The first time a Bowery Mission worker is spat on, we call it the “Bowery baptism.” And we’ve all been punched, cursed, or threatened at some point. We are not fighting against people, however. We battle “against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil” (Eph. 6:12). Substance abuse is chief among our foes. This spiritual battle has been waged at the Mission for one hundred and forty years, and the Bible is our inspiration. Despite disappointments and defeats, we repeatedly see captives set free, the oppressed liberated, the sick healed, and those considered intransigent saved by God’s grace.

But the Bible is more than a manual for spiritual warfare. Jesus also said, “I have come to bring good news to the poor.”