Agape Meal in Ft. Worth

Some members of our church made a visit to Broadway Baptist's weekly Agape Meal last night. The community meal is held every Thursday at the church (in the heart of a very needy area just south of downtown) and is for the homeless of Ft. Worth to enjoy. Volunteers arrive early and either host a table or work as servers. Preparations are made and a prayer is said with the volunteers before the doors open at 6pm(there was a long line outside the door today and I hear there are even more people toward the end of each month). Hot towels for refreshment and a quick wash of the hands were distributed (my kids were able to do this last night) to each person as they came in and were seated at the table-clothed tables with silverware and nametags for each setting. While people were coming in and throughout the meal, a pianist was playing her instrument softly and, later, a man sat at the piano and began playing Beethoven's 5th(not sure if he was a homeless guest or one of the workers--but very good all the same). Before the meal, one of the BBC staff led everyone in a litany and prayer(I was amazed at the amount of participation) and then the eating began. My son, daughter and I were servers while Jinny was a table host(she is the more loquacious one, which is such an understatement). Others from Highland--Clay and Jody Pickering, Ramses Pulido, were also hosting and serving. Everyone was appreciative of the great meal (Salisbury Steak, potatoes au grautin, salad, bread and some desserts, iced tea, coffee). I could tell that the guests were appreciative for a hot meal, served with AC(it was 100 today), class, personal attention and lots of love. I see that I'm rambling here, but I wanted to give my kudos to what Broadway is doing as a prime example of a missional body of Christ, demonstrating how a church is taking Christ and His love to its community in such a practical way. I was impressed with the director of the meal--Scott Davis--and his passion for what he does was evident to us all. I also noted that the church's Pastor--Dr. Brett Younger--was right in the midst of it all, hosting a table and being the kind of Pastor that sets a great example of servanthood for the rest of us who wear the cloth. Our church is new and seeking ways to be missional in our community (north of Ft. Worth in the burbs) as well as to lead people to connect to the life of the inner city. This was a great learning experience for us and I look forward to going back, especially with my neighbors and more from Highland.