Becoming KNOWN in San Francisco

Below is an example of an organization who wants to be KNOWN for intervening on behalf of the people in the inner city of San Francisco.

When I was a kid, I heard people say two things about San Francisco:

1. San Francisco is a graveyard for churches.
2. If God doesn’t destroy San Francisco, He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.

Let’s address these two statements but first let me put into context my perspective:

One year after my dad was saved, God challenged my dad to intervene on behalf of the people in the inner city of San Francisco. For 29 years, my family has been reaching out to the Tenderloin Community. The Tenderloin is less than one square mile and is home to 37,000 residents and the majority of the city’s 8,000 homeless.

The Tenderloin has the highest crime rate of any district in SF; three major crimes per hour.  Our community has two registered sex offenders per block, 66 liquor stores, 33 bars, 19 adult entertainment establishments, and less than 1% of the TL residents attend a Bible-believing church. Did I mention this is all within less than one square mile?

What the world sees as a problem district, God sees as a huge opportunity for ministry. After all, didn’t the Holy Spirit anoint Jesus for the “poor, blind, oppressed, and prisoners?” Well, they are here in the Tenderloin!

What started as a simple act of one man stepping out in faith to intervene has now grown into a ministry called San Francisco City Impact. We have five major departments with 14 ministries taking place everyday.

1. The Rescue Mission includes a community dining room, a food bank, a thrift store, and health, dental and social services centers.
2. The City Academy is a private Christian elementary school that educates the Tenderloin’s children in an effort to break the cycle of poverty and despair.
3. Adopt a Building is our initiative to adopt the 586 apartment buildings in the Tenderloin. Adoption means we have three groups of people mobilized in the building: prayer teams, grace teams (meeting tangible needs), and discipleship teams.
4. The Volunteer Center is where we equip and mobilize over 8,000 volunteers each year through mission trips and annual community outreaches.
5. The Community Church is where the community gathers to worship.

Having been entrenched in this work for many years of my life, I’ve been able to wrestle with the two strong statements spoken over my city.

Statement 1: Though SF could have been rightfully called a graveyard for churches, times are changing. Many Christians are feeling the call to plant themselves in SF. One of my friends planted a church two years ago in SF and now has 1,300 people attending his church. That is unheard of. There is a developing critical mass of HEALTHY believers; believers that aren’t known for protesting but for purity, passion and serving the poor.

Statement 2: I realized that the actual sins of Sodom were, according to Ezekiel 16:49, “Pride, laziness, gluttony, and indifference to the poor.” Then something dawned on me - the people who spoke judgment only picked on one sin of SF, and if we are not careful, pride, laziness, gluttony, and indifference to the poor might indict us as well!

It is now we realize SF City Impact’s niche and grace-zone. We are not just called to reach the Tenderloin District with the Gospel by ourselves but equip and mobilize believers to serve and do something tangible with their faith. One way to avoid a gluttonous and lazy faith is to exercise that faith and put it into motion.

What better place than right here where the need is great and the harvest is ripe.

What do YOU want KNOWN for? Tell us in the comments below.