Work in Progress

By Justin McCoy –

I just graduated from college with a degree in psychology and a heart for helping the church make an impact in local neighborhoods. So a week after my commencement ceremony, I moved to Holland to work with 3sixty, a small non-profit in the central neighborhood of Holland. I only knew a few things about it before I came: The people in this organization seek God, have a heartfelt desire to see their neighborhood thrive, and are developing a tool-lending library at their intern house on College Ave.

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Intern House currently being rehabilitated; also home to the Tool Lending Library.

When I arrived, I realized that there was so much to celebrate! Many of those who work there are somehow connected also to the church.  Ever since I first stepped into the sanctuary, which lies upstairs in an outbuilding behind the pastor’s home, I have been received as family. In the past month, I’ve been welcomed into half of the church members’ homes, I’ve been prayed over in thanksgiving and intercession, and I’ve born witness to the heart of the Gospel modeled in lives dedicated to their community.

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Sanctuary

I see the work of God in Holland through the many groups like 3sixty in the community and in the church, when I am eating dinner with its families, doing construction on an intern house, praying at vespers in the afternoons, and designing a tool-lending program in the office. I am learning again and again that the Kingdom is found not only in the pews, but in the living sacrifices of His people.