Today, John Maden from Oh You Hero writes about the faith that it took to start their brand new ministry, whose goal is to help Christians connect talents and skills with those who need them. So cool! Be sure to check out their website at www.ohyouhero.com !
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As the leaves take on brilliant hues and thoughts turn to keeping warm and the comfortable smell of smoke rising from fireplaces down quiet side-streets, I’m reminded of the day I awoke to the realization that God works in the world.
It was a crisp fall day in 2010, and a graduate school classmate’s breath came heavy on the cold air as he told me about his struggle: finding work, making ends meet, not giving into despair. I thought to myself then, and it informs all I do now, “Life is full of struggle, but it doesn’t have to be so full of despair.”
Patrick, my classmate, quotes the Bible as well as Tim Robbins in Shawshank Redemption. His faith informs all that he does. That day, it must have been Job who loomed large in his mind’s eye. Patrick had prayed on it, but work didn’t seem to come. He was ready to give up. “Why”, he said, “Why is there no place for a guy like me—who works hard, with many different skills—to find work?”
God works in the world. Our lives haven’t been the same since that day. I quit my job and recruited a good friend, and he quit his job, and the three of us spent the next two years answering Patrick’s question. Why is it so hard to hire good, skilled people? Now, it isn’t.
We hope that today, with the launch of OhYouHero, the Patricks of the world are no longer in doubt as to how to, say, advertise their carpentry, or accounting, or auto-detailing, or any talents—to their friends who might be hiring, to their former classmates, and to their Church.
OhYouHero (www.ohyouhero.com) makes it possible not only to easily advertise and hire for skills and services in the Christian community, it makes it simple to share your time, so
those who are blessed can volunteer to work with those less fortunate. We’ve tried to build a virtual meeting place, so that the spirit of giving that the world knows of Christian charity can work through our business relationships, too.
For us, unity is non-denominational. With OhYouHero, we’ve erected a nondenominational meeting place to bring together Boston-area Christians to share their skills and work opportunities, but perhaps more important, over the next two months we will be partnering with local charities to identify volunteers.
By listing “volunteer” as a skill on OhYouHero, you say to Boston “Here I am; call on me when you need me”, and the next time a clothing drive runs low on people to sort shoes from coats, organizers can quickly identify Christians who stand ready to glorify Him with their service. In this way, we hope to strengthen the ties that unite the Kingdom at large in New England and to involve lapsed Christians in the Church by charitable work.
And so, these days, autumn is an auspicious season for me. When the temperatures dip, I remember the day I realized what it meant, truly, to be known by good works—never before, not even in the Peace Corps, had sadness and struggle been laid so bare before me as when Patrick laid bare his pain.
This year, this generous spirit manifest in meeting Kelly Steinhaus at the United Night of Worship. When my friend and OhYouHero co-founder, Asim Ghaffar, and I met her for coffee, Kelly told us about her ministry, we prayed together, and we felt the faith that had ignited the journey we began with Patrick many months prior.
Faith began this journey. Sharing Patrick’s courage to build something life-changing taught me that, in the face of despair, good works and faith can best any challenge, and I’m blessed to share the same opportunity with UniteBoston.