Hometown Missionary

Our Mission Team!

   For those who don't know, I work as the administrative asssistant pastor for a Foursquare ELN School of Ministry called Awakening, at The Lighthouse Church. One of the important aspects of an ELN program is to go on some type of ministry outreach/mission trip, usually toward the end of the school year. For us in Awakening, we wanted this to mesh with our mission of city outreach; to not only go serve somewhere, but to do it in a way that we could learn and then bring what we learned back home. We want to begin something here in our own city. So we decided that in this, the first year of our school, we would do that mission trip at the Dream Center in Los Angeles. (If you don't know about the Dream Center, you can learn more here) So after we read Pastor Matthew Barnett's book, The Cause Within You, we scheduled our Monday-Saturday mission trip for the end of April!

The Dream Center

   Each day we awoke around 6:30am to be at breakfast around 7:00, then we met up with whichever ministry we were serving in that day. On Tuesday, our first day out, we were scheduled to work with a ministry called 'Under the Bridge'. If you'd like to hear me explain what that is and tell my story from this day (and you haven't already listened to it via facebook), rather than me retelling it just click here.  It really set the tone for me for the rest of the week!

Me praying with Charles

These people live here in the park

Justin & I serving up the food!

The rest of the week, we served in a variety of other ministries, such as the Food Truck, where we sorted out groceries and went along to take them to sites where people can pick up a bag of food for their family...

Pastors Paul & Bonnie playing with the kids

Kid's Jam, which goes along with the food trucks to do a fun program, play with and love on the kids while their parents are in line for food...



Adopt-A-Block, which goes out to city blocks and does anything from yardwork to housework to playing with kids to bringing people food; whatever the people in that block need... and then probably my favorite ministry that we did, which is called Project Prevention. This ministry works with families who have open cases, who are at risk of having their children put into foster care simply because they don't have the finances to provided basic needs. Project Prevention brings groceries, diapers, furniture, clothes... to some families they bring food every single week. Most of the parents shared their story with us, of how they got where they are, and how they got connected with the Dream Center. It was so inspiring and encouraging to hear how the Dream Center folks really are out there changing lives and making a difference in their city!

   The thing is, I know that my purpose is not only to sit here within the four walls of the church. I'm called to go out and to make a difference for the Lord in my city; whatever city He has put me in right now! However, this is SO much easier to say than to actually do. Right?? Well, the Dream Center started with ONE man, who was willing to step out in faith and obey God. That's it. All the ministries there each started from one person's dream or passion, and over time developed into the huge things that they are today. God can use me like this too if I'm just willing and available to step out in faith on the things that He has placed in my heart and the passions that He has given me. I have known for a few years that I am called to be a hometown missionary, and when I heard one of the interns there at Dream Center talk about being on the mission field in her own city, it resonated in my spirit. There is no reason I cannot do it right now! If I will just begin doing SOMETHING, together with Awakening and with The Lighthouse, we can begin to impact our city one person, one family, one block at a time.