"Under the Overpass" Review

I just finished reading Under the Overpass by Mike Yankoski.  It's an amazing, real-life story of two friends who journeyed together on the streets for five months.

While sitting in church one Sunday morning, listening to his pastor preach a sermon about living the Christian life, Mike says "Suddenly I was shocked to realize that I had just driven twenty minutes past the world that needed me to be the Christian I say I am, in order to hear a sermon entitled 'Be the Christian You Say You Are.'"

That experience led Mike, and eventually his friend Sam, to chose to live for five months on the streets, totally depending on God and others to sustain them.  They had two purposes for the project:  Learn to trust God on a significantly deeper level and experience the realities of life as a homeless person.  It would be an experience that would change both of them forever.

Mike and Sam chose five cities to live in during the five months.  Each chapter is a gritty description of a different city.   The book is filled with story after story of the people they met and the encounters they had.  I purposely chose to read the book over a period of a couple of months; I wanted to absorb their experiences as much as possible.  By the end of the book, as Mike and Sam began the process of coming off the streets and re-entering their old lives, I found myself feeling some of the emotions that they described feeling.  Mike's writing style is so captivating it will drawn you into the experience in a unique way.

This is a book that every Christian and every church should read.  Mike and Sam visited a lot of churches on their journey.  Most of them were less than thrilled to see them walk through their doors and many of them actually refused to allow them in. Mike gives some great insights into how individuals and churches can serve those who are homeless and living on the streets.

If you want to be challenged to "be the Christian you say you are" then this book is a must read.