“When are you coming back?”, he asked. “yeah! When?!” exclaimed another. These are the questions our team received when we culminated OPERATION SAFE SPACE this summer. The month of July was crazy, to say the least. The first week of July is a BLITZ week, where we go out every day, then go out a couple of days a week, to end with a full BLITZ on the last week of July. Every Sabbath during the month of July, we picked up kids to come to church. Every week, there were kids lined up to come. 

It is a joy to see the excitement in a child’s eyes when they are being picked up to come to church. Our kids love church! In Matthew 19:14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” The desire of Harbor of Hope is to be able to provide transportation to any child who wants to attend church. Awesome! Right? But the thing is, we do not have it. One of our vans broke down and the other one is unreliable. 

Although we are not able to keep bringing kids to church weekly, Harbor of Hope still conducts outreach in our community of Benton Harbor, focused on our adopted housing complex- Berrien Homes. 

In collaboration with Andrews University Center for Faith Engagement, Nicholas Gunn, Sister from Another Mother, Diane Young, Salvation Army, and many others; Harbor of Hope provided Berrien Homes on Nov 17, 2024, with a Thanksgiving Blessing. Andrews University students and Harbor of Hope church members showered multiple homes with prayers, presence, and cleaning. A time when moms, aunties, uncles, fathers, and grandparents could take a break from the business of life as our volunteers were hard at work, scrubbing walls, cleaning bathrooms, sweeping, mopping, etc. Above all, the ministry of presence was tangible. 

20 families in Berrien Homes were blessed with a cordless handheld vacuum and a special sweet treat for their family nights. As we walked from home to home, the kids followed and walked with us. Asking us one question: “When are you coming back to bring us to church?” 

Have you ever had something that brings you joy but pains your heart at the same time? This is what that question did for me, for Harbor of Hope. While other churches are struggling to keep kids and youth in church, we are struggling with the opposite. We just do not have the means to bring them. 

It’s the best problem to have. A bunch of amazing kids searching for God and wanting to come to church but a church that does not have the transportation to make it happen. 

As we approach our Christmas season, I want you to ask God if He is calling you to reach deeper into your pockets and into your hearts to make church possible for spiritually hungry kids in Benton Harbor. My dream is for us to have multiple vans with the Harbor of Hope Logo on it, and be recognizable in the whole Benton Harbor. For our kids to look up at the vans and know that they also get an opportunity to come to church and worship Jesus. The kingdom of Heaven does not just belong to us, it belongs to them too.