Volunteers serve food at a recent Simple Street gathering at Pence Park in Columbus.
One explanation for the new Simple Street Christian ministry outreach in Columbus is, well, simple, according to Pastor Brandon Hemming.
“I had a radical encounter with the Lord (a year ago),” Hemming said. “He freed me from the bondage of religion and changed me completely and transformed me.
“I began to love people that I didn’t love before, like the homeless. And I felt a sense of compassion and mercy for others.”
Hemming already had been a minister of some sort for years, from Illinois to Indiana. But he never fully realized before July 2022 that his heart needed to be reshaped for those whose suffering he did not readily comprehend.
“It was like I felt scales falling off my eyes,” he said.
What he sees today is a chance to help the struggling in Columbus — especially significant because he drives every Sunday from his home in Morgantown to be at Pence Street Park on Columbus’ east side with others to lead a discipleship class at 11 a.m., to help feed people a homemade meal at noon, and then to lead a worship service at about 12:30 p.m. Baptisms for new believers — 13 in all so far since the ministry’s June 11 beginning — are scheduled later in the river at Mill Race Park.
Volunteers also are providing free clothes and toiletries for those needing them.
“All of this is God,” Hemming said, adding that the name was taken from a friend’s similar ministry in Ohio. “I just really felt like the Lord wanted us to be doing this.”
Selecting the Pence Street Park location after a friend’s suggestion was fairly easy.
“I just knew that’s near where some of the homeless were,” Hemming said.
About 60 people weekly are now gathering, trusting that Hemming and his team are sincere.
“This is a huge truth,” Hemming said. “Generally speaking, the homeless and the addicted in most areas are over-evangelized or they’ll all evangelized-out. They see that people come and feed them and pray for them and then they leave. Consistency in ministering over time can be a key.”
He first felt a nudge for such an outreach in 2020 when he joined ministry friends to present a tent revival in Ninth Street Park in Columbus. Those who have come alongside him currently at Pence Street Park are people such as Carl Petro, who just celebrated three months free from meth. Petro has been 30 years free from alcohol addiction.
As a barber, he provides free haircuts to the homeless every Sunday. His wife, Toni Brown, prepares the home-cooked meals such as barbecued pork and macaroni salad for all on Sunday.
“We just want to spread a lot of love at the park,” Petro said.
Why Petro helps is, well, simple, once again.
“I’ve been homeless,” he said. “I’ve been in prison. My desire now is to give back and help others.”
People such as Hemming and Petro and Brown are indeed helping, including even helping people get jobs and find places to live. They all acknowledge that they’re brand new at this outreach and the local social service network, but are eager to learn.
“Ideally,” Hemming said. “We’d like to duplicate this in other parts of the city.”
How you can help
- Show up at the Pence Street Park shelter at 11 a.m. Sundays.
- Donate (the outreach is a 501c3 entity) at donorbox.org/simplestreet.
