Missionary Eric Watkins takes the gospel to the streets of Memphis, offering hope in Christ

By Jami Becher

“I

came off the streets,” says semester missionary Eric Watkins. “Drugs, gangs and violence were all part of my life. I was just like these guys I see every day hustlin’ on the corner. I was masking the hurt and pain going on in my life—until God found me. Now He uses the pain of my past to connect me with the people I meet in the present.” Most any day you can fi nd Eric out on the streets

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ON THE

of Memphis sharing the love of Christ one street, one house and one person at a time. He operates a ministry called Hope 4 Memphis TEAM: Takin’ Evangelism Across Memphis, where he goes door- to-door talking to people about Christ and looking for persons of peace within the community. Having grown up in Memphis he knows the lan- guage of the inner city. He knows how to make last- ing connections in a place where most Christians make short-lived efforts at evangelism, then quickly retreat to the suburbs when the going gets tough.

10 Summer 2010 • onmission.com

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