100 Days of HopeSample

Jesus Comes To Tillicum

Nestled in the heart of one of the most impoverished communities in the state of Washington was a tavern: The Wander In Tavern. This mainstay of the broken community provided fuel for the smoldering embers of a marginalized and estranged youth environment—that was until the powerful and transformational message of Jesus collided with the abandoned skeleton of exploitation and abuse.

The Word became flesh, and it became brick and mortar, and it became freshly painted walls, and it became expansive windows, and it became volunteers and staff of the local Youth for Christ chapter. Yes, vision and passion for God’s redemptive and liberating message found a home where destruction and captivity had reigned. Jesus came to the community of Tillicum…and now roughly 80 percent of the teenagers in the area have walked through the door. A door of hope. A door of grace.

The words of Jeremiah leap off the page as the call of God propels us to believe that restoration and redemption is possible, even against the backdrop of a dark and damage-filled history.

There is no life too lost, no community too broken for the message of Christ.

Only our Father. Only the King. Only through Jesus. Tillicum.

Prayer: Father, thank you that there is no brokenness you cannot heal, no darkness you cannot light. Help us to glimpse your presence and shine your light in places of brokenness.