“Amazing Grace” filled the French Quarter air as the poor and homeless met for worship under the oaks of Jackson Square in New Orleans. This scene has been repeated every Sunday since February when members of Edgewater Baptist Church began offering worship services and breakfast in the Quarter.
The gathering is called “Church in the Square.”
“Our purpose is to bring the gospel down into the city — to love on people and to minister to the homeless,” said Nick Taylor, an Edgewater member and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) student. “We bring food for their souls — spiritual food — and food for the bodies as well.”
On most Sundays, Taylor preaches a short sermon. When he is not available, Barry “Hoot” Busby, another Edgewater member and NOBTS student, fills in. The preaching is always biblical, always conveying a stirring message. After a short time of worship with singing and preaching, the group shares a warm meal with those who attend.
Even at 8:15 on a Sunday morning, the French Quarter is a challenging place to minister. While city workers are cleaning up trash from Saturday night’s partying, the artists and merchants are assembling displays around the edges of Jackson Square. Tourists are coming by this central point in the French Quarter.
On a recent Sunday, no one seemed excited to see 50 homeless people gathered in a prime location, except members of Edgewater.
Small distractions cannot deter their mission: Just as Taylor finished preaching, the caretaker of the park at Jackson Square asked the group to move from the steps leading to the park. The group accommodated the request, moving a few feet over to finish the service.
Edgewater’s ministry to the homeless and needy looks different now than it did at first, as the church continues to invest more time, money and effort in the Quarter.
“We started bringing food down on Mondays and Thursdays in November 2003,” Taylor said. As members began building relationships in the community, they wanted to do more.
The church slowly introduced devotionals, and the gospel was presented through short Bible readings and a prayer.
Spending time in the Quarter and ministering to people led to a Sunday morning service — Church in the Square, a ministry which looks a lot like the ministry Jesus did.
“The Bible says that Jesus was moved with compassion when he saw people wearied and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd,” said Jim Shaddix, pastor of Edgewater and associate professor of preaching at NOBTS.
“Church in the Square is categorically a Jesus kind of ministry. If Jesus were here bodily today, these are the kind of people He would hang out with,” he said.
Reaching people in the city of New Orleans is impossible for a church that is content to spend all its resources inwardly, Shaddix said.
“Our people are being forced to get out of their comfort zones. This ministry is helping us stay accountable for getting our hands dirty,” he said. “We’re having to learn to take risks in order to take the gospel to all people.”
To prepare for church in the Square, volunteers arrive at 6:45 a.m. to cook breakfast for 50 people. Taylor and the worship team leave for the French Quarter at 8 a.m. Another team packs meals in containers and delivers the food to Jackson Square. The hot meals arrive just as the service concludes.
After the meeting, Taylor and the other volunteers stay around to talk with those in attendance.
They also offer people in the Quarter the opportunity to attend Edgewater Baptist Church’s Sunday morning worship service. A number have responded, giving the church additional opportunities to minister.
Much of the ministry still happens on Monday and Thursday afternoons. On these days, church members have more time to develop relationships with those who attend. The church plans to make these afternoon sessions even more meaningful, Taylor said. “We are switching the emphasis of the Monday and Thursday meetings to more of a Bible study format,” he noted.
“That way we can really beginning to disciple some of the guys. We want to move toward discipleship.” (BP)
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