According to the Los Angeles Police Department, there are more than 450 active gangs in L.A. with at least 45,000 members. Many have been operating for over 50 years. From the beginning of 2010 to the end of 2012 there were 16,398 confirmed violent gang crimes. Author and Los Angeles high school teacher Anne P. Beatty has for many years taught teens that belonged to gangs. Here's what she said about the desperate drives underneath gang members:

In gangs, people without families, or without functional families, find a place where they belong and are taken care of .... The gang structure meets every basic need that a teenager has: food, clothing, protection, purpose, identity. For some members, to leave the gang requires a rejection of everything they consider to be themselves. Getting violence out of your life is an abstract concept, but getting rid of your homies? That's real.*

The sharpness of this reality should hit us hard if we claim Christianity. People crave community...and some will even go to incredible lengths to fulfill the need of experiencing the community that they desperately crave.

Would it be a stretch to say that, with God's work in our lives, that we could help people attain what they've been searching for?  When churches are nothing more than a club for clean people to hang out in, they do not fulfill their role as intended by the Creator.  Real Christians are real people who have a heart for others who are hurting.  How will you allow God to use your life to impact others today?

Have a great day and God bless!

Pastor Mike / The Open Word