Long Beach, CA

Long Beach, California is definitely one of the most eclectic places on the planet. There are so many people here from so many different parts of the world. We are a group of about 70 people packed into a tiny beach-side hotel trying to live Jesus in the midst of a city caught in a strange tension of unrest & beauty. There are many good things going on in this city by way of homeless ministry, inner-city kids ministry, upper-middle class ministry, and lower class ministry. It is very easy to shelter ourselves from the reality of the things that I described, to distance ourselves by not personalizing it, and therein lies the not so good things going on in this city. Due to the economic downfall of the California housing market, more people here are homeless than ever. The largest percent of these homeless people being women and children. There are children forced to do drugs at an early age, caught in a wave of sexual exploitation and violation, and many other unspeakable things.  This is a city very broken before God and definitely in need of Him to show up.  Long Beach also has one of the largest homosexual populations in the nation.  Since our team has arrived here there has been a gay pride parade down the main boulevard and a protest against the supreme courts decision to continue to ban gay marriages.  Our closest free wi-fi hotspot is at a gay and lesbian coffee shop which we frequent (They have excellent Italian Sodas).  There are many people here from all parts of Asia, Europe, and even Africa.  The majority of the population however is definitely hispanic and this makes for some of the best mexican food a person could ask for.  Due to this great diversity of course the churches here in Long Beach are very different from most things experienced from my Southeastern United States Worldview.  There are churches whose doors are wide open to the homeless 24/7.  There are pastors who run after school day-care until the childrens parents pick them up which sometimes means 12 or 1 am.  There are people embodying Jesus Christ in ways that are literally turning this city upside down and bringing the people of Long Beach together.  This summer our hope is to be a part of what God is doing in the city, that we will be sensitive to the Spirits leading, and that all people regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation,  or socio-economic status would know that they are loved so very deeply and genuinely and personally.