Pastor Julia's ministry helps those in need

WARREN — It’s was 8:30 Friday night, and Pastor Julia Wike was driving a large, maroon van marked on the side with the words “The Basement Outreach Ministries” on some of the more dangerous streets north of downtown, looking for people who needed her help.

“The funnest thing is just looking,” she says, explaining why she loads up the van with Burger King hamburgers and drives into low-income neighborhoods looking to give the food away. “When I’m driving down the streets, it’s so exciting,” she said.

She puts a type of enthusiasm into her search that is similar to the way someone else might enjoy the search for a great bargain or a great gift for a loved one.

But Pastor Julia is just one woman, accompanied by a male assistant. She and Michael Johnson reach out to lost souls in spite of the obvious danger of going into neighborhoods where lawlessness is rampant.

When asked why she does it, Wike references the mistakes she made when she was young, and her decision 20 years ago to become a social worker and help others get out of “the life” she also lived.

But God is part of everything she does.

“He went out where the sinners are,” she said of Jesus, “so I trust the Lord. I don’t have fear.” Only one time did something “inappropriate” happen to her, she said.

This night, it didn’t take long for her and Johnson, who has ridden with her since March, to find people with an empty stomach or a troubled spirit.

For the complete story, read Sunday's Vindicator and Vindy.com