LYN House
Mission Statement

With a commitment to Christian love for poverty affected residents of Indianapolis, LYN House seeks to show compassionate hospitality and transformational care.


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Please view the brand new LYN House webpage at <www.lynhouse.org>!

Although not a ministry of the First Free Methodist Church, the LYN (Love Your Neighbor) House stands directly across the street from First Church in a lower class residential area of the near Eastside.  LYN House is a cooperative ministry between the many Free Methodists throughout the city of Indianapolis.  We are pleased that our new director, Heidi Lyda, arrived on June 1 to provide further leadership and vision during these initial stages of development.  Please be praying for this vital ministry and consider giving sacrificially as the Lord leads you to see that it thrives!



Lastly, we are in need of a financial support base.  At this point, we need 10 donors who will pledge to give $100 per month.  30 have already stepped forward!  Ask the Lord if you might be one who could support LYN House during these crucial days.

Contact Information:
Director:  Heidi Lyda
Address:  1155 Tecumseh St.
              Indianapolis, IN  46201
Phone:     317-638-7880



Heidi's Vision Statement

      The vision that I hold for the LYN House is one that has been developing over time since I have attended Seminary and one that God is still developing in my heart.  There are two words close to my heart that I hope the LYN House would be able to provide. Those are unity and community centered at the cross of Jesus.  Without the cross, unity and community cannot be fully realized.  The ministry of Jesus demands we open ourselves to the broken and oppressed (Matthew 25:40). Because of the overwhelming love of Christ we cannot help but share it with others.  The cross demands unity and community and allows us to be shaped in order to transform the world. 

      My heart is grieved at the fact that Sunday morning is the most segregated hour of the week.  I believe that the fullness of Christ cannot be realized unless we are willing to have meaningful relationships with people who are not like us.  It is when we come to gather from all walks of life that the kingdom of God can be fully realized.  I believe that the Church is called to bring life and help people grow to a greater freedom so that we can be one in Christ (Ephesians 4:1-16).

      I see community being realized in two ways at the LYN House.  The first is an already existing believing community who is centered in Christ and desire to reach others by working together as a cohesive team.  The second way I see community being realized is the Body reaching outside of itself and creating a place of welcome (Romans 15:7), a place where those who feel disconnected can experience a place where they feel they belong, where individuals can feel safe to admit imperfections and brokenness and experience healing and conversion. 

      Providing biblical hospitality will need to be a key characteristic of the LYN House.  By providing biblical hospitality we can create an environment where community and unity exists.  Henri Nouwen writes, “Hospitality means primarily the creation of a free space where the stranger can enter and become a friend instead of an enemy.”  Hospitality can create a space in which you get to know people, eat and drink with them, listen to their stories, and share your own.  It allows you to let the person be more than a service project, but a friend in which both parties are being transformed and changed (Hebrews 13:2).  Biblical hospitality is about extending community to the stranger.

      I envision the LYN House to be a place where the larger community that is not directly (or indirectly) involved with the LYN house becomes more unified. Partnership with other Christian ministries and agencies in the area can bring a greater impact to the community.  By working together with other agencies, we increase our chance of having the greatest impact to help end poverty in the area.  Partnership would also allow the LYN house to meet more needs of the people living in the area.  I envision that the LYN house could help meet educational needs (tutoring, help increase graduation rate), housing (finds housing, improving housing in area), job skills and training (decrease unemployment, increasing income), family healing (strengthen and empower family units), and safer neighborhood (reduce crime and increase livability).  This could not be done alone and by partnering with other ministries and agencies we would be able to provide greater quality of services with a larger impact. 

       I believe that the LYN House needs to be a place that is Christ centered and is Spirit led. I believe by working as a community that strives to create an environment of unity and community through biblical hospitality true transformation of lives can occur.  By working together with other agencies the LYN House can also empower individuals.  Further issues to consider are creating and expanding a volunteer base, funding, prayer partners, and developing appropriate boundaries that help the LYN House embrace others and not exclude.
 
 
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