God placed a love for discipling refugees for Jesus Christ into the hearts of both Shauna and I, bringing our personal mission backgrounds full circle into a union of serving refugees together for the gospel’s sake.
I served in Italy for nearly five years co-leading 3 different refugee centers in Rome. While in Italy, a mission team from Green Valley Baptist church came to assist and connected me to the Christ-centered refugee ministry here in Las Vegas. When I returned to the states five years ago and landed in Nevada, I started serving in a 20 year old established ministry, to pour the love of Christ into refugees. Shauna discovered this same refugee community 3 years ago when she asked God to send her to unreached people groups. She has been teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) with this same refugee ministry.
Now, our mission work is to reach refugee families with the gospel message of Jesus Christ. We believe the Lord is able to establish disciples from around the world who will go on to share Christ with their own people groups. God brought all of us to the desert of Nevada for such a time as this. Currently, we conduct our mission work in the midst of an established residential community where the government relocates families from war-torn and persecuted countries. We build bridges to share the gospel by meeting many of their tangible needs.
Learning English is imperative for working and living in America, so we teach ESL as our first step in creating relationships. Our curriculum includes Bible excerpts and stories so the Word of God is part of our normal day in the classroom. As we move outside the classroom, we are privileged to be their first Jesus-following American friends, coming alongside them to help navigate documents, assist with doctor appointments, study towards citizenship, and help their kids with homework. We use every opportunity the Holy Spirit presents to share the message of the gospel as we interact with those God brings into our path.
Hosting and breaking bread together while praying and imparting God’s Word are key focuses of the friendships we make. Building relationships with the families is an intricate part of our mission work as these friendships enable us to share the gospel.
We invite the local body of Christ and teams to serve with us in the great commission. We invite all those who pray and give to our ministry to link arms with us and join the gospel story as it unfolds in the lives of the refugee families we serve. Our goal is to continue to disciple in Las Vegas during the school year and Italy in the summer, leading teams to serve with refugee ministries where God began his work in my heart.
