Intentionally living in a poor neighborhood for ministry might appear spiritually upright, but it can easily give root to gentrification and a savior mentality. In the third episode on intentional living, conversation centers on how to love your neighbors and be witnesses, without the goal of fixing a neighborhood to fit your preferences. How the wrong approach, the wrong hope, brings about despair, but the revitalization all are in need of, is only through the transforming grace of Jesus Christ. 

Darkness is potent in many neighborhoods of Baltimore, where violence, poverty, addiction, and corruption, is an everyday reality that can weigh heavily on the soul. 

In this second episode on the theme of intentional living, Joel, Eric, and Stephanie, share some of the reasons why they have come, committed to, and continued to counter darkness in a Christ-like manner. In having hearts grieved by sin, there is opportunity to trust that God is the only one who ultimately saves and redeems. There is a privilege in praying for the souls of those forgotten by others, in being reminded that we are all in need of the same savior. Also discussed is how being on mission together, fosters humility, combats individualism, and forces us to acknowledge that God is for radical grace, not personal ease. 

“Intentional” may be a buzzword of contemporary Christianity, but what does it tangibly look like for the church to be living with intention? 

Joel Kurz, Eric Hill, and Stephanie Greer discuss the benefits and difficulties of intentionally living in the same neighborhood they serve. In a city like Baltimore, where many might see only a ministry “project,” they have seen a home and how a constant presence, and investment, extends the scope of evangelism. 

In this episode, we hear what shaped their decision to be planted in the uncertainty of violence, and how intentional community helps the church fulfill the commands of Jesus, to love, encourage, and bear the burdens of one another. 

Welcome to The Stoop Sessions. These weekly sessions present candid conversations about life and ministry from the stoop in Baltimore, MD. Join Stephanie, Joel, and Eric and catch a glimpse of their ups and downs, challenges and celebrations, discouragement and encouragements. All ministry is hard. Inner city work has its unique challenges. That's what this podcast is all about. Listen in to this three minute intro, as Joel and Stephanie talk about The Stoop Sessions.