Rejection Leads to a Red-Letter Day
“Do you know Red?” came the voice from the other end of Pastor Joyce Smith’s cell phone. “He’s had a stroke, and we found your card in his pocket.” Pastor Joyce met Red a few weeks earlier during a homeless ministry event through her Better Days Community Outreach Services. After asking God’s blessing on the […]
Amigos de Jesus Church Expands its Family
Pastor Mario Valle Jr. watched the baptism with a billowing heart. Timed for the congregation’s 13th anniversary, he marveled at how the Lord worked since his parents founded Ministerio Cristiano Amigos de Jesus (Friends of Jesus Christian Ministry) in the Magnolia Park neighborhood, southeast of Houston. In the last year alone, 16 new families joined […]
Julio’s Lasting Legacy
Pastor Ray Romprey and his wife, Mila, stood on the stoop, ready to rap on the door. Julio — someone in their ministry network told them — was desperate for food but, more importantly, God’s healing love. Armed with a Box of Love®, the couple knocked and waited. The Box of Love was one of […]
Beauty Emerges From Plan B
Richard Garcia was in search of a Plan B. The needs of his Bakersfield community were shifting, and the diminishing evangelism opportunities distressed the spiritual leader, who heads the Cru® Inner City team in California’s Central Valley. “A lot of our partner churches are signing up for free food, and it creates this situation where […]
PowerPacks® Supply Seeds for a Church Plant
Pastor Amador rapped on the door. He was looking forward to some one-on-one time with Aniceto, who had been attending his New Life Community Church for a year. Every Sunday, Aniceto slipped into the back pew, quietly taking it all in. He always offered pleasantries, but their interaction was limited. “I wanted to share the […]
Redeemed Through Loss
Valerie’s heart was a gaping wound as she watched her oldest daughter, Britany, struggle with liver disease. After a successful transplant at age 4, the donated liver was failing, so Britany, now a teen, waited several years for its replacement. Finally, at age 17, Britany was matched with a donor and a transplant team was […]
Leading While Learning
Andy, a young family man and construction worker, was rushed to the hospital with a gunshot to the head in a case of mistaken identity. His co-worker and friend, Peter, came to see him in the hospital and marveled that even with bullet fragments still in his head, Andy walked out of the hospital with […]
Finding Herself on the Giving End
Jayde looked into the eyes of the unhoused recipients accepting the gifts of gloves, socks and scarves wrapped inside warm blankets. It was an especially cold and wet winter in Los Angeles, a stark contrast to the postcard-perfect days that spoil Southern Californians. As homeless residents bundled up any way they could — sheltering under […]
Flames Fail to Quench Passion to Serve
Linda Wright was next in line at the grocery checkout stand when she noticed a heated conversation between the customer at the register and the cashier. Wright gently gestured to the clerk to tone it down. Soon, the customer stormed out of the store, and Wright was face-to-face with the fuming cashier. “You don’t understand,” […]
Full of More Than Food
The color explosion of autumn leaves, the last triumph of Chicago’s canopy of trees, blanketed the ground, leaving barren branches to begin their sentry duties until spring. The sight reminded Pamesha that Thanksgiving was around the corner and her family’s holiday meal was about to be as sparse as the foliage. “I was in, pretty […]