My momma taught me to always help those who are less fortunate. She ingrained in me to "do unto others as you would want them to do unto you." So that's what I did. As a teenager, I would often volunteer in soup kitchens and shelters, loving every minute of it. But as a busy working adult with little free time, I eventually found myself no longer volunteering. I wanted to serve, to help people in need. I just didn't know how I would have the time to do so. I felt extra compassion toward the ones I passed everyday: the homeless. Living in… Read More
Unique Ministries
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There are people in our community who would love to come to church, but they just don't have the means to get there. Public transportation in our small city is infrequent and can be costly. But everyone deserves the chance to attend church. That's why I started a van ministry. I coordinate four vans going to various parts of our community each Sunday morning. This ministry is more than just about driving a van and picking people up. Our van drivers get to know the people on their route. We pray with them as they share their needs. When we… Read More
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My inner-city neighborhood is home to around 6,600 residents, nearly 25% of whom do not speak English as their primary language. Since English-language proficiency is a gateway to jobs and better education, some of my education major classmates and I decided to serve our neighbors through English tutoring. Each week, I coordinate nearly 70 university students, myself included, to teach English to area residents. We go to their apartment complexes for home tutoring or teach in a local community center. Volunteering to teach English is just part of it. The real reward comes from the formation of friendships that transcend cultural barriers. For months,… Read More
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I'll never forget the day in Guatemala when my missions team came across some children on the street. In an effort to build relationships with the kids, some of my teammates started chatting in their limited Spanish. I sat down with a boy who was a little separated from the group, and after exhausting the few Spanish phrases I knew, a teammate told him I was an art teacher. He jumped up, ran home and returned with a pack of crayons. We sat on the curb drawing animals, trucks, and whatever else he could think of. God showed me that art… Read More
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I thought I knew what it meant to follow Christ and to take up my cross. But, over the years, I have learned that God often gives us ministry opportunities that we've never asked for and certainly never wanted. When my heart was broken as a young single woman, God gave me a ministry I never wanted. He gave me a group of women with broken hearts to come alongside. Ministering to other single women was incredibly rewarding but also vulnerable and painful. Years later, God called me to a new ministry in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. I never imagined spending… Read More
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I was having a hard time deciding what I was going to do with my life. I prayed that God would use me as His vessel. I didn't hear anything from Him for a while. But in 2015, I was driving my car and saw an elderly man really struggling to cut his grass. So I got out of my car and helped him finish the yard. When I was driving away, I was amazed at how good that felt. And I truly believed God was speaking to me. So as I was finishing up my computer science degree, I would find widows, veterans, disabled or elderly people that… Read More