Reflections from BUMP Philly

BUMP Philadelphia was a little different for me as an intern, since I was on-site for both BUMP weeks. I grew up doing BUMPs, and this summer I had the opportunity to intern with BUMP as a site leader. Throughout my time in Philadelphia, I came to better understand God' heart for the city and experience many of the different ministries going on in Philadelphia. 

One of the really cool ways I saw God work in the community while we were at BUMP was getting to be part of a church plant that was going on during the first BUMP week. Redemption Church, planted in South Philly in the Point Breeze neighborhood, was gearing up for it's first service at the end of that week. We were able to walk around the neighborhood talking to people about the church and it's first service, and far more people than I ever expected to be interested kept asking us about the church and what it was about. We even prayed with some people, and one guy prayed for us on the street that the church would have success. It really encouraged us as we went out to talk to people about the church. We also helped Pastor Will clean up the church building in preparation for the service. While I wasn't able to be physically present at the first service, Pastor Will and the group that went were incredibly happy with the turnout and the interest in the community. It was clear that God is filling a need in that neighborhood. 

It was also awesome to see the students growing and serving over the course of the week. In the second week of BUMP, we did a VBS with the church. After the first night of debriefing, I asked the students to pray for kids who they got to know. One of the BUMPers prayed for one of the kids, Daemar, who had acted up a little during the VBS. We prayed that God would open his heart and bring him back for day two of VBS. The second day he was a little crazier and his Mom ended up coming and taking him home before the end of day two. We prayed for him again, and he came back on the third day and was participating more and helping other kids with the games and crafts. On the last day, Daemar accepted Christ because he wanted to be more like his BUMP rotation leader, the one who'd been praying for him all week. It was an amazing answer to prayer, and a privilege to witness God working in the life of Daemar. 

In general, it was really awesome seeing the BUMPers change and grow over the course of the week. Both weeks the groups came prepared to serve and had a lot of energy, which was amazing. They also persevered remarkably well, in the case of the second week they kept up the energy at the end of the week for the VBS even though they were tired, and in the case of the first week the group they stayed excited to do the often inglorious work of cleaning up the community, assisting with the church plant, and working on a new room in Grace Church. It was encouraging to see the groups have deepened relationships with each other and hear them talk about how they were seeing God work in their own lives and each other. 

As for myself, I one of the most important things I learned about myself is that all you need to serve God is a willing heart. I was nervous about being the point guy for the week for an awful lot of people. I wasn't sure if I was up for the task, and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to handle it. I also wasn't sure if I was good enough to lead in God's name. I struggle with things all the time, and I wasn't sure if I would be able to model Jesus for the people looking up to me. Of course, I make plenty of mistakes and I'd rather not think of myself as a worthy model, but I do know that I am broken and that God can still use me. He fills my deficiencies and used me to further his purpose, and I am very thankful that God used me over the week and I hope that I was able to follow His plan faithfully through the week. It was great personally to look back over BUMP Philadelphia and realize that I am a capable leader, and that God can use me, and that I can make a difference in the lives of other people. I think that was the most powerful thing that I learned, and it's something that I know I'll need to be reminded of. I suppose that's the great thing about mission work: God never gets tired of using us, He always has work for us, and He can always continue to show us things about ourselves. I was incredibly fortunate to be able to work with the leaders at Grace Church in Philadelphia and with the three groups that came over the course of the two weeks of BUMP Philadelphia.

At the start of the week, I wasn't sure how much I'd like the city. As was pointed out to me by the site leader at Grace Church, Walt, Philadelphia's motto Philadelphia Maneto (written on the city flag) comes straight from Hebrews 13:1. The words of scripture have power over the city, and it was inspiring to serve God there and also feel his love for a city that needs Him. The city has a real need for God, and it's so easy to forget how we need to fulfill God's call to reach the nations in our own cities. It was a real joy to serve in Philadelphia alongside so many others dedicated to the city. It was great to grow myself and see others develop a passion to serve God and find His will in their own lives. It was an unforgettable BUMP. 

"We experienced God in the process..."

"This BUMP experience has been fantastic... We did not just talk about serving and loving people, we did it every day, all day," writes Pastor Craig Maart of Hershey Free Church. "We experienced the sights and smells. We walked through beautiful downtown and trash-filled streets. We met people we would have judged harshly, based on appearance, who were really nice and friendly to talk to. We felt the needs of people. However, all this pales in comparison to how we experienced God in the process."

To read Pastor Craig's full blog entry summarizing their BUMP 2013 Philadelphia week, click here.

Post BUMP--Reflections from the Intern

It's been a long and incredibly rewarding week of BUMP. I don't think I've ever worked so many hours in a week before and been so grateful for every bit of it. The time I spent in this church, this community, and with this group has been so incredible for me.

When I first got here, I was very excited to serve this church but I wasn't sure how great of a leader I'd be. After all, I'm only a few years ahead of the kids I'd be leading and several years junior to the pastors and youth pastors coming to serve and already serving here who have had plenty of experience in ministry. I wanted to do a good job facilitating the relationships between this church, the incoming leaders, and the students themselves. Most of all, I wasn't sure how God would be able to use me, busted and incapable as I am, to be a good example to the people I'd be working with. 

On the first Sunday when they got here, one week ago today, I was nervous about running the orientation. I had all the usual self-conscious questions: Would I forget to cover anything? Would I be comfortable speaking in front of them? Would they respect me? Would the leaders respect me? Would I honor God? As I watched them all come into the church, I remember feeling overwhelmed by how many of them there were, and (oddly enough) how young they all looked. I'm probably not allowed to think high schoolers are young, but they reminded me of myself when I was doing BUMP and it felt really weird being on the leadership side of the whole thing. I remember praying that God would use us all and show us something really cool that we'd all need to see this coming week. 

I also remember one of the most fundamental lessons I'd learned in BUMP coming back to me: to rely on God for all my shortcomings. He works best when we're outside of our comfort zones, and we can do all things through him when we are not enough. God was pushing me into a new place, and I decided I'd follow him into the week.

And boy, what a week. God gave me everything that I needed. He gave me the respect of the church leaders and of the BUMP leaders. He gave me the connections I desired with the BUMPers. He gave me leadership experience and allowed me to learn from the other leaders. He gave me the wisdom and flexibility to deal with the ins and outs of each day. And most importantly, he gave me the words to say throughout the week, the confidence to lead, and the feedback to improve myself.

There was so much encouragement this week, too. I haven't been very involved with BUMP or urban ministry since I started college, so it's been great to get back and see what God shows you. Our first day of Day Camp, I was able to get to know a little girl named Malea. She was saved that first day, and she made me a craft which meant a lot to me. It reminded me how a little love and attention can go a long way, especially in the life off a child. I also got a lot of encouragement working in South Philly helping a church plant. So many people approached us asking about the church and asked a lot of questions as we walked around, and we even prayed with a few people on the street (and had one guy pray for us!) It was awesome to be reminded that God is at work in everyone everywhere, and it was an awesome thing to be reminded of.

I think the best thing was forming relationships with the BUMPers and the leaders here. At the beginning of the week I was overwhelmed, and by the end I knew all their names and was playing 16-square with them in the basement of the church.