Montgomery’s Horn finds ministry in running errands

For nearly a year, Joe Horn and his wife, Betty, prayed for God to show him a way to serve others and lead unbelievers to Christ. When God answered, Horn began a unique ministry in downtown Montgomery that has grown tremendously since it began almost seven years ago.
   
A deacon at First Baptist Church, Montgomery, he discovered a discontinued Bible study in Jefferson Davis Apartments, a subsidized-housing community located only five miles from his home in the Dalraida area. He began teaching the class every Thursday evening and soon learned that many attendees were impoverished or disabled and had no transportation.
   
Since there are no grocery stores downtown, residents depend on a bus service to go shopping, a task that usually takes six to eight hours to complete. So two years after starting the Bible study, Horn expanded his involvement in the area to include a free transportation ministry for apartment residents.
   
“I just felt like it was something I could do,” he said. “God has blessed me so much that the least I can do, as a Christian, is help someone else that needs help.”
   
At least three times a week, Horn picks up an individual or family from the apartments in his personal car or the church van after working his regular eight-to-five job. He then drops them off at the grocery store and goes home to have dinner. When they complete their shopping, he picks them up from the store, loads the groceries, drives them back to their apartment and carries the groceries to their rooms.
   
“I started out doing it with the church vans on Saturdays with three to four people,” he said. “Then the word spread and I started doing it for anybody that wanted to go to the grocery store. Now I do it for about 12 different families.”
   
Horn has even taken people to the emergency room or to the drugstore in the middle of the night. “It’s just something that I really enjoy doing and they are very appreciative,” he noted. “Most of them have some type of handicap, so it is very difficult for them to manage.”
   
Although the ministry is very time-consuming, Horn credits his wife for being understanding and supportive. “She is very sweet and very kind, and I don’t know what I would do without her,” he said.
   
Once a month, the couple also provides a catered meal for Jefferson Davis residents, which Horn sees as an opportunity to witness to people who do not attend the Bible class. He described the work as  hard at times but rewarding. “Being associated with people at Jeff Davis and doing the Bible study has changed my life,” he said. “If I didn’t have it, I don’t know what I would do. I can’t explain the blessing that God gives me from doing it.
   
“I have so much peace in my life that I never had before. There is no question in my mind this is what He wants me to do.” As a result of his efforts, others have noticed the need and started helping the residents run errands during the day.
   
Horn encourages every Christian to find some way to help others. “Get involved more with people so that you can witness, so people might accept Jesus Christ as their Savior,” he said.