Bethel Lutheran Church

We have arrived safe and sound in Tulsa! We were given a warm welcome by Pastor Gary as well as Pastor Kujanga and Pastor Sean and their leadership team. They shared the overall heart and vision of what God is doing in the surrounding community so we are excited to be welcomed into their church body to worship God through our service and love!

This morning we were able to get our eyes and hearts focused on the historic Black Wallstreet otherwise known as Greenwood. We were able to see what was once a prosperous black community and see what racial injustice had occured. Understanding this important history helps us see what kind of racial reconciliation is happening in the Church now, by the grace of God all in the name of Jesus.

We worshiped together with our host church and were warmly welcomed by their congregation. Pastor Sean then preached on "expectations" and how we can expect God to do great things this week, but also great things in our personal lives. After which he passed along the symbolic rowing oar that belongs to the church which symbolizes the active participation of teamwork in rowing together for building God's kingdom! We will be carrying this along with us wherever we go this week at the request of Pastor Sean.

Pastor Gary gave us a wonderful tour and vision of a theater near the church. He explained that through performances at the theater we can engage the audience in a whole different way to get them immersed in an "experience" instead of a regular church service. Through the work we do today, we hope that this theater can be used by God to reach His people, lost and found.

We are continuing the Lord's work in all ways, even if that is folding clothes! Our host church has a continually growing clothing ministry and we were blessed to serve them today in taking our turn to push that forward. Or, to "row" that forward (as you can see we have our oar from Pastor Sean).

We were fortunate to be welcomed by Pastor Kujanga to a location called "The Zone". This is a place that Pastor Kujanga leads to create a space for kids in the community during the day. We had a great time spending sometime in class with the kids and building relationships with the local community!

Who says we can't have some ice cream while serving Jesus? 

We had a great night getting ice cream after a long day of working and playing with kids!

We have finished our long arduous task of sorting clothes for the churches' clothing ministry. It is amazing to know all the things God is doing even when it's extending clothing out to others. It was long, but we know God will do great things out of our acts of service to this community.

This morning we head back to our homes. We came to serve our host church and the community and build relationships along the way. Each happening only in the name of Jesus! As seen in this picture, you can see that Pastor Sean gifted us our own oar to remember this trip and take back to our church. We will continue the work, rowing the Kingdom forward.