Blog 1: Ministry Info
I am finally here in Colombia!!! The first five days of being here have treated me so well, I couldn’t be more excited for what God is doing here through our ministry! Though I am currently 2000+ miles away from home a part of me does feel at home knowing that the same ministry, Team Challenge, is 30 min away from my home in the States. The Ministry my squad is serving is a place for the displaced community here in Medellin! In this blog I will go more into depth of how this Ministry came about and how the Lord is moving.
Many years ago God called a farming pastor named David Wilkerson `to New York City to minister in the gang inhabited streets of New York City! Immediately upon arrival he became a hot topic in the papers, people simply thought he was a crazy man bound to be killed. Long story short he moved to New York City and created the first Teen Challenge for mainly the Latin American teens caught up in drugs, sex, and violence. The teens began getting discipled and lives began to be transformed, from them trying to get their next fix- to wanting all that God has to offer. David then started a church called Times Square Church where his vision was to equip his congregation to go to the ends of the earth to preach the gospel.
In the meantime, an intelligent and young Argentinian man named Douglas was looking for wealth and moved to Canada where he was making over $1000 a day off of his fried chicken, cleaning, and bakery business. Miraculously one day the Cross And The Switch Blade (a book written by Nikki Crux, whose life was transformed through the Teen challenge program in NYC) fell on his lap. In amazement, he needed to know that if this God that the book talks about. He needed to meet the man who wrote The Cross And The Switchblade. His journey to find the answer led him to the doors of Times Square Church, where the janitor convinced him to go through the Teen Challenge program. His intellectual mind soaked up everything. After a bible college turned him down he ended up looking after a church here in Colombia. After seeing the drug infused homeless community he knew that he couldn’t walk away! After leading one gentlemen to the Lord he found himself surrounded by a multitude of homeless men and he was convinced they were ready to jump him. Instead the hearts of these men were ready to turn to the Lord. Right then and there, many gave their lives to the Lord. The men needed a place to stay and be discipled so He created a refuge/church for them.
Since 1993, the ministry has grown in amazing ways! Over the years they have been a refuge for over 13,000 homeless men giving them a safe place to stay. They also have a church service and discipleship program for them. Their recovery program for men has a 70% recovery rate, which is incredible. Along with a men’s program they also have a women’s program, a refuge for displaced families, a homeschooling program for the children, and a children’s program. Every Sunday they bus over 100 children in from a neighboring community. The children are eager to learn. This ministry believes strongly that these children are the future world changers in Medellin. I have never seen children so happy and eager to learn more about Jesus! This Ministry is self sufficient through their small bakery and fried chicken business. Through this business they are also able to teach the men important skills.
There is a school in the neighboring community where my squad is holding day camps throughout the week to simply love on the children and show them the love of Jesus. The community in which they live in is impoverished and forgotten by then government. The community is mainly made up of refugees who have fled for safety from the Civil War that has inflicted Colombia for many years. At the end of the month we will be hosting a huge service with music, games, testimonies, and baptisms. If you could pray for this next month that would be great! Pray that the people here would be open to the true love that only comes from the restorative hope found in Jesus Christ!
