Homeless Guy In Church Parking Lot (salvation, gospel, punishment, Christians)

[Omaha Rocks]

Hey All.

Our pastor is curious about how to handle a "situation" on the church property.

We have a guy who shows up in his car, relatively late at night, and spends the night in the church parking lot. He then leaves relatively early in the morning.

The problem is that he is not only flicking cigarette butts out on the parking lot, but has puked several times AND (here's the "nice" one), he has been pooping right by where he parks his car - and I'm not talking about once or twice. Even better, he generally parks right in front of one of the main doors.

Dandy, huhh?


So... How would you handle this at your church? We don't want to be mean and nasty to the guy, and just run him off or call the cops. But this obviously cannot continue.

How should Christians handle this situation?

[MontanaGuy]

That would be a difficult situation. I think the best course of action would be to contact the authorities and see if some help could be arranged for this person as opposed to some punishment. There are homeless shelters and facilities for individuals in these circumstances. I'm sure there are people who are very familiar with the lifestyles of homeless people who could advise you of the most effective solution without subjecting this person to some unpleasant treatment that might make matters worse. Sometimes homeless people are mentally ill, sometimes they're just flat broke and desperate so someone would need to evaluate what exactly the situation is and try to find a solution.

[johnrex62]

I think the "Christian" way to handle this would be to talk with the man and offer whatever assistance the church can offer and request that he respect the church property. Ask him to find a better place to park for the night that might have sanitary facilities. Let him know that while you are willing to help him as much as you can, you cannot permit him to camp in your parking lot for saftey and sanitary reasons. If he will not cooperate with you, you will have not choice but to request official assistance in removing him and you would prefer that he voluntarily stop the unacceptable behavior on his own and to continue to avail himself of your help and counseling.

Even Jesus did not allow abuse of the temple and took action against it. While he preached forgiveness and compassion, he did not preach self-abuse.

[PurpleLove08]

I think the humane thing to do would be to try to get some help for the guy. Christians don't own the copyright for good deeds.
If he continues then you would be will within your rights (even though you are now too) to call the cops.
Why not call the cops now and try to see if they can talk the guy into going to a homeless shelter?
Maybe the church could take him in and provide shelter for him in exchange for helping maintain the church grounds and things of that nature.

[kansas sky]

Has anyone talked with him? Do you know his story? Maybe he just has no respect, but maybe he's doing the best he can and just needs a little help. How would anyone know until they got to know him?

[user_id]

I don't know about the "Christian" way to handle it, but I would call the cops and have him removed. Its one thing, if he is respectfully sleeping there at night. But pooing on the ground? I know of a variety of areas around town where people tend to sleep in cars at night, never have I seen/heard of anything like this!

I don't know about you but I would not bother trying to talk to a guy that poos all over the ground. I mean what exactly do you say? The police will be able to handle the situation in the appropriate matter.

[kdbrich]

Originally Posted by Omaha Rocks

Hey All.

Our pastor is curious about how to handle a "situation" on the church property.

We have a guy who shows up in his car, relatively late at night, and spends the night in the church parking lot. He then leaves relatively early in the morning.

The problem is that he is not only flicking cigarette butts out on the parking lot, but has puked several times AND (here's the "nice" one), he has been pooping right by where he parks his car - and I'm not talking about once or twice. Even better, he generally parks right in front of one of the main doors.

Dandy, huhh?


So... How would you handle this at your church? We don't want to be mean and nasty to the guy, and just run him off or call the cops. But this obviously cannot continue.

How should Christians handle this situation?

First of all, if the guy has any immediate needs, they need to help. If there is no obvious way to help the guy, or if he doesn't want help, then the only real option is to call the cops. Maybe the pastor/janitor/whomever needs to stay at the church late a few nights to call the cops when they see him show up.

[BergenCountyJohnny]

Cops should be a last resort. I think Johnrex's answer is the right one. The Pastor should offer to help the man and see if the man will accept any kind of help, and the last resort would be to have a cop come and remove him. But before that last resort, the priority should be to help the man with his physical needs - food, shelter, professional help for drugs, whatever, as well as sharing the Gospel. But he should make it clear that while he's willing to help, camping in the parking lot is out of the question, and especially the vomiting, littering, and defecating are most definitely unacceptable.

There is a way to approach it in a non-heavy-handed manner, even if cops are eventually involved, which is what he needs to do.

[Omaha Rocks]

Well... Oddly enough, a neighbor called the police. They came and removed him. They were not in any way brutal or disrespectful. But he was taken away.


What I had (stupidly) not thought about is that there are a LOT of young kids in the neighborhood. And frankly, that's the trump card. It's a risk that cannot be allowed.

[noland123]

I'd help lead him to the Lord,for He is his only true salvation and a way out of his homelessness and other problems.