Building bridges - under a bridge
Each Saturday night, 16 Cents Ministry and volunteers from area churches hold “Church under the Bridge,” where they serve a hot meal and conduct a worship service. The ministry, started by SWU graduate Kevin Carter and his wife Joy, helps to meet both the spiritual and physical needs of Greensboro’s homeless.
Kevin Carter and his team are building bridges in Greensboro, N.C.
Although they aren’t engineers, they are building bridges in a figurative sense as they reach out to the city’s homeless, meeting them quite literally where they are.
Carter and his wife Joy founded 16 Cents Ministry, so named for an experience they had at a local mission when Joy gave a poor woman a food package. The woman handed Joy 16 cents in return for the food she received. This simple act of gratitude also reminded Carter of the story of the widow’s mite in Mark 12: 41-44.
“The big thing we’re trying to accomplish is to meet the homeless people, to love them in an authentic way that Jesus would love them – not only in a physical way but in a spiritual way,” Carter said.
Sixteen Cents began traveling weekly to as many as 15 places where the homeless were camped, but now they focus on a weekly time of food and worship under a highway bridge. The ministry now has a core team of 12, with 20-25 volunteers coming from as many as 10 different churches.
A 2011 Religion graduate of Southern Wesleyan University, Carter credits his professors and classmates for helping him grow spiritually and see the needs around him with a new perspective.
“I felt I had a lot of time on my hands during my freshman year,” he said. “I tagged along with my friend Matt Beasley and my life changed while serving green beans.” Carter helped Beasley, also a SWU student, with Miracle Hill Mission in Greenville. Each time he went there, God opened his eyes and led him to love people outside the church walls.
“Jesus didn’t teach and preach a whole lot in tabernacle or church-type setting. He was always on the street doing something – where the people were,” he said. He appreciates the influences of religion professors that included Drs. Roger McKenzie, Bob Black and Chris Accornero for helping him think “outside the box” about ministry.
Whenever he came home from SWU for breaks, Carter and some like-minded friends hit the streets of his hometown.
“I started ministering to five people I knew and it grew slowly to where it’s at today,” he said. “An important part of the ministry is meeting people where they are. We want to befriend them as well as give them clothing, sleeping bags and hygiene items. We don’t give them money, but find a way to meet their need.”
“In the process, it’s God stepping in to give me the vision and enlightenment. We started developing a service under the bridge, then it turned into full-blown worship, music, prayer and a message,” he said. They also serve a hot meal while there. During the services, various individuals share testimonies of how Christ transformed their lives.
Carter estimates that they come in contact with approximately 180 homeless people each week. As of January, he said there have been 11 salvations and 31 recommitments to the Lord. He added that several homeless people experience the need to get off the street.
Volunteers from Faith Wesleyan Church in Greensboro provided the core of 16 Cents. Each Saturday, a different area church “adopts” a night to conduct a service for the homeless. While they already get outside support, Carter would like to see the ministry become an independent nonprofit organization encompassing more area churches and expand into different communities someday.
“We want to bring the churches of Greensboro together,” Carter said. “There are so many mom and pop ministries – we can bring them together and do this well on a weekly basis.”
“God is in control of everything we do and 16 Cents Ministry is around that. At some point we’ll look at researching housing of some kind or emergency shelters. There are 110 people admitted into emergency shelters,” he said.
“We’re trying to get a mentoring program right now where grounded Christian men take these guys under their wings, not condemn but disciple them as they grow in Christ,” he said.
Southern Wesleyan University is a Christ-centered, student-focused learning community devoted to transforming lives by challenging students to be dedicated scholars and servant-leaders who impact the world for Christ.