God at Work: A Year of Witness and Wonder
October 16, 2025
One year after joining the staff at Bridge of Hope National I am convinced, more than ever, that Christian faith communities, engaged with families facing homelessness, have the power to end homelessness one family at a time.
Yes, churches are changing. And we will do well to continue to understand what national and local current trends mean for our work. While regular attendance continues to decline, earlier this year Barna released this statement:
In aggregate terms, the multi-year climb in public sentiment toward Jesus equates to nearly 30 million more U.S. adults who claim to be following Jesus today than in 2021.
“Undeniably, there is renewed interest in Jesus,” says David Kinnaman, CEO of Barna. “Many people have predicted the growing irrelevance of Christianity; however, this data shows that spiritual trends have a dynamism and can, indeed, change. This is the clearest trend we’ve seen in more than a decade pointing to spiritual renewal — and it’s the first time Barna has recorded such spiritual interest being led by younger generations.”
Yes, family homelessness is increasing. Between 2023 and 2024 family homelessness increased by 39%. Among them, nearly 150,000 children under 18, marking a 33% increase over 2023.
Yes, affordable housing continues to be a challenge. In 2023, 50% of all renters, or 22.6 million households, were cost-burdened, and 12.1 million (27%) were severely cost-burdened, spending over 50% of their income on housing. According to Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, 65% of working age renters do not have enough residual income after paying for housing to cover daily items, such as healthcare or food, and must make trade-offs to maintain their housing.
Yes, I have grieved over many things this year. Things that I’m convinced break the heart of Jesus. I suspect you have too. And, at the same time, I’ve witnessed followers of Jesus loving their neighbors. I’ve witnessed them become Neighboring Volunteers, donate appliances, make meals, give second chances, list properties for rent below market price, partner in affordable housing development, give generously, be patient and kind, believe the best, give directly toward families pursuing education, serve on nonprofit boards, and so much more. It truly takes my breath away. And it’s here that I find hope and believe more than ever in the church’s power to end family homelessness.
The challenges are real, but so is the movement of God’s Spirit through His people. When churches choose to love their neighbors facing homelessness, despair is replaced with hope and isolation with belonging. One family at a time, one church at a time, I believe God is writing a story of homecoming and restoration. And I am convinced we are only seeing the beginning.
As my first year at Bridge of Hope comes to a close, I am eager to see what God will do in and through this incredible network next!
Melissa Diem
Chief Mission Officer
