PYWA is highlighting some “youth tested, advisor approved” mission opportunities. Our December “Spotlight” focuses on a great ministry located in Philadelphia, PA.
We are grateful to have thoughts from Natalie Person, a youth at Faith Presbyterian Church in Tallahassee, FL, who tells us about her experience at Broad Street Ministry.
“Normally, when your youth leader tells you that you need to be at the church at 4:30 in the morning, you would not be the happiest person in the world, but this feeling was the exact opposite of what was going on the morning of June 13th. Everybody was extremely excited and full of energy as we were getting ready to head to the “city of brotherly love,” Philedelphia, to work at Broad Street Ministries. Once we arrived, the energy NEVER stopped flowing while we found our way around the Broad Street area and the church. Part of the reason that we were all so happy was that we were getting to experience something that outher Faith youth had not experienced, a week long adventure that was far enough away from our parents where we could really take in new experiences and God.
Our week started out with various projects to work with the homeless, the city, and Broad Street Ministries itself. The group was divided into three smaller groups so that everyone would have the opputunity to interact with as many homeless people as they could, and get the jobs done. Some of the projects included helping out in meal kitchens, gardening, cleaning, and repairing the old church where we were staying. The purpose of all these activities was to restore dignity to thos whose dignity had been stripped away and to help organizations that support the community. Even thought the jobs were extremely tiring, every person left their site with a huge feeling of accomplishment.
After everything had settled down for the night, we all participated in a small scale worship service where we sang and debriefed on all of our different projects. The counselors related what we did that day to Scripture, highlighting the Book of Matthew and the kingdom of God. While working we would talk about how doing simple acts helps create the kingdom of God and how we could continue this feeling when we returned to Tallahassee.”
Shannon Guse, the youth leader at Faith Presbyterian, also had this to say: “Broad Street Ministries provided the young people from Faith with a life-changing experience where love, compassion, and dignity took form with each of us! I could not have been more pleased witht he staff, volunteers, and atmosphere of love that was shared throughout the week’s work.”
Visit the Broad Street Ministry website for more information.
