Building Community Through Serving

I've been through a  lot of education and training in the past few years

for small groups ministry, youth ministry, church leadership, etc etc

and there's a lot of talk about community.

Community is so important for a healthy church!

Without it, there's no trust laid down to support accountability,

there's no deep support system in place when someone goes through difficulty. 

It also helps us create the unity that God desires of us!

When we are living in harmony, we are better able to fulfill the commands to spread the gospel, to love others, and to honor Christ in our lives. 

Romans 15:5-6 says, 

"May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

But I think a lot of times we try to build it through socials and "fellowships"

where we eat too much and only share surface level conversation

In my experience, I've found that genuine community is born through serving together.

Whether it's through a mission trip or sharing the gospel together

or waking up at 4:30 to serve breakfast to the homeless,

the bond of serving Christ brings us together closer than grilling hamburgers ever has.

Over spring break, we had the opportunity serve our host church 

by doing some deep cleaning in their building

and some lawn care on the grounds.

We also got to share some time of fun together as friends. 

late night mini golf

(I beat everybody... they had no chance!)

late night jam sessions

Caleb found these bells in their music room, 

and used them to add a lil something to their jammin

(sorry I turned the camera sideways to get a better angle, but it's totally not)

 game night- the boys won, but it was close!

Dinner out at a favorite restaurant

David's family got to join us! Little Eliseo fell in love with his sister, Erin. 

This is a botana platter. It will change your life.

And I've only ever seen them in the valley, 

so if you're ever in south Texas- get one!

Movie night- out to see The Lorax!

We had so much bonding over food, games and fun.

But if I were to determine what made the most difference in uniting our team's hearts,

it would definitely be the acts of service

in cleaning and raking and sharing the gospel at Rainbow Express.

What is your experience with community?
How do you see it most effectively pursued?

linking up with The Williams Post

Planting Seeds

linkin up with Kerrie at The Williams Post!

Over spring break, I led a team of high school students and some helpers on a mission trip to the Edinburg/McAllen/Mission, Texas area. We partnered with Faith Baptist Church there and devoted our mornings to Backyard Bible Clubs and our afternoons to serving our host church. 

The past two years, we've participated in Mission Arlington's spring break activities. It's an awesome organization that has made a huge impact on the DFW area. Their backyard Bible club program is called Rainbow Express, and we'd have between twenty and fifty children at our Rainbow Express twice a day. They target apartment complexes and mobile home parks, making it simple to reach a large number of families and children in a small area. The two years we participated, the children we met were so happy to see us and participate in Rainbow Express. We were overjoyed to be used to lead multiple children to Christ. Last year my students became so attached to the children we met that it was truly painful to come home at the end of the week.

So that is kinda what we were expecting to happen here. 

Spoiler alert- that's not how it went. 

I had five amazing students take part in this trip.

At first I was disappointed, even angry, that others had dropped out or decided to spend their time doing something less meaningful (in my mind). 

However, this small group of students was absolutely perfect for the week. 

It was absolutely a testament of God's control over the entire situation to see how everything worked out the way He had planned. 

This was the first youth trip I've ever led with zero behavior issues.

Each student worked hard, stayed positive, 

and was respectful and obedient to myself and the other leaders with us. 

I was humbled by their leadership and the initiative they took 

in serving each other and the community we were in. 

When we arrived at the church,
We were assigned to a nearby park

to do our backyard Bible club.

We made a huge advertising promotion in chalk by the park entrance

canvased over 100 homes

and knocked on nearly every door in the neighborhood 

to let them know about Rainbow Express

But our first day there,

we had no kids show up.

People were polite but uninterested

So we prayer walked the area, 

covering the neighborhood in specific and meaningful prayer

In the midst of prayer walking,

we came across a group of people passing out the gospel to every door

and a mobile vacation bible school ministry

It was so encouraging to see God using all kinds of people 

to reach this community with the good news!

We also met a sweet East Indian family going for a walk.

They joined us back at the park and we were able to share 

our Bible story with them and color some pictures.

They were so genuinely interested in the story from Mark 2 of the paralytic 

man whose friends lowered him through the roof to Jesus!

Our guys met a high school student playing basketball alone the park

and were able to interact with and pray over him.

We had better response the following days 

and were able to 

sing silly songs

play lots of kickball

eat snacks together

color with crayons and chalk

and share beautiful stories about Jesus

We only met about ten children over the course of the week and

we didn't get to see any children come to know Jesus 

But 

we learned that sometimes God calls you to just plant seeds

Sometimes you just show people how awesome Jesus is

and God sends someone else to continue to teach them

We're so grateful that we got to share with 

Eric, Adi, Gopika, Davika, Lucia, Jayne, Joey, Nathan and Noah!

But we know that God loves each of them so much more deeply than we ever could

and have faith that He will continue to show them love.

During our Bible study Wednedsday night, our associate pastor shared 1 Corinthians 15:58 which says that the work we do in the name of the Lord is never in vain. 

We're clinging to that promise,

grateful to have planted seeds

praying for water and sunshine and harvesters 

and most of all for Jesus to reach this community!

Be encouraged wherever you are,

whatever it is that you are doing and know 

that even when things don't meet our expectations-

God does not measure success by numbers

and His plans are so much better than our own.

Continue to give yourself fully to the work of the Lord 

because it's never in vain!

Stay tuned to hear more of what God taught us!

Prayer Request: Spring Break Missions

Hello there my praying friends!

In case you didn't deduce from reading my recaps,

your prayers made a huge difference 

in the Girls Extravaganza

So I have a new request for you!

(duck duck goose!)

This Sunday, March 11th our youth group will be traveling several hours to South Texas

to spend our spring break partnering with a church there, helping to spread the gospel through  Backyard Bible Clubs, service projects, prayer walking and fellowship.

(students leading prayer)

We've participated in very similar programs the past two years through Mission Arlington, a wonderful organization who has intentionally created churches in apartments and mobile home parks all throughout the Dallas/Ft Worth area. 

(Ninja. Best game ever.)

This year we're taking everything that we've learned through those experiences and putting it into action in a less saturated area. The area of Texas we're traveling to is high in Spanish speakers, which is great because the majority going on our trip are bilingual! In addition, this area is often overlooked by outreach or mission organizations because it is so close to the Mexico border. Most, instead, focus on Mexico. 

(This little girl absolutely stole our hearts.)

To be completely honest, I've been giving in to

 stress and anxiety this week as I've been preparing.

I don't like being flexible.

I like to have a plan, to be prepared, to have details set in place

(we didn't just meet children. Two teens accepted Christ this week as well, and they remain friends with my students.)

Y'all, my worry and anxiety is the opposite of faith. 

So I'm praying for more faith. 

Here are some things you can be praying for:

-clear weather

Our backyard bible club is outdoors, which is the simplest way to join everyone together. Rain would cause a serious problem for us!

-hearts open to the Truth

one of the biggest obstacles we've encountered is that people are blinded by the idea of religion, and so they miss Jesus.

-team unity 

We have a small team- six students, four adults, and four small children. Unity will be so important!

-that the Holy Spirit would go before us

without the Father's hand over this effort, this is all of our own power. We want all of the success to be from and glorifying to God!

-that our service projects would pan out

There are a few details about the trip, including where we'll be spending our afternoons, that are still up in the air. It's really hard for me to find balance between good planning and trusting.

-That as we return to Austin, we'll pray for and have faith that God will continue to send workers into this field

Last year one of our biggest struggles was that the students fell so deeply in love with the kids we met that leaving was devastating. There were tears and hurt feelings and frustrations. They felt that without our group there, the children would have no continued access to the gospel. So this year we're intentionally sharing follow up information with our partner church to ensure that this isn't an isolated gospel experience for them!

- for energy, boldness and above all, love

It's going to be a long week for everyone involved. We'll be sleeping on the floor, and sharing quarters with 4 children under 5 years old. We may find people challenging to work with. Without love, we'll only be a resounding gong or a clanging symbol as we speak the truth.

(as we were leaving an apartment complex, we witnessed a domestic disturbance and prayed powerfully over the situation)

We'll be returning to Austin Thursday evening and most of the students on the trip will immediately be going to a Disciple Now Weekend, hosted by a sister church. In fact, David and three of my students are leading worship for the weekend!

We are excited to see how God will reveal Himself this next week.

For those of you who made it through the whole post, thank you so very much!

I am deeply grateful for your encouragement and prayers. 

(the favorite song at every location- Making Melodies!)

*all photos from previous spring break trips*