I first stepped foot in Feet On The Street Ministries in May of 2014. The list of descriptors necessary to articulate my first impression, including “raw” and “loud” and “chaotic”, has since evolved to more accurately include words like “passionate”, “pure” and “uninhibited”.  The youth of the Feet On The Street family are continuously maturing, and so are my judgements, it seems, of this one-of-a-kind faith family. And now, a year or so after I first stepped into this ministry center, my ideas about this community have become laced with a much deeper awareness of what is really taking place at the core of the noise and chaos.

The young people who enter the FOTS building several times each week aren’t coming to warm a pew and act religious to impress God with their impressive pious consistency.  They come because their relationship with God is their life-line!  They come because there are few other places in their lives where they find truth, and love, and hope that endures through every season. Many come because they are courageous pioneers as first-generation believers and lovers of Jesus.  They come as much as possible, because they know they’ve personally met with the God who loves them, and they’ve become part of a rich community that loves worshipping and glorifying that God together, as loudly and as passionately as possible.

In a world that so powerfully tempts our youth with empty distractions and destructive addictions to selfish pleasures, these youth prefer denying themselves and pursuing the presence of God so that His love may flow through them.  They prefer pursuing God at Feet On The Street because within these walls, and within this community, they are free and encouraged to express their passion and flex their faith muscles, with as much chaotic youthful vigor as they can muster.

I’m humbled and blessed to be part of this passionate community of God-pursuers! Rarely a week goes by that I am not encouraged and convicted to go deeper with my relationship with God by the raw passion and freedom which defines this community.  As I work and worship alongside these youth to see the name of Jesus proclaimed and known and glorified, I’m in awe of God’s faithfulness and goodness as He leads and guides our very diverse and chaotic, but beautiful faith family into new seasons and opportunities.

One way His faithfulness is made apparent at Feet On The Street is by listening to our youth as they courageously step into leadership roles as teachers and preachers of the Word!  Check out 16 year old Stephanie Sanchez as she delivers a powerful message to Friday night’s UpZone gathering on the importance of Walking in Love.