In July of 2007, Kairos sent seven of its members with Pastor Mark to Cincinnati, Ohio for a week and a half of urban ministry. The first three days of the trip were spent at the School of Evangelism where we, along with thirty other students from AMI and local Ohio churches, learned how to do street evangelism in an urban setting. After the school ended, GCC and Kairos stayed in OTR to minister. We spent the rest of our trip evangelizing in the streets of OTR and Cincinnati University, working on the parsonage on Republic Street, and hosting events for the community like VBS and barbeques.
A predominantly poor and neglected African-American community, OTR was once a bustling neighborhood of the 19th century Midwest. However, the streets that had been lined by architecturally elegant houses are now abandoned and replaced by boarded-up buildings. Illicit drugs, poverty, and crime are realities here; every street corner seemingly has a dossier of its own.
Nonetheless, God is faithful to His people. He’s sent two traditional, conservative Koreans, a university physics professor and a medical doctor, to share the Gospel in their broken English. They are also moving from their comfortable suburban homes into OTR at an age when most are futilely working on their short game or catching up on Korean dramas and current gossip.
Over the Rhine Summer '07 on Vimeo.