He Went a Little Farther: Stories of Challenge and Inspiration from the Streets of an American Inner-City

By Steve Campbell

In 1986, Steve Campbell and his wife, Wanda, started a small street ministry in Columbus, Ohio’s Short North District, a notorious crime area. They’ve spent more than thirty years serving the homeless and urban poor. In He Went a Little Farther, Campbell shares a collection of stories culled from this ministry that’s now known as the Columbus Dream Center.

But these are not Campbell’s stories. They are God’s stories. They are stories of prostitutes, gang members, and drug addicts, loved by God and transformed by him. These are the stories of what happens when God stretches us to go a little farther. Stories like “Irv” and “The Girl at the Dumpster” reveal how Jesus, who went a little farther for us, leads us to go a little farther for him.

Written in devotional format, the twelve stories take place between Thanksgiving Day and Christmas during different years, but all within the holiday season. Each narrative contains a link to a video presentation of the story. He Went a Little Farther captures your heart and stretches you for the purpose of going a little farther.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Oct 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9798385008476

Steve Campbell

In 1986, Steve and Wanda, along with a small team of dedicated volunteers, founded a small street ministry called The Better Way. Located in Columbus, Ohio's Short North District, a notorious crime area, The Better Way focused on providing assistance to the homeless, working poor, runaway teens, and abused children. Through the decades, The Better Way, now known as Columbus Dream Center, has grown into a nationally recognized ministry that has provided care and ministry to hundreds of thousands of marginalized people. Serving Columbus, Ohio's homeless and urban poor for more than three decades, Steve Campbell, alongside his wife Wanda, have experienced the abundance of God in some of the city's darkest alleyways and dingiest street corners. With Jesus as their source of light, Steve and Wanda have traveled to reach some of Columbus’ most desperate and forgotten individuals, connecting the lost with the love of God.

Book preview

1294_c.jpg

HE WENT

A LITTLE FARTHER

STORIES OF CHALLENGE AND

INSPIRATION FROM THE STREETS OF

AN AMERICAN INNER-CITY

STEVE CAMPBELL

Copyright © 2023 Steve Campbell.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

844-714-3454

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 979-8-3850-0845-2 (sc)

ISBN: 979-8-3850-0846-9 (hc)

ISBN: 979-8-3850-0847-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023918177

WestBow Press rev. date: 10/23/2023

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

ENDORSEMENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

IRV

THE STREET SWEEPER

DA’NEEN

A HOOKER FOR CHRISTMAS

GOD’S BEAUTY MARK

DOC’S HOLIDAY

THE GIRL AT THE DUMPSTER

THE MAN ON THE STATEHOUSE STEPS

BLANKETS OF THANKS

CHRISTMAS LEMONADE

MERRY CHRISTMAS, RAYSHAWN

WE WOULDN’T HAD NO CHRISTMAS

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked CEB are taken from the Common English Bible, Copyright © 2011 by the Common English Bible Committee. All rights reserved.

To all those who, on a daily basis, are willing to go on a little farther in order to serve those who cannot help themselves. Thank you.

A special dedication goes to all of the ministry volunteers and partners who gave of themselves to help us go on a little farther. Thank you from the depths of my heart.

FOREWORD

I admit that I am a cynic when it comes to Christian leaders. I earned the right. For twenty years, I worked in professional evangelical ministry. I was a reporter for a nationally broadcast Christian television show, which put me on the front lines of Christian celebrity. By the way, this is not that different from secular celebrity. I saw the very humanness of the most familiar faces of America’s holy, and many times they weren’t, well, holy. In fact, I began to gain great hope that if God could use these flawed vessels, then maybe, just maybe, he could use me.

It was on one of those production assignments that I met Steve and Wanda Campbell. It was 1989 and they were in the early years of loving the homeless and discarded of urban Columbus, Ohio. That was thirty-two years ago. Over the past three decades, I have watched their ministry grow in reach and focus. I have heard the stories of lives touched and changed. I have seen and met these people. I have stood side by side with the Campbells, serving food to the homeless on Thanksgiving Day. I have watched them speak tenderly to and wrap their arms around men and women who didn’t smell good, didn’t dress well, and carried their homes on their backs. I have watched them step aside from the baby they birthed and trust it to the hands of a new generation of leadership because they trust the God who breathed the original vision into reality.

I want to tell you the side you don’t see. After leaving television, I obtained my real estate license. Steve and Wanda were one of my earliest clients. Because I’m a Christian and advertise on Christian radio, I am called on to provide real estate services to many local Christian leaders and pastors. This made me develop a mantra that I still believe: If you want to know who someone really is, observe the person when money is involved and no one is watching. Being a realtor often gives me a front-row seat of the inner workings of people’s lives, closets, and pocketbooks.

In the sale and purchase of several homes, I saw the Campbells do the right thing—every time. When corners could be cut, when promises could be half-kept, when leverage could be used to back off of