who is gracious to the needy honors Him. Mt. 25:31-46. "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on His left.
Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'
Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite you in, or naked, and clothe You? And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'
And the King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'
Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.'
Then they themselves will also answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?'
Then He will answer them, saying, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

The Work of Christmas Must Continue

2010-12-21T21:41:00.000-08:00

When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
           To find the lost,
           To heal the broken,
           To feed the hungry
           To release the prisoners,
           To rebuild the nations,
           To bring peace among people,
           To make music in the heart.

This is our calling, our ministry for 36 years. Not only at Christmas but all year long. Thank you all for allowing us to continue the work of Christmas. Your donations bless those who have nothing and allow us to be there for them, to share God's love, to continue the work of Christmas.

May we be given the courage to refuse to leave Christ only in Christmas but to follow in his footsteps by doing justice, loving mercy and walking humbly with our God “in season and out of season.” And may we be given the energy and imagination to ask “what child is this” of each and every member of God’s beloved human family as we go out to do the work of Christmas.

Your Missionary to the streets,

Dave Russell - Pastor/Director

Being a missionary to the streets.

2010-11-30T11:50:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was downtown and though it is getting pretty cold, I was amazed at the number of panhandlers out. Over the years, we have seen an increase of homeless and those not homeless but still in need hanging out on the street asking for spare change.

I will be starting my 37th year ministering to the streets in Burlington, Vermont. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be doing this for so long and as my primary ministry. It seemed right in the beginning, I was a hippie kid who just got saved and began to minister to other hippies like myself who were hanging out at the time downtown. Coffee Houses were in vogue then, and there was David Wilkerson's book "The Cross and the Switchblade", which was a huge inspiration for me. Arthur Blessitt with his long hair and carrying the cross on the streets preaching in areas where the church did not go. The Jesus Movement was in full swing, and people still had a respect for the bible and would listen to us, and people got saved.

But that was then, this is now. the Jesus movement is over, Nobody has heard of the "Cross and the swithblade, and Arthur Blessitt. And people no longer care nor respect the Bible. And we are not seeing the numbers getting saved as we did in the early seventies.

Looking back, we had a lot more people who use to go out with us, seemed to have more committed people, more energetic, of course we were all in our early 20's. We were not married, we did not have kids, and spent a lot of time sharing the gospel through many different means.

What will it take to really make a difference in ministry to the streets today?

#1 - We need more committed workers. This is always an issue. I have seen over the years many who come to me and tell me that God wants them to minister on the streets. Most of them never do, and a few others come and work with us for a short time, but either get burned out or they want to do something on their own, and slowly fade away. It is very hard to get people who can work as a team. It is so hard to get people who are committed to the ministry, who can be consistent and show up. And we need younger workers.

#2 - Churches must see the Streets as an important mission field. Until the Churches locally see the streets as a mission field that must be reached, and must be one of the priorities, we will not get the workers or the support to do what we need to effectively minister out here. We need Churches to commit to supporting us financially as well as with people. We need youth! Why not making this a priority for the youth group? The homeless are getting younger and younger, and our workers are getting older.

#3 - We need powerful prayer support. We have had difficulty getting planned prayer events supported. We need prayer walkers, we need people to be downtown on Friday Nights praying while our teams are working. We need people to sign up for our 24 prayer events.

I sometimes find myself looking back at what was, but what was will never be again. Today we live in a different world, and we need fresh visionaries to be street missionaries who can be committed to reaching our streets to reach our city to reach our nation.

My wish for the new year, my 37th year of reaching out on the street, is to see 10 new committed workers, 10 committed prayer warriors, and 10 new financial partners. Can we see revival on our streets? Yes, we can. Will we? That I do not know.

Your Missionary to the streets,

Dave

What is truth?

2010-11-04T11:29:00.000-07:00

Sandy came up to me to say hi. I did not recognize her at first. Sandy was one of the hard core addicts we had ministered to. I have always liked Sandy, she had a good heart but the addiction caused so much devastation in her life. I have not seen her for 23 years. She is off the street, clean and sober for several years, but the devastation of years of drugs and alcohol and life on the street shows in her face. She is only 59 but looks like she is 79.

Sandy told me that I had always told her the truth and that she appreciated that about me. She said I pissed her off some of the time, but she knew I told her the truth. This was refreshing for me to hear, because it has been my experience after 36 years of ministering to the streets, that most people do not want to know the truth. To know the truth means you have to make a decision. You have to reject it, ignore it or accept it. But to except it means you have to change.

What is truth? Pilot asked that question of Jesus, but did not hang around long enough to receive an answer. Today people sometimes ask the same question but really don't want the answer. They are comfortable in their own belief system. So just what is truth?

John 3:16 and 17 - for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Can it be that simple? Yes, and it is so simple that most will not, can not grasp this single truth: God loves us. God loves us in our brokeness, in our sinfulness, in our absolute messed upness.

The truth is not a doctrine, not a conservative nor a liberal theology. It is not protestant, nor Catholic. It is a person, no other than the son of God, Jesus Christ.

John 14:6 Jesus said that He was the way, the truth, the life and no one comes to God but through Him. So He is the truth, but to know the truth is to live the truth, and to live the truth is to follow Him that is the truth. How do you do that? simple: Read the four gospels and live as Jesus lived, Love as Jesus loved. Can you follow Him? It will be costly, but is the only way to be saved from ourselves, our addictions, our brokeness, our being messed up.

Spirituality of the streets.

2010-10-26T11:51:00.000-07:00

Luke 18:9-14
18:9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt:

18:10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

18:11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

18:12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.'

18:13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!'

18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.

Street ministers like myself soon realize that the street has it's own culture, it's own community that often is very much different from the "mainstream culture" including the Christian Evangelical culture. what we find is that for those who have been on the streets for a long time, are part of that culture, it is very deeply rooted in who they are.

Some who come to Christ can and will get off the street and into mainstream culture again, but the reality is that most will not. They just don't fit in culturally with the mainstream anymore. But that in no wise mean that real solid conversions and spirituality does not take place on the street, it just means it looks different.

The above scripture, Jesus told a parable about who was justified and who was not. the street folk whom we minister too, those who say they are followers of Jesus, know who they are. They know they are sinners, losers, addicts, and they know they do not "measure up" to societies standards. But they are quick to be the ones who say, God have mercy on me a sinner.

I remember a time when we did a Good Friday devotion in an alley and a bunch of homeless people came out to worship. One of the long time alcoholics had tears in his eyes, and shared this with the group, it was the sermon for that day. "All of us here are losers, we are sinners, we are not good people. But this Jesus, the Son of the Living God, He was perfect, he loved us so much, and he knew that we are not able to clean ourselves up, but that is exactly why he came for people like us. I am not worthy to be here, but He calls us anyway, and I love Him, and will be forever grateful for what He did for me".

After the service was over, I thought to myself that this man, this long time street person, this man who has been into treatment for addiction over 60 times in his 66 years, this man who fought for our country in Viet Nam, who came back from the war damaged forever, he understood the above scripture. He understood the finished work of Christ on Calvary. He had a spirituality and a faith that is strong, and living, and helps him in his very difficult life on the street.

But I can hear some say, "if he was really converted he would be clean, sober, off the street and working a real job, in a good church and paying his tithe". All I can say is perhaps, but after 36 years on the street ministering to all kinds of people, I have seen real faith and real love among the homeless, even in the midst of all of the addiction and the ugliness that the street dishes out.

What is biblical Justice.

2010-10-18T10:09:00.000-07:00

What does it mean to do Justice? Just what is working for peace and Justice? the Bible is full of justice for the poor, the widow, the orphans, and the oppressed. So in the days to come, we will explore this issue.

Below is a quote that hopefully will get you thinking about this. Please leave your comments, I am very interested in further discussion on this matter.

Feeding the Poor at a Sacrifice - Peter Maurin

1. In the first centuries
of Christianity
the hungry were fed
at a personal sacrifice,
the naked were clothed
at a personal sacrifice,
the homeless were sheltered
at personal sacrifice.
2. And because the poor
were fed, clothed and sheltered
at a personal sacrifice,
the pagans used to say
about the Christians
"See how they love each other."
3. In our own day
the poor are no longer
fed, clothed, sheltered
at a personal sacrifice,
but at the expense
of the taxpayers.
4. And because the poor
are no longer
fed, clothed and sheltered
the pagans say about the Christians
"See how they pass the buck."

2010 Summer Ministry Report

2010-09-30T10:55:00.000-07:00

We are finishing up with our summer street outreach for this year. We will be moving
indoors with a 6 pm bible study at the food court in the downtown mall over the winter.

We have had a good summer, the streets were difficult this year, a lot of apathy, a lot of panhandling, some very aggressive which made for a not so good atmosphere.

Our ministry to needy families and other needy folk went very well.

Thank you for all of your support this year, because of that, we were able to accomplish the following:

Met with 290 individuals to share on a one to one basis about faith in Christ.

We saw 16 individuals profess faith In Christ.

We gave out 1,829 Bibles

We gave out 1,276 McDonald $5 gift cards, and 421 Quizno $5 gift cards to needy families and individuals.

We gave out 1,496 bags of groceries to help feed needy people.

The winter which is coming soon will bring fresh challenges and needs, as well as the
Holiday season which we see some of the most pressing needs. Please pray for our team as we minister to a very needy, hurting and difficult group of people.
Pray for some of our homeless friends who are still out on the street, many of them will be out all winter. Pray for them that they will see their need to obey God and get their life in order, get clean and get off the street.

Your Missionary to the Streets,

Dave

Ministry report for April 1 - June 30

2010-07-17T21:28:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the streets.

As we seek to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to those who call the streets home, this is what we have accomplished, with your prayers and support, during the second quarter:

Personal contacts with individuals to share Christ and talk about Salvation - 95

Professions of faith - 2 individuals: Larry T. and Jannie P.

Bibles given out - 164

McDonald's and Quizno $5 gift cards given out - 304

Bags of groceries to needy families - 534

4-packs of lithium AA batteries - 62

Books of stamps - 27

We have had a good start to our summer ministry, and are looking forward to the rest of the summer and early fall. We pray that God opens the eyes and hearts of those on the street.

We are in great need for McDonald's $5 gift cards or certificates, as we are out at the moment. We also need packs of 4 energizer lithium batteries and books of postage stamps.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our ministry this year and helped us
to do what we have done so far.

Please pray for our team. This is a difficult ministry, but a rewarding one.

Dave

14 Hour prayer on the street, May 29th, 2010

2010-06-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

Prayer for the Streets of Burlington, VT
Saturday, May 29, 2010

7:00–9:00 a.m. – Jim Fenimore

7:00 a.m.: Just arrived, and I was amazed to see that the city has removed many of the bench seats. Had to go down to the bagel shop to find one. Many street people are out getting coffee, etc. Not sure if they have been around all night. Almost every bench has someone on it. They seem very lonely and lost (probably most are).

7:30 a.m.: All quiet now. Most of the street folks have disappeared somewhere. Streets are basically empty except for garbage trucks and a couple of store workers setting up outside tables. Ran into “Steve”—he says that he is doing okay. Nothing ever seems to change with him. He needs prayers that someday God will do something in his life.

7:40 a.m.: Moved down to park—lots of people setting up for “Farmers' Market.” They now have taken over about half of the park. Someone put detergent in the fountain, and now it is full of soap bubbles—what a mess! Why would someone do that?

8:00 a.m.: Just realized where everyone went! They are over at the First Congregational Church getting breakfast. Must be part of their daily routine (Saturday, anyway).

Don just arrived early.

More people on the street, now—mostly runners and those out for caffeine, etc. They all seem to have some place to go!

8:20 a.m.: A few people coming back from breakfast, but streets are relatively empty.

8:40 a.m.: Starting to rain! Stopped at 8:45.

9:00 a.m.: Turned the book over to Don.

9:00–1:00 a.m. – Don Lyons

9:01 a.m.: Arrived here across from Ben & Jerry's a little early—about 8 a.m.—and talked with Jim. Things were quiet. Some of the delivery trucks were still on the street.
It is my hope that, from now and throughout the summer, the street ministries, and all involved, will have many divine encounters with, and outreaches to, the lost. Guide us, Lord, and show us Your plan. Except for Jesus, we are all lost.

9:30 a.m.: Walked the length of Church St., and found things to be peaceful. I am also sure that the Lord is in control.

9:45 a.m.: I walked through the Farmers' Market and was amazed at how it had grown. So many more and varied vendors than there used to be.

10:00 a.m.: Well, the rain has held off—only a few sprinkles. Thank You, Lord.

11:00 a.m.: Turned book over to Johnnie and Lahoma Loar.

11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. – Johnnie and Lahoma Loar

11:00 a.m.: Arrived at Uncommon Grounds Coffee Shop and received the book from Don. Talked to him briefly.

Our initial thoughts are the number of people who are strolling up and down the street, most two-by-two, many with a dog in tow. Lots of couples pushing baby carriages. Aimlessness seems to be the order of the day.

11:20 a.m.: Walked up to the fountain [at the head of Church St.] and watched a little boy play in the water. Pray that his parents would show more interest in him, particularly in spiritual things—things that will lead to his eternal salvation.

11:35 a.m: Watched a young child, on a wooden bicycle with pedals, roll by us. Others on two- wheelers rolled by us. Our prayer is that they won't roll straight into Hell. We pray for Dave and his faithful workers, that they will touch many lives this summer.

11:40 a.m.: Lord, the beautiful mausoleum at the head of Church Street—such a vivid picture of most of the individuals that flood the streets, empty, serving no purpose,but taking up space. Lord, we pray for them, that Your Holy Spirit will put a hunger in that space for the things of God.

11:45 a.m.: We watched a family as they stopped and took pictures. They are probably on vacation. A man passed us dressed like everyone else—straggly hair and all the rest—but what set him apart was that he was ringing two red cowbells as he walked along.

11:47 a.m.: A sign [on a sandwich board outside the store] Good Stuff—“It's good to be bad.”

11:50 a.m.: People are beginning to fill up the restaurants' sidewalk chairs and form lines in front of vendors. Lord, please help them understand that the hunger in their souls is for You, and that nothing in this world will fill that hunger except You.

12:00 noon: We talked to a young man named Chris. He said he had a relationship with Jesus. He graduated last year and works with students. We invited him to stop by the Ministry and visit Dave.

12:20 p.m.: We stopped to watch a street orchestra. They're pretty good. Lots of people standing around listening and swaying with the music. Father, we are so thankful for the true music that comes only from You.

12:25 p.m.: We stopped by the Mall to go to the restrooms. It's sprinkling rain outside. Lord, we pray for the visitors that will stop by these restrooms and eat at this food court. Every one of them needs You in some way or another.

12:30 p.m.: The man with the red cow bells passed us again, this time hoola-hooping as he walked. We saw a couple that, from their body language, were clearly having an argument. Lord, I pray that if they are married, Your Holy Spirit will reveal to them how to love each other as You love Your church; and if they are just living together, show them the error of their ways.
We saw an emaciated little girl that obviously was suffering from some kind of malady. Father, heal her physical problems and the spiritual ones she'll have as she grows up. Guide someone to tell her about You.

We watched many people pass who have been to the Farmers' Market. We were there earlier this morning before our shift began. So many Vermonters have gone back to the basics, but most have left off a foundation that can only be found in Jesus.

12:50 p.m.: We've arrived back at Uncommon Grounds—unsure what it is. Met Steve and Nellene, and are passing the book to them. As we leave, we leave confident that God is in control, even though most we've seen this morning do not know it.

1:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m. – Steve and Nellene Carter

12:50 p.m.: Steve and Nellene Carter received the book from Johnnie and Lahoma. It is raining heavier now. We wonder where the street people find shelter.

1:06 p.m.: Rain has abated. We passed immigration protesters, and we thank God for sending people to America where they might hear the Gospel.

1:12 p.m.: So many people walking and milling about like sheep without a shepherd. They so need a Shepherd.

1:17 p.m.: Saw some obviously gay couples—just sinners, like us, who need Jesus. There are people from various ethnic groups. Each one was created to walk with God. We pray for the many family groups and young people we see. And, of course, we see those that we believe are homeless. Our hearts break for them, and we pray that their situations cause them to seek a Savior, Jesus Christ.

1:30 p.m.: We strolled through City Hall Park. We prayed for the vendors who are probably suffering from these economic times. We want them to know the great Provider.

1:50 p.m.: We're standing outside the Spectrum Youth Center. We see kids inside playing chess, watching TV. No one is coming or going. We stand silently and pray. The Unitarian Church across the street gets our attention. Sunday's sermon is “The Mundane Magic of Ministry.” We are led to pray around that building.

2:05 p.m.: Prayed around the church. We noticed there was a weather vane on top of the steeple instead of a cross. How sad! That church needs Christ as their head.

2:12 p.m.: Saw children playing in the fountain at the North end of Church St. Prayed they could experience the living water of Jesus Christ. Also, prayed for the Masonic Temple, that they could know the “Cornerstone.” We prayed for the homeless who would sleep on the benches tonight. May the stars and moon be evidence of the Creator who loves and cares for them.

2:18 p.m.: The crowd is growing. If the rapture came right now, how many would be left here? How many will be in church tomorrow? Of those in church, how many actually know Christ?

2:40 p.m.: There are several street performers on Church Street. We pray for God to send His people to speak and sing on the streets of Burlington. We just learned that several class reunions are tonight, which probably explains the many young families we have seen.

We're having a conversation with a man named Mark. When asked if he had a prayer need, he said he was good. We prayed silently for salvation to come to him through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

2:55 p.m.: We are awaiting Leigh's arrival. And we pray for her to be filled with the Holy Spirit as she walks and prays. May we live in an attitude of prayer wherever we are. God bless you.--Nellene and Steve

3:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m. – Leigh Smith

It is a pleasantly hot, but hazy afternoon with crowds of people on Church Street.

I walk south to King [St.], and by the house of two known prayer warriors who were part of a ministry to this city with a fellowship house back in the early '70s. I pray for them. I continue up past the Edmunds schools on Main Street, praying for the children–especially for the refugee children, in their midst, who must learn another language.

I walk up to South Prospect, in an aspect of prayer for the college life of Burlington. Both Champlain College and UVM are sprawled in that vicinity. One of the frat houses (shall I say stereotypically?) featured an empty beer bottle on a picnic table outside. The academy is puffed up and can puncture easily without Jesus. Blessed are they who minister in their midst, despite the hardship this poses for their relationships and “career paths.”

I walk down College Street, which has a nearly reverential sequence of shading trees.College Street Church brings painful memories to me. Bless its pastor and the congregation to believe the whole gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

I return to Church Street—people parading their babies and dogs, people walking and hoping they are talking importantly into their cell phones and to their companions.

In the Burlington Mall, I meet a man I had for Practicum—a refugee, a Muslim—I forget his name, and he does not recognize me. He is wearing a cap and sweeping. I wonder what he did back in his own country—that, also, I have forgotten.

The burden for the foreigner here is heavy on me. Vermont's climate is not always welcoming. And, its spiritual climate needs a refreshed infusion of the Lord.

My personal prayers and problems break in on me here. The person is never really divorced from the community, nor a member of the body from her Lord. Praise God.

Peace be to these streets in the Name of Jesus. A little girl goes to wash her hands in the bathroom, declaring to her mother, “The water's still on.” Her mother thanks her: “Thank you for being so green.”

A trek through the book store where I am continuously reminded how out of touch I am
with new titles, forms of communication, and such provocative poses on magazines. I
ponder how the church can engage with those drawn to the culture of Borders and Barnes and Noble—the sip-a-cup, try-a-chapter, leave-when-you-want devotions. For those repeatedly let down by family and friends, how can a busy church make a difference?

I wish I could remember the Muslim worker's name.

5:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m. – Nancy Davis

5:00 p.m.: I picked up the book from Leigh at the Mall, and walked up to my car, which is parked in front of Spectrum, to read the entries and to pray. I don't really
know how to pray for these kids who hang out here, so I praise God and ask for guidance.

5:10 p.m.: I start walking.

5:30 p.m.: Walked down Church [St.]—so many people, some laughing, smiling—couples holding hands—parents following giggling toddlers as they run toward the cows [decorated cow sculptures on display]—the outdoor tables at the various restaurants are full. Some are chatting while they eat, others chewing quietly. One well-dressed older woman, leaning on the table with a half-full wine glass in front of her, stares blankly at the couple with her. She looks like she's going to fall over. Hope the couple notices her.

I stop and talk with a guy named Jesse—homeless—with a sign saying, “Down on my luck. God bless.” We talk for a minute or two. I tell him, “Sorry, I don't have any money.”

He says, “It's okay. At least you stopped and talked.” The conversation turns to Jesus. He's a believer, a warrior even. Then some kids come by. He turns his attention to them. I say “God bless” and leave.

Over the years, I have noticed many street people are believers—so why are they still on the streets panhandling money for a bottle of booze? Sometimes, I think they've learned the lingo just so they don't have to listen to preaching from well-meaning Christians who don't have a clue.

5:50 p.m.: City Hall Park: Kids playing around the bubble-filled fountain. Some kids, teens, playing some kind of ball game; other teens are laughing, joking around. A few street people sitting on benches, some people just walking through the park. Most people don't seem to really have any needs, even the homeless. There are so many places for them to eat and sleep. I am reminded of the verse that says something like, “I am rich, and in need of nothing.” Oh, how I pray we all would know just how poor we really are, and how much our Father in heaven loves us. I continue my prayer walk.

6:20 p.m.: Sitting on a bench on Church Street by City Hall, homeless guy on the next bench. I'm watching people walk by, trying to figure out what's going on. Everyone—
homeless, non-homeless, all seem content—not content like “things are good and I'm content,” but like “this is the way it is, and nothing is going to change, so might as well accept it.” It's passion that is missing, even in the laughter and giggles of children.

6:35 p.m.: It started raining, so I headed to Brueggers to reread what I wrote and finish journaling. The more I think about it, the more it seems to be true that people have lost their passion. I do believe I will talk with God about this.

:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m. – David Russell

7:00 p.m.: I make my way to the alley on College Street—Fibber and Charlie sharing a bottle of booze. Fibber seems quite wasted.

7:30 p.m.: I go to the alley on Main Street. Meet Cheryl and Zoe, shooting heroine. There were three other guys with them I did not know. One gets in my face, yells at me.

8:00 p.m.: Back on Church Street by Borders. Mostly families and kids out, street musicians, and vendors.

8:15 p.m.: I run into Frank W., a homeless man I have known since 1989. He says he is
still a Christian and reads his Bible, but he looks pretty wasted. He swears he is clean, but still homeless—twenty-one years of sleeping on the streets will take a toll on you.

8:30 p.m.: Decide to check out the alley on Cherry Street. About nine people are back there smoking pot and passing a bottle. I recognize Doria and Cindi. They asked if
I had any spare change, and for a Bible. I told them I didn't have either on me, and
Doria said she would stop by the booth on Friday.

9:00 p.m.: Behind the parking garage, I hear someone call my name. It is Eli—haven't seen him in a couple of years. The guy he was with, Derrick, takes out this pretty impressive knife for “show,” but Eli tells him to put it away. He does. I get to shake his hand and introduce myself.

I am finished with my shift, and thinking that, after thirty-five years ministering on the street, nothing has really changed. It is depressing, discouraging; but I also thank God for allowing me to be His witness to so many who would never have been ministered to if I were not out here.

Ministry report for January - March 2010

2010-03-31T19:41:00.000-07:00

Greetings.

Just a short note to update you on ministry to our streets over the last 3 months.

From January 1 - March 31, we gave out 74 bibles, 214 $5 McDonald's and Quizno's gift cards.

We also gave out 380 bags of groceries to needy families, and I had the chance to personally sit down with 42 individuals to share Christ, out of which we saw 1 profess faith.

Weather is warming up, and we are excited about spending more time outside. Our opening day for our outdoor summer outreach is Friday, May 28th. We will kick off our summer with a 24 hour prayer walk downtown, and we will need prayer warriors to take a two hour shift. I will be sending out more info soon.

Thank you for your support which allows us to minister to those who call the streets home.

Dave

Ministry Report for 2009

2010-01-04T11:58:00.000-08:00

Greetings,

We have had one of the best years of ministry to our streets in a long time. We have
seen God do some amazing things this year.

Three new people joined our team.

We gave out 1,916 bibles this year.

We gave out 1,969 bags of groceries to needy families.

We gave out 2,619 $5 gift cards from McDonald's and Quizno's to those in need.

We had 284 individual personal encounters to share Christ on a very deep personal level, which resulted in 7 people coming to faith in Christ.

We have many more individuals actively seeking.

We are looking forward to a great year in 2010.

I want to thank everyone who has supported us this year, none of this would be possible without you!

May God bless you as you serve Him this year.

Your Missionary to the Streets,

Dave

2009-11-23T11:30:00.000-08:00

Greetings from the Streets,

Please remember to keep the homeless, and the extreme low income folks in your prayers this week as we all sit in front of a full table and enjoy the fellowship of family and friends. Many will have none of this on Thursday.

The upcoming Holiday Season is a very hard time for the poor. For us, it is one of our best time of the year for ministry. As we help with physical needs such as food, we have the best opportunity to sit down and have a real conversation about spiritual matters.

A couple of needs we have for this time of the year.

McDonald's gift certificates
Postage stamps
Finances to help get us through the winter.

Remember, we are running a mini fundraiser,
if you buy some art, 100% of proceeds will go for our winter ministry to needy families.
Consider giving the gift of art this Christmas and help Burlington Street Ministries at the same time. here is the link, check it out. http://daverussell.exposuremanager.com/g/special_sale

Please pray for our staff to keep healthy, pray for the new folks coming to our Friday Evening Bible study, and pray for open doors to minister to new people we meet over the winter season.

2009-10-12T09:40:00.000-07:00

I have just finished my 35th year of continuous street ministry to downtown Burlington. Restoration Baptist Church, and Burlington Street Ministries have been ministering as a church to these same streets for 26 years.

This year, we have accomplished the following;

Professions of faith - 8
Personal Evangelistic encounters - 216
Bibles given out - 1,052
Hot meals to the homeless - 917
$5 McDonald's Gift Certificates given out to those in need - 1,350
$5 Quizno Gift Cards to needy families - 868
Bags of Groceries to needy families - 1,553

We have finished our outdoor street outreach for the summer and have now moved inside for the winter.

We minister on two fronts. One is to the streets downtown Burlington, the other to
Northgate apartments, a 336 apartment complex in the New North End of Burlington, with over 900 people who live here, mostly low income.

We are praying for a fruitful winter ministry, and we are excited to see what God will do on the streets in 2010.

Your Missionary to the Streets,

Dave

Ministry Report for January - June, 2009

2009-07-08T09:51:00.001-07:00

Greetings,

Thank you all so much for your support this year. From January - June of this year, we were able with your help, accomplish the following:

Personal ministry meetings with individuals - 201
Profession of Faith - 5
Bibles given out - 522
Bags of Groceries given out - 675
McDonald's and Quizno $5 gift Certificates given out - 699

We are trying to have our Ministry booth out every other Friday, weather permitting, but I am on the street now for an average of 32 hours a week.

We have just about 4 months left before cold weather hits, which will once again drive us indoors. Please pray that the rest of our summer will see a fruitful time of witnessing to folks on the street.

Again, thank you all for your continued support, we could not do all of this without your help.

Please pray for 3 individuals who prayed to receive Christ this month, Barry, Rico, and Cindi.

Your Missionary to the Streets,

Dave

Summer Ministry to Begin

2009-05-05T09:39:00.000-07:00

I love "divine encounters". This past Friday, I was checking out an alley
downtown that I was going to do a photo shoot in over the weekend, I needed to see how the lighting was at 3:30 in the afternoon.

Halfway down the alley, an obviously homeless man was just sitting down with all of his stuff. I was just going to walk on by, but felt compelled to at least say something to him, introduce myself, see if he needed anything. As I approached him, he said in an angry sarcastic voice, "are you here to tell me about Jesus"? I said to him, do you want me to tell you about Jesus? He said "hell no, I just want to be left alone". So I said to him, OK, but, if you ever do want to hear about Jesus, you can find me out on the street" and I turned to walk away. I took about a half dozen
steps, when he called out to me, and said" hey man, thanks for caring!"

I respected his wanting to be left alone, but I am praying that I will be able to talk to him again. This was just an encounter, a moment, possibly a seed planted, a future ministry opportunity this summer as we are out ministering on the street.

We begin our summer outreach on Friday Night May 29th at 4 PM. We will have our ministry table set up from 4 PM - 8 PM. We would like to make this a prayer event, and would like to invite anyone who could come and spend at least an hour praying on site, downtown, walking the street and the alleys here in Burlington, asking God to bless our efforts on the street, to send real revival to the people like this man in the alley who call the streets home.

Would you pray with us on May 29th? Come down and join our opening day of ministry to our streets.

2009 Outreach Strategy

2009-01-31T08:29:00.000-08:00

This year marks 35 years for street ministry to Downtown, Burlington. We have seen ups and downs, times when we have had plenty of help and times when we were down to just a few folks.

Well this is one of those times. Right now, Burlington Street Ministries consist of
three of us, myself, Jim Fenimore, and Don Lyons. I am the youngest of the three of us at 56.

I have felt an urgency from God, that this year could be the turning point for ministry on our streets. We would like to wage a major evangelistic outreach this year,calling it "operation Friday Night".

I am looking for some good committed people who have a burden to share Christ on the
street. I need folks who can commit to every Friday Night from May 29 - September 25. I need people who can meet people, build a relationship with folks, and can share their faith with those on the street. I can offer some training, but need committed workers.

Burlington Street Ministries also needs some monthly support. Our support base has
dropped so much, We need at least 20 new monthly supporters of at least $25 a month. I am not a fundraiser, I absolutely hate asking for money, and in this economy, everyone is hurting. But we do need funding to operate, and it does hinder us quite a bit without support. So if you are on my mailing list, and have not been a monthly supporter, please prayerfully consider even $25 a month. If we don't have to worry about finances, then we can concentrate on our ministry.

Finally, we need prayer support. We need on site prayer support, a couple of people who can commit to coming down on the street on Friday Nights and prayer walk for at least 2 hours. We are also going to do a 24 hour prayer vigil for May 29 and 30 as this will be the official start of our summer Street Outreach.

Burlington Street Ministries is in survival mode right now. Can you dare to dream with us? Has God burdened your heart for this city? Please, if so, consider working with us this year. I am only asking for one night a week, Friday Night!

We are the only ministry that has had a continuous presence on Church Street for 35
years, during rain, sleet snow, cold weather, and hot and humid. "the harvest is
plentiful, but the workers are few"

Please think about us for 2009.

Your Missionary to the Streets,

Dave

Ministry Report from January to September 26, 2008

2008-09-27T12:25:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the Streets of Burlington,

We have ended our summer outreach on the street for this year, and will now move indoors until next May. Weather wise, it has been a difficult summer, we had to cancel our booth quite a few Friday Nights because of rain.

It was difficult also in that this was the first time in over 30 years, we had to turn people away, because we could not help them. The need for food, and other things just overwhelmed us, and we are very concerned about the winter.

But we did what we could, and since January until September 26th, we managed to do the following:

Served 726 Hot meals
Gave out 857 - $5 McDonald's gift cards to needy people
Gave out 316 - $5 Quizno Gift Cards to needy people
Gave out 1,474 bags of groceries to needy families
Gave out 1108 bibles
Had 10 professions of faith
Personally met with 283 people for counseling and further sharing about faith in Christ
We led 3 bible study groups with an average weekly attendance of 42

We would like to thank everyone who supported us this year, it was with your love and kindness that we can be on the street as much as we are. We covet your prayers as we prepare for our winter ministry, and especially as we approach the Holiday Season, which is the hardest time of the year for the folks we minister to.

Your Missionary to the Streets,

Dave

Ministry Report - March - June, 2008

2008-06-09T12:49:00.000-07:00

After a very slow winter, we have started our summer street outreach, and are out now until Mid October.

From March - June 9, we have:

Served 269 hot meals;
Served 320 lunches;
Given out 544 bags of groceries;
Given out 234 $5 McDonald's gift Certificates;
Given out 136 $10 Quizno Gift Certificates;
Given out 317 Bibles;
Had 130 personal meetings with people to share Christ with.

Our summer outreach has just begun, we are looking for a good year of ministry to our streets. We are seeing incredible needs, with gas prices at an all time high, and price of food and just about everything else rising, people are suffering.

We are turning away more people than we are helping, this is a first for us.

Right now, we are totally out of both McDonald's Gift Certificates and Quizno's Gift Cards, and our hunger fund budget is at Zero.

But we have a good supply of Bibles, and we will do our best to spend as much time as we can on the streets, sharing Christ with all who will listen.

I want to thank everyone for prayers concerning my wife's mother, she is still in the nursing home, but she will not survive very much longer. It was a very hard to pre-plan a funeral, but she has lived a very long life, just turning 97 on May 1.

So keep us in prayer as we cope with a death coming soon. Keep the Burlington Street Ministry Team in prayer as we try to minister to a tough mission field.

Your Missionary to the Streets,

Dave

Ministry Report for January - March, 2008

2008-03-15T10:16:00.000-07:00

This has been the slowest, non eventful winter we have ever seen! Our big question this winter is, where is every one?

The streets have been quite, not much to report, most Friday nights, it is just staff at our Bible Study, which has never happened before.

But the bulk of our ministry this winter has taken place at the Nothgate Housing Project, we have been ministering to quite a few people there over the winter, provided food, and other items to some very needy folks. We have a Tuesday Evening Bible Study, and Sunday Worship there in Northgate.

So far this year, From January - March 14th, we:

Gave out 515 Bags of Groceries
Gave out 315 $5 McDonald's Gift Cards
Gave out 121 $5 Quizno Gift Cards
Gave out 68 Bibles
Met with 41 people to share Christ with them, and to encourage them.

We begin our outdoor ministry to the streets on Friday, May 23rd, and would like to invite anyone who would be willing to come down that Friday Evening and spend two hours in prayer for the summer ministry on the streets.

We praise God that we have already raised all of the $5000 we need for this summer!!! This too is a miracle, as we are usually scrambling to raise money to buy bibles! Thanks to a generous gift by Community Bible Church is January, we were able to get most of what we needed!

Our only real need we will have is Quizno gift Certificates. We need Quite a few loaded with $10. Since McDonald's has moved out of downtown, the Quizno's has
taken it's place as the best place for us to give out certificates for food.

So if you could help us with these, this would be a very big help to us. We also still need McDonald's Gift Certificates, as we use these also.

A special thanks to Patricia Worley and her "Tiny Tots" Sunday School Class from
the Crestview Baptist Church in North Carolina, this class of little children has been sending us an average of $200 worth of McDonald's gift Certificates each month for well over a year, possible even two years. They have done so much for us, and blessed so many of the struggling hurting folks we minister to so much, and has allowed us to be able to touch some families we would not been able to if not for these certificates.

My health has improved, I have fully recovered from the heart issue I had in November, and back to full schedule, but am taking care of myself better than I had, and taking more time for rest and enjoyment.

We are looking forward to a great year of Ministry to the Streets!

Thank you all for your love and support.

Your Missionary to the Streets,

Dave

Winter Ministry and the Holiday Seasons

2007-11-06T09:15:00.000-08:00

We are now in winter mode, meeting each Friday Evening at the food court in the Town
Center Mall right Downtown. We had a great summer, but most of the folks we have
ministered to have left, so we are down to a few individuals who are brave enough to stay over the winter!

We are gearing up for a couple of major outreaches for the Thanksgiving and Christmas
season. We will help provide food for 34 families for Thanksgiving, and we will help 56 families for Christmas as well as our annual Christmas on the Street outreach for the homeless.

We will again be reaching out to needy families at the Northgate Apartments, a 336
apartment complex, the largest in Vermont, half of these are extremely low income and in great need, among them are 400 children.

Now for some of our needs:

McDonald's Downtown has closed down, so the homeless cannot use the McDonald's gift
Certificates unless they can get out to one of the others. However there is a Quizno's right downtown, and gift cards are available. We could use about 300 gift cards from Quizno's in $5.00 per card. These will be given to the homeless downtown.

We do still need McDonald's gift Certificates for our needy families, so we are still
giving these out and are very important to our ministry.

We do need Postage Stamps, books of 20 to be given out to the homeless. We do not need any batteries this year, someone has provided all we need for this year.

Our biggest need this year will be cash. We are desperately low, and do not have enough to get us by the winter, and we are very concerned about the needs of so many people this winter. We will need to raise about $4000 in the next two months.

We do not do fundraisers, none of us are skilled in that area, so we rely on those who believe in what we do. A one time gift to help us for the Thanksgiving and Christmas Season will be a blessing to many needy folk.

Pray for us as we come to the end of 2007, and end another year of ministry to the
streets. 2008 will mark 33 years of continuous ministry to the streets of Burlington.
Thank you all for your support over these many years.

We look forward to 2008.

In His Love,

Dave

Ministry Report for May - August, 2007

2007-08-20T08:11:00.000-07:00

We are having a great summer so far, with many opportunities to share Christ with those on the street. Every Friday, our team is downtown Burlington, meeting people, meeting felt needs and sharing Christ with all who will listen. Building relationships is our main tool for this task of evangelizing the streets.

What we have accomplished since May;

Given out 702 Bibles.

Given out 300 $5 books of McDonald's Gift Certificates to needy individuals.

Served 322 hot meals.

Provided 477 bags of groceries to needy families.

Had 149 personal meetings with interested individuals.

Had 5 people receive Christ, and baptized all 5 of them, after some time of study and preparation.

We will continue our outdoor ministry until mid October then we will move inside for winter.

We wish to thank all of you who financially supported us over the summer, it is with your help that we have been able to accomplish what we have. Right now, we are in need of about $500 to see us through until fall, and we can still use some McDonald's Gift Certificates.

After 32 years on the streets, I sometimes think I have seen it all, but every so often, God does something truly amazing that just touches your heart in an incredible way. Last Friday, a man in a wheel chair came up to our booth, and he could not talk, nor speak English having throat cancer, so he motioned to us for something to write on. We gave him a pad, and he asked for a Spanish Bible, which we just happened to have just one copy. When we gave it to him, the man held it to his heart and cried, and was so thankful for that bible. What are the chances of someone who spoke no English, looking for a Spanish Bible on the streets of Burlington, Vermont? If this was not a "divine appointment" I don't know what else it was.

Again, thank you all for your support and prayers, and if you can help us at all over this small hurdle, we would be most grateful.

Your missionary to the Streets,

Dave

Ministry Report, January 1 - May, 2007

2007-05-11T07:11:00.000-07:00

It has been a long winter, we actually seen fewer people over this past winter than we normally do, partly I think because of the weather.

Since January 1, We have:

Given out 790 Bags of Groceries to needy families

Given out 1,418 $5 McDonald's Gift Certificates to the homeless and needy families.

Given out 247 bibles,

Had personal meetings with 157 different individuals, and seen one man profess faith in Christ.

Conducted weekly bible studies downtown.

We begin our Summer outdoor Street Outreach on Friday, May 25th, with our Bible Booth and street teams.We are still short of our financial goal by $750, and we are still in need of 11 packs of Energizer AA Lithium batteries and are running short of McDonald's gift Certificates both we need to make contact with some new homeless individuals. If your fellowship or church group is looking for a short term project, this would be a good one.

Please pray for us as we begin our 33rd year of summer outreach to our streets. Since I began this work in 1974, I am amazed at what God has done during this time on our streets, and continue to look for the great things He will do this year.

Your Missionary to the Streets,

Dave

Spring is in the air!

2007-03-21T12:34:00.000-07:00

Spring is in the air, and for us that means we are looking to get out on the street again. Winter has been tough, not much happening since Christmas, but now that the weather is warming up, the streets are coming alive.

Our start date for our Summer Outreach is Friday, May 25th. One thing we are going to do is to make contact with some of the more elusive homeless, some of them are new, some have been around for a bit.

If anyone is looking for a small project for a youth group or Sunday School Class, we need to collect 25 packs of Energizer e Lithium AA batteries so we can put together a package to give to these homeless folks. There will be the batteries, McDonald's Gift Certificates, hygiene supplies and a pocket New Testament.

We want the Energizer e lithium batteries because they last 7 times longer than ordinary alkaline batteries. So if anyone can help us with these, this will help us greatly. We need to purchase Bibles, so if we do not have to buy the batteries also, that will be a big help. Also we need $1100 to help with bibles, permits, etc.

We would also like to do a few 24 hour prayer vigils this year, we use to do them, but the last few years, have not been able to get the number of people to cover the 24 hour time. I am hoping for a few groups to come up to help us this year, hopefully we will get some serious prayer cover.

We had a great outreach last Summer, looking for an even better one this year!

Christmas Outreach

2006-12-28T12:17:00.000-08:00

On Friday, December 22 we set out in the pouring rain to bring Christmas gifts to the homeless. Each package contained $20 of McDonald's gift Certificates, 6 brand new pairs of socks, a pack of AA Batteries, one book of 20 stamps, and a pocket New Testament. We gave out 65 of these to very grateful folks.

One group of homeless folks in a camp behind K-mart asked me to read the Christmas story to them from Luke, so I read them the story, and one man with a guitar began to sing Silent Night, and 9 homeless men, 2 woman and myself sang. I was able to witness to most of these folks of the incredible love that God has for us as He came down to dwell with men, to actually become human and live with us, and ultimately die to secure our salvation.

We also provided McDonald's gift Certificates, food, and money to the Northgate Residence Association so needs could be met to buy presents for poor children of the Northgate Community and provide for needy families here who lacked this Christmas.

I want to thank everyone who donated McDonald's gift certificates, batteries and cash to make our Christmas Outreach such a wonderful success this year.

It is always so incredible to me when I am on the street to always see some of the people so needy and so hurting, and also quite a bit of faith. We have become a source of fellowship for so many of the folks we know from the street. They have become like family to us.

Please pray with us this coming new year that we will be effective on the streets for Jesus in 2007. Pray for our finances, and pray for me as I am experiencing some health issues, one of which is affecting my ability to walk without pain.I am so blessed to have been able to minister for 33 years on our Streets. I look forward to 2007!

Ministry Report from July 1 - September 2, 2006

2006-09-06T14:07:00.000-07:00

Ministry report from July 1 - September 2, 2006

Hot meals to the Homeless - 419
Bags of lunch to homeless - 1,219
Bags of Groceries to needy families - 2,947
McDonald's gift Certificates to needy - 1,006
Bibles given out - 1,419
Professions of Faith - 9

We have had a great summer, probably one of the best we have had in a long time. Now we are preparing for our winter outreach and discipling ministry as we move indoors in just a few weeks.

We are still in need of McDonald's Gift Certificates and Postage Stamps. We thank all who have supported us so generously this summer.

Your Missionary to the Streets,

Dave

Ministry report covering April - June, 2006

2006-06-12T10:03:00.000-07:00

With it raining nearly everyday since May 5th, this has really hampered our ability to be out on the street as much as we would have liked, but still ministry took place. Sometimes in the pouring rain, sometimes using the local Downtown mall and other places like McDonalds.

We are looking forward to getting our Bible Booth out this coming Friday, and hopefully we can set up seveal Friday Evenings throughout the summer.

What we have acomplished this quarter, April - June:

Hot meals - 328
Lunch Bags - 934
Bags of Groceries to needy families - 2,953
McDonalds Gift Certificate Books - 429
Bibles given out - 654
People coming to Christ - 7

The summer has really just began, we are praying for a fruitful time of seed planting and harvest as we bring the message of Christ to the streets of our City.

Your Missionary to the Streets,

Dave

Ministry report from the Streets covering January 1 - March 8, 2006

2006-03-08T13:55:00.000-08:00

Bibles given out - 320
Hot meals served - 260
Lunch bags distributed to the homeless - 292
Bags of groceries to needy families - 2,066
McDonald's Gift Certificate $5 booklets given out - 672
Other items given out include batteries, postage stamps and clothing.
6 people going into alcohol/drug treatment with our help
2 people coming to faith in Christ.

I am meeting on a weekly basis with 5 individuals who have shown an interest in getting their lives together and are reading christian material, including the New Testament.

Every Friday Evening over the winter months, we meet at the food court in the Town Center Mall Downtown for a meal and bible discussion.

Friday, May 26th will be the opening day of our Summer Outreach outside, with our booth on Church Street. We are looking forward to a good year of bringing the Love of Christ to those on the street.

We at Burlington Street Ministries want to thank everyone who has supported us this year, it is only with your support that we can be that consistent presence downtown. We face a lot of challenges this year, drugs and related crimes are a growing problem, we pray that we can make a difference in the lives of these addicts.

Growing prostitution is also a concern of ours, especially when very young girls 14 - 16 are involved.We covet your prayers.

Your Missionary to the Streets,

Dave

Sad News from the Streets

2006-02-04T21:08:00.000-08:00

The news the past week was about the increasing armed robberies that is
happening in our region. In a channel 3 report, the police have said it is
because of drugs and the increase of heroin addiction here in Vermont.

There has never been so many armed robberies in Vermont ever in our history, but
things will get worse. Channel 3 interviewed one young man caught and he said
he had a $1000 a day habit. There are hundreds of addicts in Vermont, where are
they going to get the money to feed their addiction? Prostitution is a growing
trend among women addicts, some as young as 14.

What is the solution?

Jail, but no treatment available for addicts, and even if there was, what about
when they get out? There is virtually no treatment here in Vermont. We have
run into this problem for years. When we have someone who wants to get clean,
we have to send them out of state, which is very expensive, and we just do not
have the funding to do so.

Vermont needs to seriously address treatment issues here, or we have just seen
the tip of the ice burg on crime here in our city and state.
Our churches need to do more also, and here is where we as the Church can really
make a difference. Perhaps we need a meeting to see just what and how we can
help. If we really want to make a difference in our state, this is one issue we
cannot ignore, or give little attention too.

This is our biggest hindrance out on the street. We see over a hundred addicts
in our contacts during the year on the street, and most of these have little
resources available to them.

Our staff remembers well a man named Jimmy, a Viet Nam Vet, a heroin addict
since he came home wounded in 1966. Jimmy was a skilled woodworker and
carpenter, had a family, but lost everything to heroin, we took him in when no
one else would, and in the end, heroin killed him, but not before he prayed to
receive Christ as a result of our ministry to him.

I remember very well a man named Ron, who I tried to get into treatment, there
was nothing here that could help him with his heroin addiction, in the end, he
died on the street, they found his body with a needle still in his veins.
There are many stories, but these are so vivid in my mind, I knew these men,
they were my friends, and they were addicts.

So many we minister to are addicts, and we are concerned, and we see the numbers
of addicts grow daily, many of whom we do not even know, nor been able to make
contact.

Something needs to be done, our teams are out on the street, we do what we can.
The solution is not just jail, the solution is love, compassion, treatment, and
most of all, Christ!

Your Missionary to the Streets,
Dave

Christmas on the Streets

2005-12-19T11:19:00.000-08:00

9 days to Christmas! Walking down Church Street surely is a "Winter Wonderland". With the snow, the beautiful Christmas lights, the stores all decorated for the holidays, one can feel the "Christmas Spirit" in the air! It really is the most wonderful time of the year!

But for some, it can be heartbreaking, and a reminder of just how much they have lost. To the homeless, it is like looking through a window and seeing everyone enjoying themselves and happy, but they are outside and cannot get in. For the poor working families who have to decide each month weather to pay the electric bill or eat, they also have to explain to their children why Santa is not coming to their house this year.

Wednesday, I meet a man who wanted to know if I had any McDonalds Gift Certificates left, because Saturday the 17th was his and his wife's anniversary and he would like to take her out for a meal rather than go to the soup kitchen.

This really hit me because Saturday is my wife and my 28th wedding anniversary. I was thinking how blessed I am because we have reservations to a very nice restaurant, and will spend a bit of money on a nice meal, and we will have family coming over latter that evening to celebrate with us. And this man will be taking his wife to McDonalds, and he feels blessed to be able to do that!

Christmas is hard for those on the streets and for those who are "almost" there. But I am so thankful to God that we can be there for these folks to give them a bit of Cheer not only during Christmas, but all year long. Thank you all for your wonderful support of Burlington Street Ministries this year.

We are just about out of McDonalds gift Certificates, we are way down on donations this year, so please think about us the Christmas Season.

Ministry Report for August - October 2005

2005-11-04T08:19:00.000-08:00

Bags of lunch to the Homeless - 1,592

Bags of groceries to needy families - 3,678

McDonalds Gift Certificate Books - 343

Bibles given out - 569

Professions of faith - 12

Our needs list for Thanksgiving and Christmas:

McDonalds Gift Certificates

AA Batteries

Postage Stamps

These items are given out to the homless to help them through a long tough winter.

Homeless man murdered in our city

2005-10-13T13:27:00.000-07:00

Richard Abbott, a homeless man was murdered in a homeless camp. Richard was a hardened individual, a long time street drunk with a very mean and belligerent disposition.

I knew Abbott for over 20 years, and I have never seen him sober. We have had plenty of conversations over those 20 years, many opportunities to share Christ with him, but as far as I know, he never had turned to God. A tragic end to a tragic life. Unfortunately Burlington Street Ministries was unable to reach this man.

The ranks of the homeless increase every year, and even though there are plenty of empty beds available in the shelters, many choose to live outdoors in the many makeshift "camps" all over the city and surrounding towns. Some of them are so anti-social it is extremely difficult to reach them and even talk with them. Somehow we need to do more to reach them.

But we are 4 volunteers with limited time, resources and help to do all we need to do to be available to reach out to this growing population. But it is not just the homeless that are a growing problem.

The growing problems that are going to affect our City in a big way in the not do distant future, and is already beginning, is drugs, prostitution, gangs, and the growing discontent and anger we see not only on the street but in the poor neighborhoods of the Old North End.

Pastor Doug Hoffman sent out a newsletter not too long ago highlighting some violent incidents recently and he also sees the growing anger, sort of like a ticking time bomb ready to explode.

I don't really know where I am going with this letter, but I am saddened not only by Abbott's violent death, but of the growing "big city" problems in our City.

I love Burlington. I was born here, would never want to live any place else. It saddens me to see all of this going on in our City.

Please pray for us as we minister in this city. Please pray for workers for both us and Kid's Alive, pray for finances so we can continue to be a presence in a troubled City. Pray for me, discouragement is a constant battle when you minister to a population that is deeply damaged, troubled and hard to work with, the good results are few and far between. But we must continue on, we must continue to share Christ with those on the fringes, those as William Booth once said are "on the edge of hell".

I deeply appreciate all of you who has supported us, worked with us and read the e-mails I send out. I crave your prayers.

Your Missionary to the Streets,

Dave

End of Summer

2005-09-15T18:23:00.000-07:00

We had a great summer, just a few more Friday Nights with the bible booth out and we move indoors for the winter for our winter ministry of discipleship.

We had three groups from North Carolina working with us this year, and all three did an excellent job of sharing Christ with those on the streets, and made many valuable contacts for us.

As the weather begins to turn colder, it makes life more difficult for those on the streets. Every year, we give out McDonald's gift certificates to the homeless and other very needy folks, as well as AA Batteries and postage stamps. These items can be such a blessing to those who have so very little, and for the homeless, a $5 McDonald's gift certificate book allows them to get out of the cold, have a meal or some coffee, helps them to break up their day. For the working needy, it helps them save a few dollars and provides a meal.

So we are asking again this year, for Churches and individuals to collect these items for us, and get them to us so we can begin to give them out during the Christmas season, and all winter to folks who are in great need here in our city.

We also need to raise $2,200.00 to get us by for the winter. We have also exhausted our bible supply as well, and will need to get some more. We will do no fundraisers, we will simply make our needs known, and trust that God will meet it as He always has.

With all the focus on Katrina, and rightly so, sometimes needs in our own area get neglected, and right now, there are many in our city who are in need.

We are looking for great things from God this winter, we rejoice in what God did this summer on the streets.

Your Missionary to the Streets,
Dave

August 15

2005-08-15T08:15:00.000-07:00

This past week, a group from the Midway Baptist Church, Wingate, NC. were up all week. they were a great group, making a lot of contacts and sharing Christ with many folks. The most important thing they did was to plant a lot of seeds, showing people on the street the Love of Christ!

A few of the Midway Baptist Church Mission Team manning the booth.

For us, it is a blessing when we have a mission team helping us out for a week, it helps the folks on the street to see and hear from other christians that God Loves them, and the more they hear, and the more they can interact with other believers, the more powerful the witness of the Gospel.

We planted a lot of seed this summer, and in two weeks, we have another North Carolina Mission Team coming for a week. We will believe God for great things! We believe if you plant seeds, there will be a harvest! We believe that the Word of God does not return void, but will accomplish what God has intended!

Half Year Ministry Report

2005-07-27T08:33:00.000-07:00

Greetings in the Name of Jesus!

We have had a great half of year ministering to our streets. Below is a report of all we have done this past year. We could not have done this without your support! For 10 years, Burlington Street Ministries have been a consistent presence on Church Street and City Hall Park, bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who call the streets home.

Thank you to every one who has supported us for these ten years. We are very excited to be in the Lord’s Service to our streets.

For period covering January - June, 2005:

Hot meals served - 573

Lunches served in City hall Park - 656

Bags of groceries to needy families - 8,496

Bibles given out on the street - 1596

McDonalds Gift Certificates to homeless and other needy - 9,216

Professions of faith - 22

Baptisms - 7

People in treatment for alcohol/drugs - 7

We look forward to the next half of 2005, anticipating a great ministry to our streets.

Your Missionary to the Streets,

Rev. David Russell,
Director

News from the Streets!

2005-06-11T12:59:00.000-07:00

We just finished up a week of outreach with a mission team from Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, Mooresboro, North Carolina.

They came 11 strong, and spent the week making contacts with people who were hanging out on the street. Evidence of God using them in a very powerful way was seen on several levels. One of the highlights was that they were able to make contact with a few of the youth that are not only homeless, but have been very aloof, and one such young man has been homeless here in Burlington for two years, and we have never even seen him. Not only did they manage to meet and talk with this kid, but he actually came to our Friday Evening meal and Bible discussion! They were able to introduce us to him, and we hope for furthur opportunities to minister to this young man will be open to us.

They also helped out in our feeding program in City Hall Park, bringing sandwiches and cold soda to the homeless that hang out in the park.

The Mount Pleasant Baptist Church Mission Team is one of four we will have working with us this summer. Please be in prayer for us as we have a full summer of outreach to our streets. It is very exciting to see God work in a might way on our streets.

Your Missionary to the Streets,

Dave

June, 2005

2005-05-30T07:14:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the Streets!

Our first day of our summer outreach was rained out. We did manage to set up for two hours before the rains came. We did manage to give out a few bibles.

The week of June 5-11, we will have a mission team from North Carolina up with us all week. They have been preparing for quite some time for this trip, so pray for them as they minister with us that week. The Jazz Festival will be in full swing, so there will be more people than usual out on the street.

I just updated our web site, added a new photo gallery. Check out the new pictures of Church Street and some of the street scenes that is our mission field.

Pray for us as we begin our summer ministry, pray for souls most of all!

Your Missionary to the Streets,

Dave

Our tenth anniverary!

2005-04-05T15:03:00.000-07:00

This month, April, Burlington Street Ministries is 10 years old.

Burlington Street Ministries officially launched in 1995 after speaking at Maranatha Church about what was happening on our streets, and 5 volunteers joined me that day. We are 10 years old, with a name, but I personally sometimes with one or two people have been ministering on the streets downtown Burlington for 31 years!

After that Sunday in April of 1995, speaking at Maranatha Church and launching Burlington Street Ministries, we were engaged for 3 years with a battle over the streets by a large number of Satanist that use to hang out on Church Street. They ruled the streets until we set up every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday Nights. They got very angry with us, tried to burn down our table one night, countered all of our tracts, we remember well the tract they passed out for weeks titled "Satan's simple plan to go to Hell".

The March for Jesus, and the large amount of volunteers we had for the first 4-5 years, gained us victory, we chased the Satanist off the street, seen an incredible openness for a few years we have not seen in a very long time.Now, things have changed, we have very few volunteers, and our financial support has dropped to almost nothing. Churches who once had us in their budgets, now hardly know we even exist. I want to turn this around.

Our streets are troubled more than they were 10 years ago. The Satanist may be gone, but the drug dealers have moved in, the gangs have moved in and Christians are mostly gone now, rarely anyone outside our 5 volunteers ever come down any more.We are in danger of loosing the battle down here, but we pray, that we can turn this trend around.

We have 4 mission groups coming up from North Carolina Churches this year to help, and we are hoping for some local help also. We are getting back to spending more than just Friday nights out on the street.We are seeing encouraging signs, people coming to Christ, an openness that is beginning to happen. We are excited about the possibilities this year.

10 years is a milestone! 10 years of a consistent Gospel presence out on the streets! Help us celebrate what God has done for 10 years, also 31 years!

Pray for us as we prepare for our summer outreach open night on Friday, May 27th.
Pray for the 4 groups coming up from North Carolina this year.
Pray for our financial needs. We desperately need more monthly support! We need $1100.00 to do our summer outreach, for permits, bibles, insurance, and other materials.
Pray for me, as I deal with some ongoing health issues, as well as my wife Donna, as she is mostly home bound now and it is difficult not having her active in Ministry with me.
Most of all, pray for souls! For that is what we are all about!

Your Missionary to the Streets,

Dave

Post Christmas Ministry

2005-01-12T07:16:00.000-08:00

Greetings,

We are recovering from a very busy Christmas. We were able to provide 1,233 bags of groceries to needy families the week between Christmas and New Years, as well as feed 45 people a complete turkey dinner on December 29. Prior to Christmas we were able to provide over 700 books of McDonalds gift certificates to homeless, and some other very needy people.

We have had some amazing discussions with several folks regarding salvation and the finished work of Christ! For the first time in quite a few years, I had several one on one meetings with a lot of people to discuss the possibility of a relationship with Christ. Just this past week, I had the privelige of seeing 2 people come to Christ.

We gave out a record, 760 Bibles over December, most of them asked for.

Now we are in a quiet season, still continuing our Friday Night Bible discussions at the food court in the Town Center Mall downtown. Now our thoughts are to spring, when we can once again go outside and do what we do best.

We are still in need of McDonalds gift Certificates and AA Batteries.

I want to thank everyone who has supported us this year, with your help, we had a very good year, we believe we made a real difference in the lives of the people who call the streets home.

Pray for us the next 3 and a half months as we seek God for our summer Outreach for 2005. We are expecting some teams coming up from North Carolina to help us this year, and we are looking to see God do great things in 2005. Pray that God will meet all of our financial needs for our summer outreach. Pray that God will supply workers to go into His harvest!

Your Missionary to the Streets!

Dave

Christmas 2004

2004-12-10T21:21:00.000-08:00

Greetings,

So far this has been a hard Christmas season for my wife and I. Donna's mom, who is 93, became very sick a week ago, and not only fell, but could not walk, or move without help. She has been living on her own, and now, she cannot be alone. So we have been spending 2 overnights plus there every day, so she will not be alone.

This has put a damper on our Christmas. Just the other day, I was thinking that Christmas is happening all around me, the lights, shopping, caroling, etc, but because of us having to care for her mom, it seems like it is out of reach for me right now.

This is how the homeless and the very poor feel. They walk the decorated streets, hear the Christmas music, the Santa's, the toys, everything about the season, but just about everything is beyond them.

It is like they are peering into a window, and the people inside are having a lot of fun, and celebrating, but they are outside looking in, out of reach. I overheard a mother explaining to her 7 year old daughter that they cannot have a Christmas tree this year. Not only can they not afford one, they do not have a home to put one in since they are living out of their car.

The homeless we deal with get very depressed this time of the year. For many of them, they have family somewhere, but because of their homelessness, their addictions, their problems, they have lost touch. This time of the year, they think of so much they have lost.

We try to give them some hope and joy. We share with them that Jesus came into this world with nothing, not even a home to lay his head, that He understands them more than anyone else. We try to meet some physical needs, give them some good food, try to get them something that will cheer them up. McDonalds gift Certificates are nice, and we do need more, but I wonder how many of us would be happy to have Christmas dinner at McDonalds.

Tonight at our Bible discussion for the streets, we shared the scripture in Matthew 1:18 - 25. We talked about the unbelievable situation that Mary was in, her being a young girl, having to explain her pregnancy to her family, friends, and culture, and the scandal, controversy, and mystery surrounding the Birth of Jesus.We are so grateful that God allows us to minister on the streets, that we can be there for folks who have no place else to go. That we can share the "Jesus Story" to a group of people who can really identify with Jesus better than most of us.

Please pray for Elizabeth, Jason, Robert, Eddie, Henry, Sarka, Bev, Sandra, Billy, John S and John V, Morris and Doris. Pray that God will give them some comfort, and Joy this Christmas Season, that the story of Jesus' Birth will inspire them and give them strenth.Please consider a gift to us this Christmas, so we can help those who call the streets home.

Your Missionary to the Streets,

Dave

October, 2004

2004-10-16T15:42:00.000-07:00

Greetings,

After a great summer of outreach, we now move indoors for a season of discipleship. Each Friday night over the winter, we will have our bible discussion in the food court in the Town Center Mall on Church Street. This time of getting into God's Word and fellowshipping over a meal is open to anyone on the street who desires fellowship.

As winter approaches, we come face to face with many hurting people with great need. Every winter we give out McDonalds gift certificates to the homeless, as well as others in need. We provide groceries, and toys at Christmas to those who lack. We have in the past given out blankets, sleeping bags, warm hats and mittens, and other personal items to the homeless.

This year, we are in need again of Churches and individuals to send us McDonalds Gift Certificates, as well as AA Batteries, these two items are a tremendous blessings to the homeless. We do not need any clothing, or blankets this year, we have a lot of these already.

We also need to raise $2600.00 to help us get through the winter, this would be a tremendous blessing to us to not have to worry about finances this winter. We are a very low-budget ministry, operating at about $8000.00 a year. Our summer ministry from May - October takes most of the resources, but winter can be tough.

We are looking forward to this winter, the people we will be in contact with and the opportunity to demonstrate God's Love to those who may never have experienced His wonderful love. We are blessed with a wonderful staff of volunteers who give quite a lot of their time to this ministry and to people who live on the street or sub-standard living conditions. It is a hard ministry, victories are few sometimes, heartbreaks and frustration frequent, but richly rewarding when we see God break through a hard heart.

Your Missionary to the Streets,

Dave

News from the Streets - June 2004

2004-05-22T08:41:00.000-07:00

Greetings,

We call it "The invasion of the Gutter Punks". Every year, a group of youth who are a part of a larger nationwide movement called the gutter punks. They are between 14 and 25, they are anarchist, wear black outfits with white lettering with anarchistic messages. They are anti-social, prone to violence, keep to themselves, and have no dealings with any one else. They do not avail themselves of any social services, they eat out of garbage cans and dumpsters, and are filthy.

They come into Burlington every year for about 3 weeks then move on. they are an unreached group mostly. We do not know how to reach them, they won't even talk to us.

WCAX is reporting on the runaway youth problem here in Vermont. But what they have not reported about are the hundreds of runaway youth who are here from other states, who come into Burlington every summer and no one knows they are here. 40% of these kids come from Christian homes.

18 new drug dealers working the streets of Burlington this year. One of these dealers is a 14 year old girl who happens to be a runaway from Philadelphia. Hard drugs like heroin are more plentiful on the street than most are aware of. Lots of addicts some as young as 13. They need to get money somehow, they need a fix twice a day, so they sell their bodies.

Prostitution is growing in Burlington. They do not work the streets like most prostitutes in big cities, here in Burlington it is more hidden. As a professional photographer, who has a yellow page ad in the phone book, I get an average of 5 calls a month from young girls looking to pose nude for money to buy drugs. Since I don't take them up on their offer, you can bet other photographers do.

This coming Friday, we will be starting our summer outreach to these streets, to these people. We will kick off our outreach with a 24 hour prayer event downtown, asking God for souls this year, asking God to soften hearts, and to bring workers to a harvest that is begging to be picked.

Will you help us? Have an hour or two on Friday Nights? We could use prayer, we can use people who can build relationships with the people who hang out here, without judging them, but showing and telling them that God has not abandoned them, that He still loves them and wants them to come to Him.

Will you help us? An extra $25.00 will help us keep going, will help us keep up our supply of bibles and tracts.

We pray and beg God for revival to break out on the streets. We pray and beg for workers. Tonight, the Jehovah's Witnesses were out passing out there literature, the Mormons were out in force, as well as the Wiccans, the Satanist, the drug dealers and gang members who prey on the young and vulnerable.

Please remember us, 6 Soldiers of the Cross in spiritual battle on our streets for the souls of men. We could sure use some reinforcements!

Your Missionary to the Streets,

Dave