An Important Announcement
From the Church on the Street Board of Directors
The Board of Directors thank you for your faithfulness and for contributing to the success of Church on the Street (COTS) through your continued financial support, prayers and encouragement. It is reassuring for us to know that there are people whose hearts are broken by a world that deems some of God’s children forgettable and undesirable.
Church on the Street is in the midst of preparing for what will be a very busy summer. Over ten mission teams and hundreds of students, pastors and volunteers will converge on Atlanta during the summer months to partner with us in loving the homeless and changing the face of Atlanta’s inner-city, one life at a time. The opportunities and challenges seem to be endless yet seeing lives changed, both of the homeless and the teams, makes it all worthwhile.
As with any organization, there are times of change and transition; COTS is no exception. We would like to take this opportunity to inform you that we are in the process of transitioning to new leadership. Kurt Salierno, the founder and director of COTS, in consultation with the Board of Directors, has resigned in order to focus on and resolve some personal issues. Presently, Don Landy, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, veteran of our ministry, and director of the Thursday night outreach service, has taken over the day-to-day operations and oversight of COTS. In July, we look forward to the return of our former mission team and internship director Pastor Andy Odle, who will assume the role of director for COTS after having completed his Ph.D. in Moral and Practical Theology, focusing on the relationship of the church and the homeless. (See below for a short biography of Pastor Andy.) Together, Don and Pastor Andy, along with the Board of Directors and our many partners across the country, will continue to lead and develop the ministry in obedience to the vision God has given to COTS.
The ongoing task and challenge to our ministry is to keep up with the increasing demands of the inner-city as well as to effectively and creatively find ways to minister to the immediate and long-term needs of the poor and homeless. Thankfully, God is bigger than our challenges and has provided ever-increasing opportunities to partner with persons, churches and organizations around the country and in the Atlanta area. Therefore, we have reason to be excited about the future of this ministry God has entrusted to us. As we enter this time of transition, we covet your continued prayers and financial support that are needed now and in the days ahead as much as ever.
With warm regards,
Church on the Street
Board of Directors
Welcome Our New Director
Pastor Andy Odle
Pastor Andy attended Anderson University and graduated with a B.A. in Christian Ministries. He then received his ministerial license and accepted the position of Associate Pastor of Youth and College Ministries at East Side Church of God in Anderson, Indiana. After leaving East Side, Pastor Andy moved to Atlanta, Georgia where he joined the staff of Church on the Street and served as the organization's first Chairman as well as the director of mission teams and interns. A year later, Pastor Andy began to split his time between Church on the Street and the Anderson University School of Theology where he earned a Masters of Divinity and was awarded Professional Distinction in Ministry. While studying for his M.Div., Pastor Andy had two life changing experiences. First, he received his ordination in the Church of God, Anderson. Second, he met and married his wife, Amy. Soon after graduating, Pastor Andy resigned his position at Church on the Street, though remained a member of the Board of Directors, to take on a year-long interim pastor assignment in Muncie, Indiana while he and Amy prepared to move to the United Kingdom to pursue doctoral studies. For the past few years Pastor Andy and Amy have lived in Scotland while completing his Ph.D. program at King’s College, University of Aberdeen. Pastor Andy’s Ph.D. is in Moral and Practical Theology. His dissertation details a theology of sociality that yields a theological understanding of poverty and homelessness. He then applies this understanding to show how the church concretely interacts with the problem of homelessness. While in Scotland Amy gave birth to their first child, Ainsley Elizabeth. Pastor Andy has developed a plan to further the ministry to the poor and homeless that is at the heart of Church on the Street as well as to expand the ways in which Church on the Street serves the wider church by nurturing its love and care for the least of these. This exciting plan will soon be posted on the Church on the Street website. Email Pastor Andy.
An Appeal for the Homeless
As you know, perhaps too well, the nation as a whole is going through a difficult financial cycle. During times as these the most dramatically effected are those with limited means. When persons, families and institutions experience real or projected financial strain usually the first cut back is in charitable giving. This is also true of governments; for the most part, “safety net” programs are the first casualties. For those whose livelihoods and housing are already precarious, this is enough to push them over the edge into desperation, homelessness or deeper into their homeless plight. So we appeal to you, the church, that during this time, if it is at all possible, to not decrease or suspend your giving. If this is a considerably difficult time for you, then we understand and pray for you and your family. But perhaps you have not been hit with economic misfortune and you are able to continue or even increase your giving to make up for the inevitable decrease by others. We hope this is the situation in which you find yourself, for your sake and the sake of the poor and homeless. If you are able, you can give by clicking here, or by using our postal address above. Thank you and may the peace of Christ be with you.