Keith Green - Ministry

Ministry

In 1975, the Greens began an outreach program in the suburbs of Los Angeles, California, in the San Fernando Valley. The ministry started when Keith invited close friend, Randy Stonehill, to stay with his wife and him at what would later be dubbed "The Greenhouse", Stonehill, who was struggling at the time, moved in with them. From that point, the Greens continued to invite guests into their home. They eventually ran out of space and, purchasing the home next door to their own and renting an additional five in the same neighborhood, Keith and Melody provided an environment of Christian teaching for a group of young adults, the majority of whom were of college age. Much to the consternation of neighbors, those living in the Green's homes included former drug addicts, the homeless and prostitutes, who had been referred to the Greens by other ministries and shelters. In 1977, the Greens outreach was officially named Last Days Ministries.

Keith Green's initial tone of ministry was largely influenced by Leonard Ravenhill, who pointed Keith to Charles Finney, a nineteenth century revivalist preacher who preached the law of God to provoke conviction in his hearers. During his concerts he would often exhort his listeners to repent and commit themselves more wholly to following Christ. Green later softened his approach, and this transition is evident in his music beginning with So You Wanna Go Back To Egypt in 1980. He described the changes he went through in his next-to-last article for the Last Days Magazine.