On September 16, 2007, Trinity Vineyard’s Lazarus Ministry partnered with Safehouse Outreach and Daddy D’z BBQ Joint in an effort to be the hands and feet of Jesus to almost 700 homeless men and women at the first annual Lazarus Ministry Health Day in downtown Atlanta. Allison Mitchell, director of Lazarus Ministry, found inspiration for the day in the Homeless Stand Down, an event organized by the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless earlier this year.

Allison saw the Health Day as a unique opportunity to extend Lazarus Ministry’s mission to serve Atlanta’s homeless. “I think kindness is the first step for Trinity and Lazarus to matter and to make a difference here—going out of your way for someone, whether it is a person on the street or a person in the grocery store, because kindness breaks down barriers” she explained. “Health Day is just a larger expression of that simple belief.”

The Health Day is a third addition to the larger of Lazarus’ annual events for the homeless (the ministry also reaches out in smaller, but significant ways on a weekly basis). Approximately 200 volunteers staffed several stations, offering a variety of services to the day’s guests.

As the men and women arrived, they signed waivers stating their voluntary involvement in the Health Day activities and a stamp verifying they had signed in at the registration tables. Those working the tables noted the excitement of passers-by when they learned about the event, some offering help, others asking for more information about Trinity and the Lazarus Ministry.

After the participants signed in, workers directed them to the Medical tent, which served as the gateway to the other available services. Without a blue sticker indicating that they had gone through the clinic, the men and women could not proceed to the bar-b-q, hair and nail or clothing stations. Some balked at this, but most lined up to take advantage.

At the medical station, a volunteer asked about each person’s medical history, including any allergies or medications required for known conditions. Then medical professionals including nurses and medical doctors checked the patients’ blood sugar and blood pressure levels. An on-site pharmacy and first-aid station served those individuals with more severe conditions, and vans were on stand-by to take any in need of urgent care to Grady Memorial Hospital. But the healing went beyond the physical for some of the men and women, leading some volunteers to pray with their patients.

The clothing station offered each guest a voucher to take as much clothing as they could carry. The donated clothes, shoes and accessories filled an entire room to four feet high at Safehouse Outreach, and it took a week of sorting by hardworking volunteers prepare them for the Health Day. The joy and freedom brought by this sort of luxury was obvious: one lady declared gleefully, “I like jeans!” as she approached stacks of denim ripe for her picking.

Perhaps the most beautiful and moving scene of the Sunday event was the hair and nail station. The hair and nail team established a particular intimacy and connection with the homeless men and women as they worked to visually transform their guests—cutting hair and shaving beards, washing feet and trimming nails, putting on and giving away make-up. The meaningful and empowering experience of getting a haircut inspired two men—both former haircutters themselves—to serve others by cutting hair alongside the volunteers.

“What struck you the most was seeing people getting their hair cuts and smiling. This was an example of the impact of what we are doing,” shared Michelle Warhola, sign-in table volunteer. She noted how amazing it was to see the things we take for granted minister to people and affect them so deeply.

The afternoon concluded with a church service, the music and message provided by Trinity’s pastoral team. The men and women in attendance received the service with such enthusiasm that they immediately invited the team to come back every Sunday.

For Allison Mitchell, the high-point of the service was sharing the Lord’s Supper. “The actual visual of that moved me a great deal. We are all equal at the foot of the cross. That is a fundamental belief of Lazarus. We try to blur the “us/them” line and communion was so special—it erased all lines.”

After all was said and done, 200 to 300 volunteers fed 800 mouths—nearly and helped make 500 to 600 men and women feel "a little more human for a day.” That Sunday, all involved had the privilege of serving nearly 10 percent of Atlanta’s homeless population (6,800 homeless men and women).

As I prepared to participate in Sunday’s events as an observer and writer, I educated myself with numbers and statistics that quantified the reality of homelessness and illness both locally and nationally. I thought that somehow these digits and graphs would fill in the gravity and meaning of poverty as I considered and walked among these men and women. But while those numbers may leave an impression, they fail to give meaning, perspective and depth. Unsurprisingly, they end up leaving my mind blank and my spirit untouched.

I know and have known that Jesus has a heart for the “orphans and widows in their distress” (James 1:27). And I have held in my mind for years the truth in Matthew 25:40: “’I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’” But there is something beyond or beneath these verses that I have missed for so long. In order to really uncover Jesus in my encounters with the poor, I had to seek out for myself what church member, Tyler Lyle, meant when he wrote on the Lazarus MySpace page: “I saw a tiny glimpse of heaven on Sunday afternoon.”

At the Health Day’s hair and nail station, I watched as a volunteer poured water over a man’s feet, dry and gnarled after years of walking the streets in worn, ill-fitting shoes. If he ever knew the feeling of being prized or loved by someone else, he had probably long forgotten it. Yet she washed and massaged his feet as if they belonged to a prince. They were feet that carried a soul Christ loved and served and died to save. As I stood there, I realized that God’s glory, His very kingdom, dwells in acts of love and service such as these.

In that moment, I discovered that the poor, weak and beleaguered are not merely beneficiaries of Christ’s heart and mission; they are at the very essence of His purpose, being, person-hood, holiness and glory. God gloried in the loving, servant encounters scattered throughout the hours that filled the small downtown block we inhabited that Sunday afternoon. His presence and grace abounded. 

Any time we serve others in Jesus’ name as His Body, we perpetuate God’s glory in an intense, beautiful, majestic and counter-cultural way. And as we clothe, feed the afflicted and weak, commune and worship with them, we unveil for ourselves and the world a glimpse of Heaven.

Driving back to Atlanta late Sunday night, I rounded the bend on the south side of the city and saw its amber lights in the distance. The inside of my car was the picture of most all my road trips – various candy wrappers littered the passenger seat and floorboard; half-empty bottles of colas and energy drinks sat in the cup holders of the middle console. After a five-hour drive, I was almost home and grateful to make it just in time for the last evening service at Trinity.

I made my way into the café to grab a cup of coffee. But being an early morning attendee for the past two years, I quickly realized I didn't know anyone. I scanned the crowd once more to be sure, and crept down one of the side aisles in the sanctuary to the first empty seat I could find. Sitting there sipping my coffee, I felt awkward and uncomfortable. It reminded me of when I first came to our church.

Looking around that initial Sunday, I was able to see that I was no longer in the church of suburbia I knew so well growing up. People had tattoos. Their hair and clothes were different than mine. Some of their faces were pierced in unusual spots. Was everyone here in a band but me?

My guitar playing extends to about the first four letters of the alphabet, and that's if you count a pretty suspect B-chord. I don't own a graphic design studio, nor does my computer have any kind of glowing fruit on it. Between my wife and me we have a grand total of zero tattoos. On top of all that, I work a pretty stuffy 9-to-5 for “the man.”

It was easy to feel out of place and outdated. As a result, I developed a Sunday morning routine: run in the café, grab some coffee; run in the sanctuary, grab a seat; run out before someone could grab me and realize I was hopelessly out of place. It worked—for a while. I don't recall exactly when I decided that I needed to make a change. But I do remember seeing the enrollment sheet for a summer evening course called "A Life Worth Living." In spite of my apprehensions, I signed up. And that's when it all began to change for me. I met my first friends in the discussion group we had those evenings—friends that I still have and am close to today.

I realized that I hadn't made any meaningful relationships until I went out of my way to do something about it. It wasn’t until I gave of myself to serve in practical ways to try and become "the hands and feet of Jesus" that the community I longed for sprouted around me.

The way I see it now, my life at Trinity had not really begun until I: joined a small group; attended that summer evening class; went downtown with Lazarus to befriend the homeless; served Christ's Body and Blood to the church; found myself in New Orleans with others from Trinity in the wake of Katrina. Sincere, life-long, God-inspired friendships have been forged in these ways for me—friends that might as well be my family and make Atlanta feel like home. So, if you haven't yet, go join a small group. Fill out a "Serve" or "Follow Up" card in the café. Go downtown with the Lazarus ministry. Play kickball with the kids in Vine City. And while you're at it, make a few friends along the way. Sure, giving your time and making yourself available and vulnerable to people will mean you'll have to go out of your way. You'll have to make some sacrifices.

Our church is about to undergo a big change—a change for the better as we move into a much-needed bigger building—and with it will come opportunities for us to meet new people. Some will have been at Trinity forever; some will have just started coming. Either way, it's time for you and me to be as inviting as possible to those we don't yet know. As we transition from old to new, I can't think of a better time for us to get beyond our self-imposed borders and actively seek to weave our lives into the fabric of godly community.

So, whether or not we've met before or been in a class together, be sure to stop me and say hi. I'll be around. Usually still in the café after church grabbing some coffee, but I’m not in much of a hurry anymore. I’m finished with running out the door.

So much has happened since we took up residence in our current location. We’ve seen loads of people come to faith, we’ve baptized many, we’ve dedicated countless babies, we’ve seen couples marry – truly more has happened than we can quantify. In short, life has happened here. Good life. Our current church facility has been the setting for Trinity to take root and grow. In a way, we’ve discovered who we are and more about who we want to be when we grow up during our 4 years in this current location.

Our original landlord sold the building where we meet to an owner who wants to occupy our space. He’s a local business owner who plans to convert our facility into a musical mastering studio after we move on. And, consequently, it appears as if our building is destined to return to its original purpose. This facility was first built as a recording studio and now it’s going back to those roots. Back in the 70’s and 80’s bands like Sting and the Police, Kansas, and James Brown (just to name a few) recorded in what is now our sanctuary and in just a few short months artists will once again be making music here.

In addition to a new owner wanting to use our space, there are other reasons for moving. We have grown from a community of 190 to one that currently numbers over 800 in weekly attendance in just four years. This is the reason we have five Sunday services. While this has been great, we look forward to having more space in our new building. The growth of our church is not something we schemed to accomplish, but it is a practical reality and we’re accommodating the growth, in part, by relocating to a new facility.

Our new church building is located at 2270 Defoor Hills Rd., right off Collier Rd. It’s less than two miles from where we currently worship and so the geographical impact of this upcoming change will be minimal. But relocating will present real changes to us as a community. For starters, the building is bigger. We’re moving from an 8k square foot facility to one that’s over 20k. This increase in square footage will allow us to have a 400-seat auditorium as opposed to the 200-seat sanctuary where we currently meet. It’ll also allow us to provide space for our growing kids ministry as well as more room for folks to congregate in the café/lobby area.

The location change is also somewhat symbolic. We’ve been able to purchase our new church facility, which speaks of ownership in the community. Since Trinity’s beginning, we’ve sensed that God was calling us to Atlanta – the city center in particular – and so owning a piece of land here is important to us. We don’t know that we’ll be in this new location forever – but we do feel confident that God has us here in Atlanta for the long haul, thus owning a building is an affirmation of the long term view we’ve adopted for Atlanta. It takes time (years, not months) to impact a city.

As we approach this season of change I think it’s important for all of us who call this church home to take a moment to reflect on why we’re part of this community. It’s my hope that our ultimate goal – namely, that we would all engage with people in order to transform their perceptions of what it means to be a Christian – would lead us all into greater levels of involvement. We want to see Atlanta’s perceptions changed one person at a time. We want to show people the character of God by how we live and relate to those around us. Being part of a community is not simply about whether you like the music, the teaching or the atmosphere. But rather, being part of this community is really about being on mission together. And, in my opinion, our mission is a compelling one. It is the means by which we will accomplish our ultimate goal. Our mission is to convert and grow people in Atlanta, creating a community inspired to be the Hands and Feet of Jesus. By changing, growing and serving (both individually and corporately) we can change Atlanta! That may seem like a crazy goal, but I believe that’s what God has called us to give ourselves to accomplish.

As we approach a huge season of transition I am more convinced than ever that something special is happening within the community here at Trinity. More and more people are joining hands in an effort to engage with the mission. It’s our hope that this new facility, and all the changes that come with it, will inspire us to press on in order to make a lasting impression on our city. When we look at it that way, buildings are just tools. A facility made of brick and mortar is not the church – rather, it’s just the place where the church meets. Because of Trinity’s numerical growth it follows logic that the place that will house us would be bigger than where we currently meet. But that being said, our focus will not be (and will never be) on the building where we meet. Facilities are not called to accomplish a mission. Buildings cannot convert, grow and serve– when we think about it we realize that these tasks are our job. It takes a community to accomplish a mission. Our new church building will simply provide a setting for the mission to be discussed, prayed about, and a place where our dreams to impact our city can rise up before God.

Here’s to the future!

JG:Perhaps we should start in this way, would you introduce yourself? What is your role with Lazarus Ministries?

AM:I’m Allison Mitchell, I lead Lazarus. I’m also the founder and now the executive director… I prefer to be called “La Presidente”

JG:How long has Lazarus been working with the homeless in Atlanta?

AM:Since November of 2000.

JG:So, how did it begin and what were those beginnings like?

AM:Finding myself miles away from my family on Thanksgiving Day in 2000, I decided to volunteer and feed the homeless. It was the same year that Hosea Williams died, so scores of volunteers came out to serve at Turner Field. Since the volunteers were overflowing, I decided to minister to those who were unable to make it to Turner Field. A friend and I acquired food and set out to meet with homeless in the area on our own. We decided to do the same thing a week later, which led to the next week, which led to the next and the next and so on. In January 2001, Kris McDaniel (pastor of Vineyard Sunday Night, which is now Trinity Vineyard) asked to make it an official ministry. A group from the church began going to the capital on Sunday nights to hand out hot cocoa and smiles. It was during this time that quality relationships were forged between the volunteers and the homeless. Many homeless remarked about how refreshing it was that the volunteers were willing to interact with them, not just preach at them or simply feed them. It was a struggle for the volunteers as they personally experienced the lack of social mobility (life transformation/change) with the homeless over a three year period. During this time, I decided to take a more obedience-focused approach to the ministry rather than one which was results-oriented. The call was to obey the command “to feed the hungry and set free the oppressed” (Isaiah 58). In a world which demands instant results, the decision to remain obedient and patient with the process proved to be a sacrifice of time, resources and emotional investment from a temporal perspective. Yet, from an eternal perspective, patience, delayed gratification, continued surrender of time and emotional support seemed to be the response God was looking for, and lined up with that they came to understand as the way Jesus would have approached the situation.

JG:How has it changed or grown?

AM:Lazarus Ministries started with two people serving about 20 homeless men and women in the year 2000. Now, in 2008, Lazarus has a weekly base of 30 volunteers serving 50 -100 homeless men, women and children. For special events, the volunteer base consists of 200-300 individuals serving 600-800 homeless individuals.

JG:I understand Lazarus is undergoing some new changes-one of the biggest being incorporation. Why incorporation? Why now?

AM:It is the first step in getting the 501c3 (non-profit tax exemption). We went from being a church ministry to an official organization legally. Spiritually, we are still a ministry at Trinity. We have grown so much over the last 2 years that we need to operate with a full time staff. Once we get the 501c3, we will begin the process of me moving to full time.

JG:How do you see incorporation affecting this ministry?

AM:It opens a lot of doors in regards to grants, fundraising. It also legitimizes our efforts legally.

JG:Finally, what does the future look like-where do you envision the ministry going?

AM:I am going to pull from the ministry plan…this is our growth strategy outline...

1. Weekly team ministry:

From 3 to 4 days a week, once there the weekly volunteer base is 50

From 4to 5days a week. once there the weekly volunteer base is 70

New additional Sunday location, once the volunteer base is 90

New additional Tuesday location, once the volunteer base is 110

New additional Thursday location, once the volunteer base is 130

2. Events:




20 percent growth in attendance for each large event per year.




1) Added Health Days in Atlanta


 a) In 2009, 3 Health days


b) In 2010, 4 Health days


c) In 2011, 5 health days


2)Added cities: An Initiative of Lazarus Ministries is for the third Sunday of September to be National Health Day For the Homeless.

Over, the next 3 years we are going to concentrate on the Southeast and then continue the move nationally.

In 2009, Lazarus Ministries would like Health day on the third 
Sunday of September to spread to Macon, Augusta, Columbus, Savannah.

In 2010, add Jacksonville, Tampa Bay, Orlando Fl




In 2011, add Maimi Fl, Nashville, Memphis and Knoxville TN




They will offer guidance and partner with local homeless ministries and churches 
in those cities.




JG:Is there anything presently or on the horizon that Lazarus Ministry needs?

AM:Someone to help organize prayer support. It is a huge need right now.

JG:How can our people get involved?

AM:We have teams that go to the capitol area and serve the homeless beverages and light snacks. We go every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. If anyone is interested they can email outreach@trinityvineyard.org.

JG:What can we do to serve the homeless of Atlanta?

AM:We have found that simply being kind has so much impact, especially with a group of people so marginalized.

JG:Thank you so much for sharing this with us today, Allison.