The Same Mission…

I started volunteering with Mission Scranton back in December. Mission Scranton is an organization that reaches some of the low-income communities in Scranton. I was at a point in my life where God, in His grace, brought me face to face with my own selfishness. I could see how selfish motivations in my heart had seeped into all areas of my life. By placing myself on the throne, I removed God from His rightful place in my worship. I had starved myself from life with Him. And I was pretty miserable… 

God was so gracious to me. I needed to be brought to the end of myself, but God did not allow me to stay there. I was reminded of the simple truth of the gospel over and over again, which is what my heart needed to hear and believe more than anything else. Through genuine repentance there was restoration with God and with the body. Part of the process of restoring me to Himself was an invitation to share in His heart for the lost and hurting, to be a part of sowing seeds for His kingdom, rather than living consumed by my own kingdom.

When I expressed interest in helping with Mission Scranton, Nate asked me to help with Elevate night, which emphasized skill development. We would take time to help the kids with homework, practice reading comprehension, explore their creativity, and learn teamwork and how to navigate conflict. I was assigned to “games” each week, so I played many rounds of Dominos, Jenga and Headbandz. When it was nice out, we would take them all outside to burn off some energy and I would inevitably lose my voice from trying to maintain some sense of order. I also started picking them up for church on Sunday and taking them to McDonald’s afterward. It did not take long for the kids at Mission Scranton to work their way deep into my heart and my love for them to grow. 
 

 
I experienced more joy through these kids than I ever thought possible. We were able to celebrate both salvation and baptism; God’s return on years of investment. We rejoiced with them in their victories and cried with them in their pain. We poured out the love of God over these children who are precious in His sight and took every opportunity to share the good news of Jesus. 
 

One conversation stands out in particular that I wanted to share with you. I was driving a few kids home after church one day and we were talking about baptism. One of the girls told me, “I had never heard about Jesus before Nate came and told us about him.” In that moment it hit me. That is the great commission! That is kingdom work!! There are people who don’t know, there are people who haven’t heard! 

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matt 28:19-20)

Before I left, I was able to share this realization with about 30 kids and hopefully give them a glimpse of what God is doing around the world. I told them about how God is calling me to go, to be a part of building His kingdom. There are kids and families, just like them, who have no one to tell them about Jesus. People that need someone like Nate, who is willing to go. We looked at a map of the world and they all found all of the countries I will be going to. And I asked them to pray. Pray that people would believe!!
 

 
I realized that night – it’s the same mission. It’s the same work, in Scranton and around the world. And it’s a joy to be a part of it!