I would consider myself a pretty ordinary person. I am a preacher's kid, married to a godly man, and the mother of two wonderful children, but a few years ago I found myself in the last place imaginable: behind bars. I did not commit a crime or break the law, but an unforeseeable accident resulted in time away from my family. I cannot begin to explain how this felt. I was no criminal, yet I was being treated as one. Despite my circumstances, the Lord never left my side. He provided me with comfort and hope. After several difficult and extremely… Read More
Unique Ministries
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If you have seen comfort dogs on site at crisis situations, then you've probably seen a member of the LCC K-9 Comfort Dog ministry team---a network of volunteers and dogs working together to bring compassion where it is needed. This powerful ministry officially began in 2008, but God was working on it even before it became "official." When Hurricane Katrina hit, the LCC Disaster Response Team set up a disaster triage. The team was asked to perform search and rescue for people with animals as many people were refusing to leave their flooding homes without their pets. The team saw firsthand the… Read More
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Since I was a high school senior, I had a dream of starting a youth center for teenagers. Even when people dismissed it, I knew that God had placed that dream on my heart. After I returned from Bible College to Sunbury, PA, my wife and I started a youth center called The Refuge. We wanted to create a safe and fun place for teenagers to go to after school, free of charge. In nine months, our youth center grew to about 50 teens coming in each week. We provided them with… Read More
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I was a pastor of the same church for over 50 years. In that time, we moved from a small store front property to a large building that sat 500 in the sanctuary. And we ended up filling every seat on more than one occasion. By the time I retired, the church had grown to where it had two services to meet the needs of the growing congregation. The Lord certainly did some amazing work while I was pastoring. Since retiring, though, I have found that the Lord has even more for me to do. My days aren't as full as… Read More
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It's so important that we pass on everything we have learned to our children. And that's because they are the future leaders. But can you imagine a bunch of leaders who do not have an education? I teach a Sunday school class of about 40 kids here in Ghana. The majority of them do not go to school at all and can't read or write. For that reason, it's hard to teach them Bible verses and English songs. It's sometimes hard to imagine what their future will be like with little or no education. This unfortunate situation makes me very sad. They… Read More
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When she was six years old, my daughter, Erin, was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease: FSGS. Her disease causes her immune system to attack her kidneys, and slowly, they fail. She is nine now, and we remain hopeful and have faith that God is able to sustain her. But, it isn't always easy. When Erin was first diagnosed during one of her early hospital stays, a sweet child life therapist saw her struggling and feeling down. She asked Erin what she would do if she could do anything in the hospital that day. Erin told her she would like to… Read More