Local ministry takes unique approach to outreach

ST. JOSEPH, MO. (News-Press NOW) -- A local ministry in St. Joseph is literally taking their message to the streets.

Lorey Quaife, along with her husband and son, regularly set up microphones and an amplifier on street corners in and around St. Joseph and sing Christian worship songs.

Quaife said they do this because after years of working together in a non-profit ministry, especially to homeless people, they wanted to find an approachable, non-threatening way to connect to the community.

“I grew up here in St. Joseph, and often the homeless population is seen but not heard,” Quaife said. “By singing and being available for all people to sing with us or simply approach us and talk with us, we feel like we’re doing what the Lord wants us to do: reach people with compassion.”

For the past twelve years, the ministry called “Before You, Lord, International” has come alongside non-profit organizations that assist homeless people and others in need.

Though their approach of worshiping on street corners has gained a negative reputation from some, this family hopes those who encounter them and follow them on social media see a message of welcome that still holds to what they call Bible-based Christianity.

“We are out here to get the word of the Lord out,” Quaife said. “Hopefully, in the future, if God blesses us with a location, we would love to be able to do that, as well.”

Until then, Quaife and her husband said they will continue to minister in the ways that are open to them, including online words of encouragement on their Facebook page, volunteering with local ministries that help others and singing consistently on street corners, especially in the Downtown area.

So far, they say, the response has been positive.

“We started this approach in Minnesota for several years,” Quaife said. “Returning to St. Joseph, the place where I was raised, has allowed us to see more connections, including people stopping to sing with us on their breaks or on the way to work and people asking us for prayer.”

To learn more about the ministry and its goals, the family said simply approaching them when they are singing Downtown is a sure way to connect.

The family can also be followed on their Facebook Page: Before You Lord, International Ministries.