Belief in the Bywater: A Story Of How God Is At Work In New Orleans, LA

Abuse. Neglect. Drugs. Sex. Jail. Teen pregnancy. Gangs. Violence. Death. All of these things are much too familiar for the kids of the Bywater community. Grace Baptist Church knows this and that is why they lead a Bible club for two full months every summer. At Bible club kids can come eat two good meals, do fun art projects, play outside with the other kids, do cool literacy skill building activities, worship the Lord with upbeat songs, and hear great Bible stories in a safe environment filled with people who care deeply for them. Grace’s Bible club is transforming the lives of those in the community one child at a time. That is why Kaleo has partnered with the church for years and sent many missions teams their way to help lead the Bible club.

I got the opportunity to lead a team of students there in early July and I was shocked at what I found. I met a sweet eight year old who had to find meals for himself and his siblings or risk not getting to eat. That same kid showed up to Bible club with a bash on his eye and he would not tell us how he got it. I met a kid whose mom had committed murder. That same 10 year old had a condom. I met a 13 year old girl who assumed that she wouldn’t get married but instead wind up in jail. I met a young boy who had seen his mother hit and killed by a truck, his cousin gunned down in front of him, and his father leave him. When we asked the kids what Jesus had done for them, he answered “Jesus has helped me not to get shot in the back of the head”. Several years ago that was exactly what happened to a kid in front of the church. Two kids fought at Bible club and the next day one of the kids’ uncle came & shot the other child in the back of the head. These kids have seen and gone through more in their dozen or so years of life than most of us ever have or will in our entire lives.

It is heartbreaking when you sit with this but the thing about the darkness is that the light shines brightest in it. The Lord is indeed the only true light and He is present in the Bywater community & He most definitely acts through the people of Grace Baptist Church. It is in this church that these kids can experience the love of God which flows through all of His followers. The thing about these kids is that for most of them no one is forcing them to come. A lot of them come of their accord. They could do anything with their summer but they come to Bible club week after week, summer after summer because they seek love and they find it at Bible club. And they don’t just find some love, they find a lot of it in us and they find the ultimate author of love at the same time. These kids learn about the God who created them and loves them, and it is so beautiful to see. One day I was sitting with an eight year old girl who had been causing some trouble before Bible Time. I was worried she would make a scene and ruin Bible Time for the other kids. That was the only reason I had the conversation I did with her. As soon as we all sat down for the skit of the day, I asked her if she was ready for the Bible story. She said “this is my favorite part”. I was taken aback a bit (based on her performance earlier in the day). I said “really?” and she said “yes!” I asked her what her favorite Bible story was and she began to tell me the story of David and Goliath. Immediately I thought “oh no, this girl likes this story because of the fighting in it”. But then she surprised me again. She said “the little guy won, and he won because he loved Jesus & Jesus was with him”. I was so impressed. That little girl sat through that entire Bible skit on the edge of her seat. She jumped at the chance to answer a question about the skit and when she did, she explained it all probably even better than I could have. This little girl was truly learning and understanding the Bible and its central message. I am excited for this knowledge reach her heart even more deeply and change her life & the lives of those around her. This message reached the heart of one young man the first day I went to Bible club. He accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior the very day us Kaleo interns visited.

I can’t wait to hear about how Grace’s Bible club continues to impact kids for eternity. I fully anticipate dancing with those kids again in heaven and I am so excited about that. I am changed because of the kids I met and I know our missions team were forever impacted by them too. I am so glad Kaleo Missions partners with existing churches and organizations (such as Grace Baptist Church) that make a difference in their communities year round. Praise the Lord for how He works and how He invites us to be a part of it all!

Declaring The Deliverer in the Darkness

A photo taken in the Bywater area while leading missions teams
in New Orleans with Kaleo Missions in 2016

I have lost count now of how many times I have been asked why I do ministry where I do. "Why do you do ministry in the Phillips neighborhood?" "Why do you evangelize in Dinkytown?" "Why do you go to church in the Powderhorn neighborhood?" "Why would you spend a summer leading missions teams out of the French Quarter?"

These questions generally aren't asked out of basic curiosity or interest. They are generally asked in confusion because doing ministry in those kinds of places does not line up with the American dream. This is because doing ministry like that is not always the safest and you are not in complete control when you're there and you are not separated from those society often deems as less. So doing ministry in the Philips neighborhood, the Powderhorn neighborhood, college towns, or the French Quarter is not what most would call the American dream but who really cares about that? When it comes down to it, I care much more about following Jesus than I do about following the American dream and I really think you should too.

I think we have watered down Christianity to the point where we think of Jesus as this "safe", quiet man who sat with "good" Godly folks and we try to imitate that Jesus. However, when I read the New Testament I encounter a Jesus who sat with tax collectors and prostitutes and everyone else that society set aside. (If you want some examples, just google it. You will find there are plenty to go around.) But we don't encourage folks to imitate that kind of Jesus much these days. We call them foolish and reckless instead. But isn't sitting with the modern day tax collectors and prostitutes and everyone else exactly what we are also called to do? Before departing the world Jesus said "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. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20, ESV). Jesus calls us to do exactly as He did. While Jesus did ministry in many expected places, He didn't stop there. He ministered to people everywhere and so should we. We are called to speak the Gospel to our co-workers and in our neighborhoods and in our schools and also in the slums and the streets downtown.

A photo taken of Puerto Maldonado, Peru while on a mission trip
here in 2016

Many Christians (although still not nearly enough) seem to be okay with being around and even sharing the hope of Christ with their neighbors and co-workers and classmates but few seem to even consider sharing the Gospel with those "very different" than them. Perhaps that is where the tragedy lies - in the belief that the homeless, the prostitutes, the alcoholics, and the addicts are so very different than the rest of us. From my experience, we all have many similarities and people aren't always that different than we think. In fact, I think some of the best conversations I have had were when I was out doing ministry of some kind with people who are homeless or otherwise very different than myself. One of my good friends is a man who is in his mid 50s and essentially homeless. His name is Tom. We are so different yet we can carry on for hours about reading, movies, and even Audrey Hepburn. Most people I encounter, no matter how different our lives may seem, are really not all that different from me. We all have hopes, desires, families, friends, fears, strengths, weaknesses, and a deep need for a loving Savior. So just because people seem so different from us should not stop us from sharing the hope and love of Jesus with them.

And yes, doing ministry in the Philips neighborhood, in Dinkytown, and in the French Quarter is not the easiest. And yes, sometimes it can feel very dark in those places. But those places are where Christ's light can shine even brighter and even when the darkness seems to overcome us we can know that Christ goes before us and that He is with us always until the end of the age. As I sit in the French Quarter, I look around every Saturday night and I see brokenness. I see broken people trying to fill the cracks in their lives with drugs and alcohol. The problem is this: that stuff never fills you up. Not even close. Brokenness and darkness seems to flood these streets just like the hurricane once did, but that doesn't mean there is no light. In fact, the light of Christ seems to shine even brighter here. This place, Vieux Carre Baptist Church, is one of those bright beacons of hope. It is because of people like the ones here that I still have hope. People come here when they are in the middle of their deepest despair and they see hope. They see how Christ can completely change their lives. And it is in this darkness they can clearly see the light.

Now, don't get me wrong. When you start trying to mess with the enemy's plans, he will try to stop you and discourage you. But never forget who you are in Christ. You are a soldier commissioned to fight a battle truly worth fighting in. You have been commissioned by the King to go out and save souls. How could you possibly reject that calling?

A phoro of the Dallas skyline taken on a mission trip here in 2014

It takes a lot of faith to step into the unknown but you are stepping into the unknown every day of your life so in my opinion you might as well step out for the most worthy cause there is. Like I said before, I have been asked a lot why I do what I do and like I have been trying to tell you these past few minutes, I do what I do because I believe the God who loves me has commissioned me to do it. But the beautiful thing is God hasn't just left me in the dust there. He has carried me through all the nights of ministry as well as all the unexpected moments of ministry. And He has revealed more of Himself to me because of it. He has shown me who He is and what He is doing in the lives of others. Here in New Orleans I have met people who have turned over their lives to God and overcome insane addictions. A few weeks ago back in Minnesota, I met a man named Daniel who found Christ when he was homeless. He still is to this day, but rather than being caught up in despair like many homeless folks you meet, he takes comfort in the fact that even the Son of Man had no place to lay his head. God has given us such amazing opportunities to see Him work and He has also given us the ability to be used by Him. We don't always get to see the result of what we do but I believe that what we do makes a difference. Just the other day a man here in New Orleans named Gary surrendered his life to Christ. He said the day before some kids came under the bridge and blessed him. That truly seemed to impact him and I believe that whenever we minister to people, God uses it in some way. I think that what we do plants seeds of hope and God waters those seeds. Who knows what ways God has used us to impact people! A few months back we sat with a man named Joshua for an hour and tried to talk him out of killing himself that night. What if God used us to keep that man from going through with it. I don't want it to appear that we save people ourselves. That is ridiculous. But when it comes down to it, for some reason God likes to work through people. So we try to let Him work through us. As for me, I never regret the days I decide to give God control of my life and let Him work.

So we must declare the Deliverer in the darkness, bring the Bread of Life bravely down Bourbon Street, and continue carrying the cross of Christ into the chaos because when we do that we do as Jesus did and share hope with people different yet so similar to us. And when we do this, we can know that Jesus goes before us. And as always, we are to go as a family because we are stronger when we are united.

My Ministry Plans

What I Wanted To Be When I Grew Up
Growing up I wanted to be a teacher. From the first few times Mom or Dad would ask me until 6th grade that was always my answer. Then during 6th and 7th grade I decided I wanted to be a writer. I also always thought it would be really amazing to be a doctor so I could help people but I knew I could never stomach a lot of things doctors must do (so I decided I'd settle for being a doctor in the game of Life).

Ministry and Me
When I started 8th grade I led the Christian Club at my middle school. During that year I fell in love with ministry. I loved teaching, writing sermons, and listening to people who would come to me with problems. Interestingly enough, I realized all the careers I had been interested in previously fit in with ministry. Ministry involves teaching, writing sermons, and helping people. It seemed as though things had just fallen into place. Two years before I had found a great church and for the first time in my life I felt like the messages applied to me and made sense. I went from being distant and unwilling to know more about God to being eager to learn more. That is the difference a good pastor can make. I wanted to be a good pastor who would do for others what my new pastors were doing for me.

New Orleans
The summer between my freshman and sophomore year of high school I went on my second mission trip, which was to New Orleans. Going into it I had no idea what to expect or what an impact the trip would have on the course of my life. One morning in late June of 2013 I hopped onto a 15 passenger van and took off on the adventure of a lifetime. During my twelve day trip I interacted with homeless people whose stories affected me, kids whose smiles melted me, and pastors whose visions inspired me. We got to meet a homeless man whose prized possession was his Bible and a group of bikers who go around sharing the Gospel. We saw a church at work changing people's lives and we saw the result of many people's generosity when we saw all the homes that had been built for people who lost theirs in Hurricane Katrina. But I was also met with gift shops which made me want to run out as soon as I walked in and I had to walk down streets knowing that one block over were countless bars and clubs which to people flock to fill up their lives. We had to walk by people on "harmless" voodoo tours which are popular in the city. Our first night in New Orleans we were told by Pastor Byron that New Orleans was a wonderful city but that it became something completely different at night. When I came home I was greatly conflicted by the things I saw. On one hand there was lots of drug dealing, gang activity, crime, drunkenness, and lust. The Devil was at work there - that was for sure. But God was too - there was no doubt about that either. For six months a day would not pass when I wouldn't think of the incredible people I met there and worked with there. Those daily run-ins with the trip in my mind was God planting an idea in my head. I just didn't know it then.

Questioning to Confidence and a New Plan
In January of 2014 I went on the Revolution winter retreat through Eagle Brook. During that time I was struggling with whether God was calling me to be a pastor or if I was calling myself to be a pastor. I loved running Christian Club, leading a small group of middle school girls, and going on mission trips. I loved serving God but the thing is anyone can serve God in their jobs. Was vocational ministry really my calling or did God want me to use a different job to serve Him? I didn't know anymore. But on that retreat I found my answer to that question and the answer to another question I hadn't really thought to ask... For my morning break out session I chose "Leadership/Calling". With the questioning I had been doing lately it seemed like the right place to go. I went and I am so glad I did. Nate, the Student Ministries pastor at the Lino Lakes campus at the time, taught me so many things. Nate said that your calling is to make a difference in the world using the gifts and passions God put inside you. It was then I realized that the God had put in me a passion for ministry and gifts that could help me in ministry like patience, good listening skills, compassion, determination, and wisdom. Nate also said something that gave me peace. He said that there isn't just one career that is right for you. I walked out of that session confident once again that ministry would be an incredible career for me. Later that evening we had a large group session led by the high school teaching pastor Alex. The big question at the end of it was "where is God leading you?" Right then I knew where God was calling me. New Orleans.

The Coming Years
I just completed my Freshman year at UNW a few weeks ago. It will be several more years until I finish my program, a five year program where I will get my bachelor's in Pastoral Ministry and my master's in Divinity, but I am excited for what lies ahead of me. This coming year I will finish up all my remaining general courses and get to start taking ministry courses. Then, with any amount of luck, I will get to do my first internship next summer.

Update (7/23/16): I always assumed that when told me 'New Orleans' that winter night two and a half years ago that He meant I would be there forever. As I sit back here in New Orleans, I wonder whether maybe God meant that I needed to come back here to learn. Being here for the summer has taught me so much and I will never be the same because of it. However, I can't shake the desire to be back home doing ministry in the Twin Cities again. I wonder if maybe God wanted me back in New Orleans for this - to teach me new things about urban ministry and to help me realize my love & passion for the Twin Cities. I don't know this for sure. Maybe I will end up back here long-term. But maybe I will spend a lot more time in the Twin Cities than I ever thought I would. All I know is God has been showing me just how deep my love for home is. No matter what my future holds, I know God goes before me and yet is still with me.