Our History
Cross Wilderness Ministry, the church for serving the homeless, began its first service in McPherson Square in November, 2006. Pastor Na, the senior pastor of Cross Wilderness Ministry, first gave out sermons on a bi-weekly basis in McPherson Square. Pastor Na found his calling in the ministry for the homeless after serving as a pastor in a Korean church. He had two spiritual motivations for starting out the ministry. First, he found hope in Christ and knew that it will also change the lives of the homeless. Second, witnessing the gruel living standards of the homeless in D.C. area, Pastor Na and volunteers committed to worshipping the Lord with them and praying for their lives to change. Supported by local churches in D.C. Metropolitan area, Cross Wilderness Ministry approached the homeless with love and provided them with food. In spite of lack of physical building, Pastor Na and the staffs in the ministry ceased to stop being friends with the homeless.
In 2009, Pastor Na fully committed to providing the sermon for the homeless every weekend, realizing that realizing that the service every two week is not sufficient. He and the ministry then also decided to meet the homeless during weekdays. 2009 was the year when the ministry set out to do a weekly bible study and prayer night on every Thursday at Franklin Square as well.
From then, the ministry fully devoted to helping the homeless with spiritual growth. Starting July 2010, Cross Wilderness Ministry went on a spiritual retreat to Pennsylvania, where the homeless could experience spiritual growth and rest, without having to worry about what to eat and where to sleep. In the winter of 2012, Cross Wilderness Ministry also began Christmas Music Concert for the homeless. The volunteer musicians and the homeless celebrated the birth of Jesus with the power of music.
From 2013 to 2015, Cross Wilderness Ministry began offering working opportunities for the homeless as well. One of the many initiatives was managing a farm and garden. Some of the homeless were seeking job opportunities. Cross Wilderness Ministry bought some acres of land, so that the job seeking homeless could work and earn their livings. The primary harvest was sesame.
Throughout the history, Cross Wilderness Ministry focused on providing the spiritual and physical assistances for the homeless. Especially, the ministry has the vision of having a technical workshop on how to repair mobile devices. Through the workshop, the homeless can learn how to repair a mobile device and make their livings. Pastor Na, when he first gave out the service in McPherson Square, he had nobody to listen to his sermon. Not a single person in the park was interested. However, the love of Christ sustained him and helped him become a friend of the homeless.