INDIANAPOLIS — Robert Maul
is a modern day version of the widow best known for her mite, whom Jesus
described in Luke 21:1-4 as having “put in more than all of them. For all these
people have put in gifts out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has
put in all she had to live on.”
A 62-year-old tall, slender
African American, Robert foraged the sidewalks, curbs and streets of
Indianapolis, pocketing lost coins — picking up a penny here, a nickel or dime
there. His painstaking work, all on foot, would add up to a sacrificial $25
contribution to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American
Missions.
By the way, Robert was
homeless.
Photo by Ted Wilcox Robert Maul, a 62-year-old former drug addict, now is one of the most faithful members of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in downtown Indianapolis led by missionary Tom Polak. See video. |
Poor in the pocketbook but
not in spirit, Robert is a former heroin addict who liked to fight. He served
five different sentences in an Indiana penitentiary. He slept under bridges and
interstate overpasses. But through the ministry of missionary Tom Polak, who is
jointly funded by the North American Mission Board and the State Convention of
Baptists in Indiana, Robert was redeemed by the Lord.
Tom and Marla Polak are two
of the 5,000-plus missionaries in the United States, Canada and their
territories supported by the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American
Missions.
“Robert came to a block
party we had about a year ago,” Polak said. “He came, had his lunch, listened
to music and, somewhere along the line, somebody witnessed to Robert and shared
the gospel. He was saved that day, a Saturday. The next day, Robert was in our
church service and he began to come every Sunday.
“He was baptized, and he’s
been very faithful. Now, a year later, you see the growth in him. He’s very
genuine, very sincere. He’s really been quite an encouragement to me to see
what God can do in a person’s life,” Polak said.
In 1995, Tom and Marla
Polak left a Kansas City ministry for Indianapolis, where Polak began serving
as director of the Metro Baptist Center in the inner city and pastor of
Cornerstone Christian Fellowship.
“We are here helping people,
ministering to people, praying, evangelizing and giving people a place to go,”
Polak said. “We minister to the people who live in the downtown Indianapolis
area, who are homeless, low-income people -– people who are struggling.”
Although 52-year-old Polak
pastors an inner-city church where “we don’t have a lot,” he encourages new
Christians like Robert to find a way to give.
“These are people who
themselves are standing on the corners asking for money. These are people who
are homeless. But I encourage them to give what they can to Annie Armstrong. I
tell them the money is going to missionaries who are sharing the gospel around
the country. I did that for about three weeks, leading up to the Sunday we took
up the Annie offering.”
On that Sunday, Robert had
a surprise for Polak.
Photo by Ted Wilcox Tom and Marla Polak are North American Mission Board Week of Prayer missionaries based in Indianapolis, where Tom serves as director of Metro Baptist Center and pastor of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship. |
“Robert calls me over and he
hands me this large cylinder and it has some weight to it. I asked him what it
was, and he told me it was his offering. ‘I’ve been finding this money and have
been dedicating it to the Lord,’ Robert told me. I thought of the woman with
the two pennies who gave all she had,” Polak said. “That’s Robert.”
Polak said Christians don’t
always meet the “Roberts” of the world.
“We may see them on the
corner or may bump into them downtown, but do we see them as people who may
have made mistakes, maybe have issues or problems? You know God loves these
folks and has a plan for them, and He can use them in many ways.”
On a typical day, Metro
Baptist Center runs a food and clothing pantry for the needy and offers job
placement services and substance abuse assistance. Polak and his staff not only
try to minister to a person’s physical needs — as important as they are –- but
also to their spiritual needs.
“When a person comes in and
they are in need and hurting, they see we’re here for them. They see a genuine
concern in us. That makes them more open to hearing the gospel and for prayer.
They’re more apt to open up and tell you where they’re coming from and what
their real needs are.”
In addition to harvesting
the “Roberts” for Christ, Polak also is encouraged by the mission groups,
including seven last summer, who travel to Indianapolis from Southern Baptist
churches around the United States using sports and construction ministries to
reach lost people, especially youth.
“For instance, we had a
wonderful adult and youth group from Collinsville, Okla., who came to do a
weeklong sports camp in one of the low-income housing projects.”
Inner-city kids were coached
in basketball, football, baseball and golf. More importantly, they heard about
Christ.
Born and raised in Syracuse,
N.Y., Polak earned a bachelor’s degree from Howard Payne University in Texas
and a master of divinity degree from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in
Kansas City, Mo. Although he went to school and pastored in Texas and Missouri,
he said he’s more comfortable in the north.
“I’m in a place where I feel
God has called me. I have a great assurance that God wants me here for this
time, and that’s a great feeling. I like using my talents and abilities on the
things God has gifted me with so I’m able to put them into practice and help
people.
“Indianapolis is a wonderful city,” Polak said. “It’s a clean city, an active
city with many activities and things to do. The Christian organizations here
work together well. We see tremendous needs of homelessness, mental illness and
drug addiction. But we’re trying to address these issues. We have about 80
churches in central Indiana working together.”
Tom and Marla, a native of
Topeka, Kan., an occupational therapist and a graduate of the University of
Kansas, have five children: Hannah, Rachel, Caleb, Moriah and Joel.
(EDITOR’S NOAH — Noah writes for the North American Mission Board. The annual
Week of Prayer for North American Missions in Southern Baptist churches is
March 6-13 in conjunction with the 2011 Annie Armstrong Easter Offering, with a
goal of $70 million to help pay the salaries and ministry support of 5,000-plus
missionaries serving in North America under the SBC’s North American Mission
Board. For more information, go to www.anniearmstrong.com.)
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