According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, African Americans, Native Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders make up the vast majority of homeless people. Experts say African Americans are the largest group and the result of the longstanding denial of equal rights. Homeless people deal with an inequity in places to live, higher rents, and denial of leases. Poverty, housing, incarceration, and lack of health care add to homelessness. Yet the Bible is clear: God is grieved when the poor are neglected. We read in Isaiah chapter 11, that the day will come when our Lord will “give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited. The earth will shake at the force of his word, and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked. He will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment.” Now until our Lord returns to the earth, He wants us to share the Good News of the Gospel and work to reduce poverty and homelessness.
Dr. Melvin E. Banks, Sr. is the founder and chairman of UMI (Urban Ministries, Inc.). Under his direction, UMI has grown to be a leading publisher of Christian education resources for churches in the African American community. Read More
