Throughout the past 2 decades, the Lord has used Kentucky Changers to reach the people of the Bluegrass State with the life-changing message of the Gospel. Using practical ministry as a launching pad, this ministry continues to reach out to needy communities to serve “the least of these” with the love of Christ. In this most recent blog post at GoCrossings.org, Kentucky Changers Director Joe Ball reflects on his 20th summer in this dynamic ministry.
This was the 20th year for Kentucky Changers, however it was a summer of firsts for us. It was the first year Crossings was that steward of Changers, that we did four sessions in the same summer, that we had projects in Bowling Green and Lexington, and it was the first year for a lot of our participants. Also it was the first year I was in charge.
Was it our best summer ever? That’s hard to say, after 20 years they all run together and the lines separating the years start to blur. But it was a great summer.
We were able to complete over 70 projects. Ranging from building a ramp off a porch in Somerset so a child in a wheelchair could get to her school bus to a large roofing job in Maysville where we took off existing shingles. We partnered with a church in Franklin to clean up an older church building that they are going to use to launch a church in their area. We partnered with SeedLeaf in Lexington and built community gardens in the inner-city so they can use the growing of fresh vegetables as a platform for sharing the Gospel to those neighborhoods.
While all of these projects are noteworthy the heart of Changers has always been the change that occurs in our participants. Students and adults who pay to work in the hot sun and sleep on the hard floor encounter God in fresh and new ways. For several of our participants this summer was the beginning of their new life in Christ. Most students came and wanted to help people in need, but during the course of the week the Spirit of God moved in their hearts. The Gospel became real to them and they crossed over from death to life. That is the greatest change of all.
Praise God for all that he has done. I can’t wait to see what He has in store over the next 20 years,
Joe