The Shift: The True Story Of How One Businesswoman Left Everything Behind And Changed The Lives Of Thousands

The Shift is the story of how MaryAnne Connor was called to start a street ministry for the homeless of Surrey, B.C. In this autobiography, she details how the ministry came to be and it’s progression over a ten year period. She opens her heart to share the struggles they faced trying to get a not-for-profit on its feet, as well as the struggles she personally faced before her calling and along the way.

The ministry that MaryAnne was called to is what she eventually named Nightshift. It began as a church that opened its doors to let the homeless have a warm place to sleep and warm food to eat in the dead of winter in British Columbia 2004. MaryAnne was a wealthy, successful business woman who couldn’t ignore what God was calling her to do. So she went and spoke to the pastor of this particular church and asked if they would do something. The pastor replied that it was a good idea as long as she stayed to oversee it. And so her ministry to the homeless, rejected, and destitute began.

My only criticism is of the layout of the book itself. Sometimes it was hard to follow the timeline of how the ministry progressed, because MaryAnne would change subjects and start taking about how God was working in her life personally. I know that it’s impossible to separate the two in our lives, but maybe in book format, she could have had different chapters for how her spiritual life progressed and for how her ministry progressed. I do think we differ on some theological points, but I won’t deny that Nightshift is changing lives and proclaiming Jesus. And in the end, that’s what matters.

This was a very encouraging read to me. It can’t help but encourage you and give you hope when you hear about how God is working in people’s lives and examples of how the Gospel can change their hearts. There is a great section at the end that lets you know how you can get involved. Since I only live about an hour away, I’m definitely going to go check this place out the next time I’m in Surrey.