For the past six years, I have been serving on the front line of the mission field. I have weathered harsh storms and I have been knee deep in mud (literally) in my attempt to bring kids closer to the savior who loves them.
When I signed up for The World Race, I expected to stand my ground on the front line, but this month God had a different plan. In South Africa, God is showing me what ministry looks like from behind the scenes.
While many of my squadmates spend their days coaching at sports ministries, tutoring underprivileged students, and serving food at a feeding project, I have willingly taken my place on a marketing team. Most of my days are spent sitting at a large round table at a local coffee shop or standing behind a video camera.
However, in order for you to truly understand my role, I need to give you a brief history of Volunteer in South Africa.
—————————
In 2007, Mandy grew tired of seeing kids out on the street begging for money instead of being in school. Thus, she offered to teach a few of them how to surf if they would start going to school. The following week when they showed up with 20 of their friends, Mandy saw an opportunity to impact the entire community. One problem stood in her way, she could not teach 20 kids to surf by herself, so she started Volunteer in South Africa and began inviting surfers from around the world to come work alongside her.
The organization was blessed early on by partnerships with several foreign agencies that began to send her funding as well as over 50 volunteers a month and Mandy was soon able to expand to four locations across South Africa. However, while the immediate need of volunteers and finances was being met, Mandy’s true desire was for the organization to grow into a Christ-centered ministry. Yet, the reality was that the vast majority of the volunteers who were coming were not Christians.
In June of this year, Volunteer in South Africa was visited for the first time by a team of World Racers and Mandy saw the positive impact that a team of Christian volunteers had on the kids as well as the entire community. At that time she decided to discontinue her partnerships with the non-Christian agencies and began the process of promoting Volunteer in South Africa as a Christian ministry. However, with the end of the partnerships also came an end to the organization’s funding and for several months Mandy has been using her personal money to keep the organization running.
—————————
When our squad arrived in Cape Town two weeks ago, we saw communication and marketing as a crucial need in order for Volunteer in South Africa to maintain its longterm operation without a dependence on non-Christian volunteer agencies. Thus, a small team (including myself) decided to take a step back from direct ministry with kids, in order to prepare for longterm success. One of my squadmates worked in non-profit fundraising before coming on the race, so she stepped into the role of donor relations. Another team member has a degree in marketing and jumped into website improvements and designing promotional materials. Matt and I have once again taken on the role of creating a promotional video. In addition to the video, I have also been working to create an online database and newsletter.
In one sense it is odd to think that God brought me all the way to South Africa, and I have yet to build a meaningful relationship with one of the students. But then I realize that my role is so much bigger than just one relationship. I am working to prepare the way for hundreds of Christian volunteers to come in the future. My job this month is about creating a path for those relationships to happen. God has placed me behind the scenes in South Africa, but my role is significant.
