I stand in the park watching people eat and talk to neighbors. In the middle of the inner city, life was happening all around me. Earlier in the day — as a youth group lead Vacation Bible School — I picked up and threw away a used drug needle.
But this park didn’t look like a druggie hangout at this moment. No, now it was filled with people laughing, dancing, and singing.
The smell of grilled burgers and dogs waft on the wind. The sound of the chicken dance blares on loud speakers. This is a block party at its best.
Cinderella laughs and waves to kids and adults alike as they line up for pictures.
This Youth Trip was filled with VBS, prayer walks, and ministry.
Middle Schoolers learned they could hear from God and that He orders their footsteps.
Missions isn’t all about evangelism and knocking on doors. Sometimes it is about showing kids the love of Jesus as they serve others. Sometimes it is about a chicken dance and sometimes it is about letting go of our expectations of what a place is — like a neighborhood known for drug use — and taking it back for Jesus. One awkward dance step at a time.
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