|
Pastor Carrie Garland, from the Painesville Assembly of God Church, describes her experiences with the Convoy of Hope and shares her vision for the June 26 outreach event:
"Over 9 years ago, after volunteering at the Convoy of Hope National office in Springfield, MO as a college student and then interning with them for a summer, God birthed in my heart the desire and dream to bring them to our local city of Painesville upon graduation and return to my hometown. At that time Convoy Of Hope was in the process of tailoring their outreaches to accommodate smaller cities and was not fully ready to launch that idea. However, as time went by I never forgot the dream that was within me. I loved Convoy Of Hope, what they stood for, their vision for compassion and how practical and tangible their outreach efforts were.
After experiencing three outreaches myself I longed for God to do in our city what I had seen Him do elsewhere in the U.S. In the summer of 2009, while I was on a mission’s trip with our 5th and 6th graders, I was speaking with the director of the team. She had shared that Missions Extreme would be coming to Painesville, OH in June of 2010 to help us reach out to those in our community. As I began to think about what we could do during the week these kids were here, God reminded me of the vision for bringing the Convoy of Hope right here to our city. I felt it was time and that God was blessing not only the idea but the effort it would take to launch it. From the moment we said “YES!” and turned in our application, God has been giving us favor with city officials, commissioners, other organizations like the Lake County Fairgrounds as well as churches and businesses. Almost immediately after our Vision Casting luncheon in November of ’09, we had almost all of our 15 leadership positions filled and were featured on the front page of the News Herald. Volunteers with the exact set of skills and gifts needed were quickly coming forward, ready to serve. The rapid response of provision for this outreach made our National Outreach Director, Ron Showers say: ‘I don’t know what God is doing in your city but He is up to something so enjoy the journey!’ The word of Convoy Of Hope spread throughout Painesville and into surrounding cities, communities and even counties. We quickly realized that we needed to broaden the scope to a Northeast Ohio effort.
I want to say a huge “THANK YOU” to a network of churches called: ‘Unity in Northeast Ohio (UNO).’ I truly believe if it wasn’t for the network that was already established and in place this would not have had the successful launch that it’s had. It’s been a beautiful partnership that’s blossomed and continues to blossom as we move forward and network with not only churches, but businesses, community agencies, and other non-profit groups. God’s timing is always perfect and the time for Convoy of Hope in Northeast Ohio is now! Enjoy the journey and live the story!”
~Pastor Carrie Garland, Convoy Coordinator, Painesville Assembly of God. |
 |
|
|
Outreach Vision |