Queens Reformed Church (QRC) is a small congregation in Queens, New York. After some intentional presence in the community, Rev. Mornier Rich, who pastors the church, extended some invitations to worship to neighbors who are experiencing homelessness and day-to-day insecurities. Here’s the story, in Mornier’s words, about how this connection started and how it’s having a positive impact on everyone.
I will never forget this. There was a gentleman sitting on the street. I’ve sat with people who are on the streets before, to connect and see what they see. They’re an invisible community. So I sat with him. He had seen my clerical collar before. He said to me, “If you keep doing what you’re doing, making your presence known in the community, you’ll gain trust and listen to our stories.” After about 20 minutes, I got up and noticed others who appeared to be homeless who were staring. They nodded at me, maybe with approval or recognizing that what I was doing was different.
I haven’t seen that gentleman since. But much has happened.
First steps: being in the community
We have to go out. We can’t just wait for people to come into the church. For us at Queens Reformed Church (QRC), it’s not about growing the church on Sunday morning, but it is more about letting people know that Christ loves them. We aren’t trying to push anything on them; we just want them to know they’re loved as-is.
So I prayed to Jesus about doing evangelism in a less threatening approach. This marginalized community is very close-knit. And they are careful about who they let into their circle. People usually don’t want to hear about needing Jesus when they are dealing with homelessness, battling addictions, or facing day-to-day insecurities such as inadequate food, clothing, and healthcare—things most of us can’t even fathom.
The answer to my prayer came: be in the community. So, I made my way over to the park to sit and observe; occasionally I engaged in a conversation or two. Or I just walked around the community greeting people. I’m comfortable doing this. And I will at times wear my clerical collar because it often sparks conversations.
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By going out of the church, listening to the struggles of folks from the community, and learning their culture, they’re starting to trust me. I’m not accepted by everyone, and that’s okay. Not everyone is ready to deal with church. I have to keep in mind that I do not know their stories and every story is not the same.
Now, having been at this for over a year, I go to the park and people greet me as “pastor,” and some will identify me as their pastor.
What happened next
One Sunday in March, a few people from the park joined us for worship. And something beautiful happened.
I had the sermon prepared, using a manuscript as I was taught in seminary. I started out with this question: “Have you ever experienced a community that is openly loving and forgiving?” And one of them responded, “No, never in my whole life.” I was surprised because it was a question for reflection and not to be answered out loud.
Then, I believe the Holy Spirit said, “Close your notes and talk to them.” So I did. I talked to them about being a community, and that we are imperfect people serving a perfect God. I explained to them what grace looks like and that we are an imperfect community learning the power of forgiveness. That’s the key to growth in a community. I explained this to them and shared the love that Christ has for them.
That was the first time I preached without notes. I spoke from my heart about where I believe God is leading us as a congregation. To my surprise, I had everyone’s attention. I did not see one person dozing. And three people from the park gave their lives to Christ.
I believe this is the way we’re building our congregation: one person at a time, as they are.
Currently, there are about seven people from the park who regularly attend worship service at QRC. They’re a little tattered, a little torn. If some arrive a little intoxicated, we still welcome them because they have told us that they feel safe in QRC, even if it is just for a few hours a week. You see, there is no judgment, and I would rather have them here asleep than in the park drinking. I think they know we genuinely care about them. Sometimes they’re praising God with us and sometimes they’re out cold. We just accept them as-is.
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Change through the community kitchen
QRC has a community kitchen that is open on Wednesdays, and we expanded it to Saturdays. We use the community kitchen as an evangelism tool to “Touch, Tell, and Teach.” This is our mission statement: to touch lives by listening and loving people as-is, to tell people about God’s amazing grace through Jesus Christ, and to teach people about God’s Word and discipleship. God has guided us in creating a safe space in which we want to get to know people and hear their stories. Anyone can come as-is. We have a place for them to sit, eat, and just be, and we sit with them and connect. They’re part of the community. After a while, we begin to see a change in folks, both us and them.
For example, “Mr. W” was coming to QRC on Wednesdays and Saturdays to get meals. He was not much of a talker and would only say hello. We continued to greet and welcome him each time he came. Then Mr. W. started telling others about QRC. He referred to QRC as his church. He didn’t come on Sundays right away, but he would still invite people to “his” church for meals. One day, Mr. W saw me taking out trash from the church. He offered to do it because he believed it was not right for me to take out the trash. He continued taking out the trash, and we were able to give him a little stipend every two weeks for helping us. He was able to buy his first winter coat and was so proud that he could take care of himself.
Mr. W now comes to church every Sunday, in addition to volunteering at the community kitchen every Wednesday and Saturday. I can’t say enough about how his life has changed. Mr. W goes over to the park and invites people to church. He has never had a family and tells us that we are his family. His life has changed, and he loves the Lord. Mr. W told us that he’s never experienced God through people like at QRC. For him, there’s faith and trust that God is helping him, and he is excited to share this with others.
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There’s also a 25-year-old woman who came to me recently. She is homeless and asked me if I could help her find a job. A few weeks ago after the worship service, this young lady told me that she got a job. She said if it wasn’t for our prayers and help, it wouldn’t have happened. Now she’s looking for an apartment. And she now believes God is going to work it out for her.
There was another woman who recently came to the community kitchen. She was angry because she felt God wasn’t working on her behalf. I told her: “Right before a breakthrough is about to happen, things will get real challenging and hard. You’ll feel like you are being squeezed. But the blessing is coming.” She recently told me she signed a lease for an apartment.
Sometimes things work out for people, and sometimes things do not. Sometimes I wish we can do more and sometimes we cannot. We have to learn that some days, people embrace our help, and some days, people are angry and frustrated at their situation and do not want our help.
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We touch, tell, and teach people through the community kitchen. We make ourselves available for the needs of the community whenever possible. This ministry is tough and messy at times; but isn’t that what ministry is all about? Some people have found a home in the community at QRC, and some are still seeking. But they know they are always welcome.
Life together
QRC is a small congregation, but we’re growing. We are seeing more marginalized people coming through our doors. Maybe that’s where our ministry is currently supposed to be. We are each called to be disciples—vessels to bring Jesus’s message to others.
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Often, one person from the park will bring another to church, then that one will bring two more, and so forth. I tell them that’s what discipleship is like: wanting to let people know about something good and how that goodness has changed your life. What they’re doing is what we should be doing as Christians. It’s amazing. We should be discipling and telling people about the gospel: “Look what Jesus has done for me.”
Being and growing in community has its ups and downs. We all have challenges in our lives. Most people who come through the doors of the community kitchen wear their problems on their sleeves. These folks, created in the image of God, are not invisible. They have problems, but we all do. They are teaching me a lot about community and things that cannot be taught in seminary.
I love the community we’re becoming because it’s authentic; it’s real. The beauty of it is that God is leading and creating a community of diversity.
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We’re experimenting with different things to see what works. We try to keep marginalized people in mind as we plan next steps so that they will see our efforts to include them. I try to pick music that has repetitive lyrics so that folks who cannot read can still sing with us.
I also do a pastor’s breakfast every second Sunday before the morning worship service. This is a time when we can merge Scripture with our lives. It’s another way to reach out to the community.
QRC is looking for ways of being a resource as well as offering resourceful information. Telling people about Christ when they are hungry or experiencing housing, food, and clothing insecurities is challenging. We are a safe place where people can come and find refuge, clothing, and food during the week for a couple of hours. We have a gym in the church’s basement that has showers, and we are looking for funding to restore the church building in order to better serve the community.
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The congregation is supportive in trusting God for direction. I believe we are where God wants us to be in this particular setting at this particular moment.
Best practices for basic evangelism
I graduated from seminary in 2021. If someone would have told me this is what I would be doing in 2024, I would not have believed them. I love evangelism, but I did not know that God would call me to be up close and personal in people’s lives as a pastor. And now that I am pastoring, my thought is, “How can I not be involved?” I gravitate towards people who may be struggling. They have my heart. When your heart is opened, you begin to experience things you have not before. We need to be open to how God works.
The goal of evangelism is not about numbers but about demonstrating God’s love and grace. The QRC community kitchen is the place and space where Christ’s love is demonstrated.
In order to establish relationships with people in the community, we go outside of the church to let them know that they matter. How we achieve that goal is by listening to them as they share their stories. It is not our position to judge them or try and tell them what they did is right or wrong. Our duty is to listen and learn from them because they know what’s good in their lives and what they’re struggling with.
We accept people as they are and where they are, learning from their stories and developing a connection with them. People don’t always want to put forth that kind of effort because that is not an easy or comfortable thing to do.
While safety is important, we don’t have people fill out forms about their backgrounds. We’re not trying to size people up and decide who should be let in or not. Everyone has made mistakes in their life; when we understand that they are like us and we are like them, then we can work on building a trusting relationship. Trust is important, but it takes time, effort, understanding, and commitment cultivated by love and forgiveness. It takes a lot of prayer and effort, but evangelism is for everyone. We all should have a part in welcoming, grooming, and molding people with the help of Christ because we are incapable of doing it properly on our own. This is the ministry and mission of the Queens Reformed Church.
Photo courtesy of Queens Reformed Church. Used with permission.
Rev. Mornier Rich
Rev. Mornier Rich is pastor of Queens Reformed Church in New York. She also serves as the coordinator for retiree chaplains and assistance programs through the Reformed Church in America’s Board of Benefits Services.