Hope for Homeless People in York 

by Robert Mitchell

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” —Romans 15:13 (ESV) 

Jonathan Torres knows what it’s like to be hungry and wonder where he’s going to sleep at night. When he wasn’t in a prison cell, he spent most of 2007–2011 living on the streets. 

Today, Torres has come full circle as part of the men’s ministry at the York, Pa., Spanish Temple Corps. He helps minister to homeless people and others in need every Tuesday evening from a Salvation Army canteen. 

It’s an amazing experience when you see someone going through what you went through before,” Torres says. “You know how it feels. It’s amazing to see how God has been gracious to you, and you get to help someone in that position be better.” 

Lieutenant Pedro Molina and his wife, Lieutenant Marangelly Quiñones, arrived in York as new officers just as the corps was emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic. The men of the corps wanted to reboot the men’s ministry to focus on community outreach. 

They didn’t want to just have another men’s fellowship,” he says. “They wanted to see some action.” 

After praying on the direction the ministry should take, the men decided to hit the streets and feed those in need. They go out each week and distribute sandwiches, water, hot chocolate, coffee, and ice cream near a homeless shelter operated in York by LifePath Ministries. Sometimes they offer free haircuts. 

“We share our story, we pray with them, and introduce them to Jesus,” Molina says.

Iron sharpening iron 

The group includes Torres, Jairo Cruz, Marlon Gonzalez, Richard Rodriguez, Ulitus Desulme, Carlos Negron, and Luis Gonzalez. Three of the men usually go with the canteen, while the others stay back and attend evangelism classes. 

Molina says the conversations with the people who are homeless focus on how they ended up at the shelter. While they expected to meet individuals suffering from mental illness or addicted to drugs or alcohol, the men found many had lost jobs or their families and were simply down on their luck. 

“Some of the stories we hear, they didn’t expect to become homeless—so it can happen to pretty much anyone,” Molina says. “It kind of changed our perspective of what homelessness is.” 

Before he became an officer, Molina attended the Candidates Seminar Weekend and says he has never forgotten something he heard then from Commissioner William A. Bamford, the USA East’s former territorial commander. 

“He said we have to meet people right where they are, and as a pastor, I’m trying to meet them right where they are and to be a support,” Molina says. 

“We believe in a God of second chances. I always encourage them not to lose faith. There is light at the end of the tunnel, even though sometimes we don’t have all the answers. I tell them I’m positive God will come through and show up.” 

That’s what happened for Torres, who says he has spent about half his life in prison. He got involved in drugs in his native Puerto Rico and did prison time there and in New Jersey and Pennsylvania for selling narcotics. 

Many of the homeless people “don’t know there is such a thing as hope,” Torres says, but he goes out of his way to share biblical truth with those who are where he once was. 

Saved for a purpose 

“Hope is the first thing we have to establish,” Torres says. “When I was [in their position], I didn’t think there was hope. When you live this kind of lifestyle, you don’t think there is a God. You say, ‘This is not fair. Is this my life?’ The first thing we need to do is let them know there absolutely is hope and the hope is in Jesus. They have to know they are valuable to Jesus and that Jesus doesn’t want them to be homeless. 

“When they see that, things are totally different. The only way that’s going to happen is through the Holy Spirit interceding in the moment and touching their heart. That can be an awakening.” 

Torres had several close calls on the streets where he believes God saved his life. A neighbor he didn’t even know well invited him to The Salvation Army in York, and he attended the church once but soon had to finish a prison term. He went back upon his release and is happy to be part of the men’s ministry now. 

“We see people restored to life, we see people going to rehab, we see people accepting Jesus, and we see families coming together,” Torres says. 

The Spanish Temple Corps in York draws about 45 to 50 people every Sunday from all over the world, including Mexico, Cuba, Colombia, Haiti, Chile, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. 

“The community here loves The Salvation Army,” Molina says. “People love what we do for the Lord, and they are eager to be hands-on in the ministry of the Army. They are very engaged in York when it comes to ministry. They are passionate and I think we should be grateful for that.” 

For more information on the York, Pa., Spanish Temple Corps, visit: easternusa.salvationarmy.org/eastern-pennsylvania/york-pa/spanish-temple-corps