Teens Opposing Poverty

10/15/2026

10/13/2026

Inappropriate
by Steve Jennings
John’s dark, pain-filled eyes pierced my heart. He stood on Lafayette Square facing the White House. His back was to St. John’s Episcopal Church, a quaint but elegant yellow building.

He asked the usual questions homeless people ask us when we start conversations with them. Where are you from? How long does it take you to get here? How often do you come down?

Then he shared his battle with depression and his other afflictions. I asked him if he ever turned to the church. This is his story:

“I did turn to a church once. It was a Sunday morning. My depression was real bad. I needed to talk to somebody. So I decided go into a church, stay through the service and talk to the pastor after it was over. I was dressed pretty much like you see me now, army jacket, jeans. They weren’t even all that dirty. I had just washed them a couple of days before.”

“Just after I walked in the door these men in suits came up to me and said, ‘We’re sorry, but you’ll have to leave. You’re not dressed appropriately for this service.’ I couldn’t believe my ears. I never felt so hurt in my life. All I wanted was to go to church and talk to the pastor. To get a little comfort, y’know. So, I left. Then I did this.”

John thrust his arms out of the sleeves of his fatigue jacket and showed me the scars from where he slit his wrists. None of my lame words could console his disappointment in the church. I gave him the name and address of a church where I knew he would be welcome and asked him to try again, but I don’t know if he ever did.

I never saw John again.

That church let John down. That church let Jesus down. How often do we as the church let down those who most need our help, who desperately need to see Jesus in us, who are hungry to receive God’s unconditional love? From similar stories I’ve heard, it’s more often than I care to think about.

John’s story should fuel the fires of compassion that burn in all of us who share the desire to reach out to the last, the least, the lost, the lonely, and the left out.

Nobody is “inappropriate” for the love of Jesus.

10/06/2026

Adventure!
by Steve Jennings
I’m getting long in the tooth.

Every year the age gap between me and the youth we serve grows. I realized this even more at Impact the Valley this year. I’m staring down the barrel at my 70th birthday in a few months. Most of the youth were middle schoolers.

As I gave the message at worship each evening, I looked out at their young faces. Some nights most of them paid attention. On other nights, their fatigue from working in the 100+ degree heat all day took their minds elsewhere. I knew it would and kept the messages as short and pithy as I possibly could while still expounding on our theme of “We’re on a Mission from God.” If you remember “The Blues Brothers” movie, you know where that came from.

It’s a little tougher to put a message together as the age gap widens. The connection feels strained to me. I don’t know most of the slang they use, and I look like their grandpa. Fortunately, my sense of humor never advanced beyond my 12-year-old self. So at least I had that going for me. But this year, I shared an aspect of the Christian life they may not have heard before.

Adventure.

A mission trip, even with its hardships and challenges, can be a great adventure. So can our walks with God throughout our Christian lives. In my 43 years of following Jesus, I’ve had the opportunity to see and experience things I could have never dreamed of without Him. It’s been a life with plenty of ups and downs, but also a life of awe, wonder, and miracles when I have seen the hand of God at work, especially through TOP’s ministries.

It’s my prayer that TOP has had the opportunity to instill that sense of wonder and adventure of the Christian life into the hearts and minds of at least some of the thousands of young people we have worked with over the last 38+ years. By introducing them to the joy of serving and the blessings of compassion, I hope they have found a sense of adventure from being on a mission from God.

10/01/2026

09/29/2026

Dignity and Respect
by Steve Jennings
I hadn’t been to Washington, DC for our Street Ministry with homeless people for a while. It’s not necessary because William Daniels, our DC director, does an outstanding job of leading groups. But on March 8th, I took Dave Thompson, our Program Director, on his first trip to see the Street Ministry in action.

We got off the subway and walked to McPherson Square, just two blocks from the White House. William got off the bus a few minutes after we arrived. While we waited for the youth group, William gave Dave a preview of what to expect.

Before the youth group arrived, four DC police cars and two Secret Service cars pulled up. None of the officers seemed to be in a hurry as they walked over to a man who was sitting on a bench and arrested him. As they put on the hand cuffs, he said, “I didn’t do nuthin’ man. All I did was shake his hand!” William assured us it was nothing to worry about. I noticed most of the people in the park went on about their business. It seemed like an everyday occurrence to them. Sadly, that might be true.

The bus from Fairlington Methodist Church pulled up to the corner of the park as the police officers were wrapping up. After William assured everybody that everything was OK, a group of teens ranging from middle school to high school swarmed out of the van with hands full of food and drinks. The adults didn’t have to do much. This youth group showed their experience and functioned like a well-oiled machine.

As they were getting everything ready, the people in the park lined up and patiently waited. Dave was impressed by the efficiency of the youth group and by the orderly and respectful way the people in the park responded to the youth.

The teens were ready to serve just 5 minutes after they stepped out of the bus. As the people in the park started to go through the line, interactions between them and the youth were brief and mostly dealt with making sure people got what they needed. But what really impressed me was the kindness, dignity, and respect they showed the people they served. They made eye contact They smiled. And they conveyed to the people in the park that they were happy to be there serving. In return, the denizens of the park thanked and complimented their servers.

I can guarantee that some of the people at McPherson Square had not eaten anything yet that day, and they relished the chili, hot chocolate, and snacks. But I can also guarantee that everyone who was served wasn’t treated as an object of pity. Economic class or race meant nothing. They were just people who needed help, a kind word, and a hearty dose of respect and dignity. Without a doubt they got all those things in abundance.

09/22/2026

In the Beginning
by Steve Jennings
Everything he had was in a shopping cart.

I watched as the old man shuffled across the plaza at the Kennedy Center to a place where he could sit in the sun on a cool September day in 1987. His unbuttoned coat exposed his bib overalls.

He watched me as I crossed the plaza and introduced myself. His name was Ross. I told him about the plans our youth group had to begin a ministry with homeless people in DC. He listened intently. For the next 10 minutes we had a delightful conversation filled with good information about where people camped and what areas to avoid. He also shared a little about his life. Ross was the first homeless person I ever talked to.

Things were going well, and I was enjoying our back and forth when Ross reached in his pocket, pulled out a bottle of cough syrup, and took a swig of it.

“Do you have a cold?” I asked.

“It’s how I get my alcohol,” he answered matter-of-factly.

Right after he said that, his expression changed. One eye narrowed into a squint and it seemed like he was looking through me and not at me. He then launched into a long narrative about how he was the “father of the Indian nations” and how his “blood ran through all the steam tunnels and gave life to all the federal workers.” At the time, many federal buildings were heated by steam. Tunnels under the streets carried the steam to the buildings. I didn’t know what to say.

After a few minutes of silent prayer about the situation, I decided to go along with his delusions so I asked him how long his blood had been flowing through the steam tunnels. He launched into a detailed account about how that strange phenomenon came about. As soon as he finished his explanation, he stood up, told me how much he enjoyed our conversation and walked away.

For the next several years, we saw Ross often. When we noticed his overalls were wearing out, we got him a new pair. Every time I saw him was like the first time, ending with his delusions.

I lost contact with Ross for about a year. Then one day, I saw him on Virginia Avenue near the State Department. He saw me from a distance and called my name. We talked for about a half hour. I waited for him to dive into his delusions, but that never happened. After we caught up on everything, he said goodbye, grabbed his shopping cart, and walked away.

It was the last time I saw him. Sometime later I heard he passed away. But I’ll never forget the lesson I learned from my interaction with him. When we witness for Christ through our words and actions, we have to meet people where they are. It’s a lesson I have carried with me for nearly 39 years.

09/15/2026

The Walkabout
by Steve Jennings
After our youth groups with The Street (our homeless ministry in DC) serve everyone who lines up for food, volunteers walk around the park handing out the food that’s left. I call it “The Walkabout”. It’s where most of the impactful relationships between teens and homeless people take place. It can be as simple as a brief exchange of kind words or as involved as a friendship that lasts for years.

The conversations that happen on the walkabouts are all over the board. Some are lighthearted and funny. At other times our youth volunteers get lessons in life, especially about avoiding mistakes. But the ones that live in my memories are the deep conversations and life-changing encounters.

Katt had schizophrenia and grandiose delusions. For reasons I never discovered, she didn’t get along with other homeless women. But when we came out to serve, she took great delight in the company and attention of the girls and women from our groups. She told me several times how much they brightened her world.

On another day, I was walking from the subway station near Franklin Park in DC when I saw a group of our volunteers, mostly middle school girls, gathered around a homeless man. Many of them were crying. My first thought was, “Oh, no! What’s wrong?” I made a bee line to them. It turned out that nothing was wrong. The man shared his struggles on the street and how he was ready to give up. One of the girls shared the story of big struggles in her young life and how her relationship with Jesus got her through. The man asked Jesus into his heart right before I got there.

Norman was mentally sharp, respected by everyone, and a godly man. We wondered why he was out there. We helped him try to find a job when he was in his late 50s. He had worked in construction, so we helped him get some tools and work clothes. After more than a year of applying, the job never materialized.

Norman was disappointed but never lost his faith. He always wanted to pray with the teens. Just before he turned 65, we prayed for Norman to get into subsidized senior housing and have a smooth path to getting his Social Security. The last time I saw him, he was getting ready to move into his apartment. He told me how much our TOP Teens meant to him. There were times he wanted to give up, but they motivated him to persevere.

During his 12+ years on the street, William Daniels (TOP’s DC Director) formed a special friendship with Nick, one of our youth. William said that relationship motivated him to clean up his act and move toward a better life.

David had a similar experience with a group of middle school girls. A connection that began with jokes and laughter grew into times of discussing deeper issues. That relationship motivated him to kick his crack co***ne habit and led him to a new life. He and his wife now have their own apartment and are living a dream.

Conversations on the walkabout also serve a practical purpose. There have been many instances where we discovered a special need that we were later able to meet. Work boots, transportation, cell phone time, McDonald’s gift cards, and special hygiene needs are just a few of the special things we have been able to provide people. And it all started with “Hi, would you like some food?”