SAN ANTONIO — Cold weather Monday night and frigid temps Tuesday morning brings Paster Alex Fleming to a familiar routine.
For five years, his Life Restored Church has been a haven for the homeless, especially in cold weather.
"If you can't love your brother and sister who you see, how can you love God who you can't see?" he asked.
Fleming believes he's in his 16th winter sheltering cycle. By now, he's written the manual on helping those who are residence challenged.
"So, it doesn't matter if I'm ready or not," he said.
This cycle is different. The church he leads at 400 Arbor Place can accommodate the spirit but not the headcount to assist during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"So at our church, under CDC guidelines, we probably could have in ten," Flemings said.
He partnered with Pastor Darryl Crain of the Restoring Church to provide much-needed space for the homeless.
"We want to do unto others as we would like them to do to us," Crain said. "We didn't think twice about it. We opened up our facilities."
Crain's Fredericksburg Rd church cleared out its sanctuary to layout 80 relief beds for their overnight guests.
He said it doesn't get cold too often in South Texas, but they want to help Fleming and the homeless when it does.
According to Fleming, the homeless will get temperature screens, wear one of the 2,000 masks on hand, put their luggage aside, eat, watch movies, drink hot chocolate, and receive prayer and ministry.
"Give me an outlet to practice what I've learned from the gospel," Fleming said. "This is that outlet. And also man serving the poor was the context that Jesus did disciple in."
Pastor Jimmy Robles of the Last Chance Ministries provides bus service for the homeless who choose to come in out of the cold.
Fleming said he'd love to partner with the City of San Antonio for additional space. He's working on building relationships with other churches who can do the same thing.