On Tuesday, college students at General Assembly were part of a mission immersion in an at-risk Charlotte neighborhood.

That’s the message Jason Williams wanted college students to hear more than anything else. Jason – along with several others – are members of Hyaets, an intentional Christian community in a low-income, at-risk area of Charlotte, N.C. On Tuesday, Jason and Hyaets hosted about 20 college students participating in the “Charlotte Sessions,” a missional experience for college students during CBF’s General Assembly.

The college students were there to learn and engage – and that they did.  They were part of a field day for children in a local park. They learned about the struggles of people living in poverty – like the hard choices you have to make when your monthly income isn’t enough to pay for health insurance, child care or nutritious food. But maybe the biggest takeaway of the day was the story of Hyaets and how a group of young adults have made a difference in a struggling neighborhood.

Jason and several others were preparing to graduate seminary when they discerned God was calling them to a different kind of ministry – one that was built upon relationships, not programs. They picked Charlotte as their focus city, researched the most at-risk neighborhoods in the city, and then moved into a house in the community. They came to learn, to meet people, to establish relationships and to be the presence of Christ.

That was nearly five years ago. Now, Hyaets isn’t one house but several, and members have deep friendships with community members. They know their struggles, their triumphs, their burdens and their joys. They live life with and alongside members of the community with the ultimate goal of being the good neighbors Christ commanded his followers to be.

And it’s happening. There’s one man in the community who, when he hears of a neighbor in need, tells that struggling neighbor to, “Go down there to that house where those Christians live.” And to Jason, there’s not any bigger affirmation that Hyaets and its members are doing exactly what Christ called them to do.