Our team sat semi-circle on orange couches and metal chairs, snipping rose stems and discussing plans for the strip club outreach that night. We decided to split into two groups and each go to one club. My team’s usual leader was feeling sick that night, so it would be just me and one other lady (and two men for safety purposes, but they would stay outside the club).
My heart was still reeling from our Super Bowl outreach in Houston a couple weeks before, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to face the strip clubs again. I loved the girls there, but I hate the things I saw done to them. And now, when my heart was already unsure, I received the extra news that our leader wouldn’t be with us. I didn’t know if I could do it, so I stepped away from the group for a moment alone to pray.
“God, I don’t know if I’m ready,” I whispered. Immediately I thought of Jesus’ words to his disciples: Fear not, little flock, for it is your father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom (Luke 12:32). His words gave me peace.We were working to build God’s kingdom in the strip club, and Jesus wanted his kingdom built there. He told me not to be afraid and to trust him to give us the kingdom. I took a deep breath and stepped back to join my team.
We got to the strip clubs, roses in hand, along with little devotional books of Bible verses. We had been going to the clubs for months, praying for the girls’ and the manager’s salvation, but this was the first night we had ever brought in scripture, and I was eager to see what would happen.
As my teammate and I walked through the club handing out roses and chatting with the girls, for some reason I couldn’t strike up a conversation with any of them. Usually there were one or two girls eager to talk, but tonight I felt like I couldn’t connect with anyone. I felt defeated. After passing out all my roses, I looked around for my teammate and found her at the back of the club talking with a middle-aged woman who was clearly not a stripper.
I instantly felt insecure as I started comparing myself with my teammate. “Look at her,” my thoughts said. “She’s good at connecting with people, and you aren’t. You shouldn’t even be here,” but right away God’s Spirit chimed in, “You’re fine. Just rest. You’re fine.”
As I stood resting in God’s peace and waiting for her to finish, I started talking with a young lady next to them. Turns out that this young lady was daughter of the middle-aged woman, who was the owner of the club! That’s right, the owner. I had assumed it was a man objectifying these girls, but it was a woman. She told us it was her birthday and the girls had made her a card and a birthday cake.
She went on to tell us that most of the girls had been homeless before they began working as strippers, and they were so grateful for the jobs. They called her “Big Mama” and loved her. We talked to Big Mama about homelessness and possible ideas of what we hoped to do in the club—bring the girls dinner, bring in beauticians for a hair & nail night. Then as we talked, she brought up the idea of doing a soup kitchen outside the club, and without thinking my teammate blurted out, “And we could do a worship night too!”
“That’s a great idea!” Big Mama said. “I’ll make flyers and put them in the dressing rooms to make sure all the girls know about it!”
At the end of the evening, as my teammate and I walked out of the club, I was floored. We laughed with each other and excitedly shared our conversation with the guys waiting for us outside.
“A worship night? In a strip club?” They were as shocked as we were.
“We’ll take what we can get!” we said.
I had gone in the club dreading what might happen, and God had laid out a welcome mat for us. I could hear his words as he laughed with us, “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
The Grace Files 
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