Rich Simms is living out LOUD for Jesus with REACH Ministry and Hope is Alive church in Pioneer Square in Seattle.
Catch hope & encouragement with Erica on weekday mornings from 5:00 AM – 10:00 AM, and Sundays from 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
TRANSCRIPTION:
Erica:
He’s a hope raiser and that’s why we love it when he stops by Rich from Reach Ministry. Welcome back to SPIRIT 105.3. How are you?
Rich Simms:
I’m doing great, Erica. How are you? I hope you’re staying warm.
Erica:
I am. I hope you are. And listen, I got to tell you, Saturday morning, I didn’t want to get out from under the covers because it was so cold, and I made a cup of coffee and I ran back to bed. And so I’m scrolling through Facebook and I see you putting out the call, rounding up the volunteers, getting everybody ready to serve. Rich, tell me why you went out into the freezing temps on Saturday morning.
Rich Simms:
Well, our brothers and sisters that are going through transition, we don’t look at ’em as they’re homeless or addicted or with mental health. We look at ’em as they’re family, and family don’t give up on each other no matter what. And so we’ve been going out there almost seven years in April 27th, and we’re not going to let ’em down, rain, sleet, or snow. We’re going to continue to go out and pour love and hope and the joy of God to plant that seed in them and watch it gain root and produce fruit in their lives. It’s just a blessing to be a blessing.
Erica:
I saw you guys were given out some wonderful things. I mean the love of Jesus being the intangible, but what were some of those tangibles?
Rich Simms:
Well, we served from hot meals to hand warmers to cups and socks to just practical needs, all across the board. All the volunteers just kind of brought their own things. We have our staple stuff that we bring in our van, but everyone just collected all their clothes and all their hoodies and all their blankets and just desended it down onto Seattle and just really shook hands and made friends and helped people out as much as we could with what we had.
Erica:
I’m just so proud of you and hugging all of you today because it just makes such a difference. I was at Trader Joe’s the other day and I saw this bumper sticker and it said, “Jesus ain’t real” and it broke my heart. And right there I stopped and I prayed for the guy in this van and it makes me think of you Rich, because you remind people what you and your team do every week on the streets of Seattle, that Jesus is real. You are showing people his love and it just inspires me and means so much to me.
Rich Simms:
Yeah, it’s just amazing. When we see people down there, we know that their test is going to be a testimony, and their mess is going to be a message. We don’t look at people that are broken. We look at gold nuggets that are about to be polished and change the world. Once they get an encounter with Jesus, they will never remain the same. So, we’re just excited to reach people where they are, and we know that our brothers and sisters are going to get on their feet, and one of ’em are going to change the life of thousands of people. It’s just a matter of time.
Erica:
Praise God. Rich, for somebody who’s never volunteered, who’s never been on the streets of Seattle, handing out a cup of cocoa or a beautiful donut like the ones you all served on Saturday, they just looked delicious. What would you say to somebody who’s never volunteered?
Rich Simms:
Well, I would say that we overcomplicate it sometimes or there’s a lot of anxiety or anxiousness to go out there, but it’s very easy just to hand out a practical need. And what we always teach our volunteers is just say, thank you for coming. How can I pray for you today? For housing, for health, for security, or for warmth? And they say yes, and then we just lead in a prayer and build a relationship and we don’t obligate anyone or force anyone to do anything. It’s just a free invitation. But on our website at Reach Ministry, it talks about our volunteer times. Anyone’s welcome to come, friends, families, children. It’s a very easy way to give out a pair of socks or make a pair of coffee, but we see people end up serving in the table at first and then where they’re at the other side of the table just actually engaging in building friendships.
Erica:
Wow, Rich from Reach Ministry, keep on putting the love of Jesus on full display in Seattle. God bless you and your team.
Rich Simms:
Thank you so much, Erica.
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