GINGER CREEK WORLD ENGAGEMENT

Passion for God…
Compassion for Others

“You will receive my power and will be my witnesses,

telling people everywhere about me,

both near and far, to the ends of the earth.” (Jesus)

THIS IS GOD’S PLAN.

Do you want to make a difference?

Are you ready to make a difference?

JOIN a ministry team or ask for more information? CLICK HERE.

VIEW the GC World Engagement ministry teams video? >>> Click on video below.

GLOBAL TEAMS

Puerto Rico

Outreach to Puerto Rico began in the winter of 2017 when God spoke to two men from GC to help after Hurricane Maria devastated the island. Since that first trip, we have been back as a church five times. Our most substantial connection is with Palmas Community Church in Humacao, which began reaching out to individuals, under-resourced churches, and communities since Maria wrecked the island.
HOW CAN YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE? GC teams can serve alongside these Puerto Rican churches with hurricane and earthquake disaster relief by bringing skilled and semi-skilled manual laborers to the island to do clean-up and re-construction, by praying and encouraging, counseling and moral support, providing bilingual translation, and donating funds toward trip team travel and supplies. (Paul Hamaker, leader)

Haiti

God’s Littlest Angels is a nonprofit organization serving the community of Fort Jacques, Haiti. GLA’s mission is to provide exceptional neonatal care, and a haven to Haiti’s smallest, sickest, and most vulnerable children as local pastors lend spiritual leadership. GLA works with Haitian social services (IBESR), offering long-term residential care to children awaiting adoption. We also provide short-term care to children and infants who need medical assistance and hope to return home to their families once they are stable and doing well. We are in the process of updating our neonatal intensive care unit.
HOW CAN YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE? GLA offers opportunities to partner with the work in Haiti through sponsoring a child, education sponsorship, and NICU sponsorship. Due to the country’s current political climate and insecurity, all mission trips to Haiti are on hold at this time. (Becky Leib, Leader)

Nicaragua

Nicaragua is the 2nd poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Since 2009, GC has established long-term partnerships with two churches in the capital city of Managua as they minister to their communities’ spiritual, physical, economic, and educational challenges. In recent years, these two Managua churches and GC finished a 5-year financial partnership to lead the development of the school, church, and community into sustainability by reaching their God-given potential to THRIVE instead of SURVIVE. Achieving that goal transformed hearts, lives, families, churches, and communities. Since 2015, a dedicated Ginger Creeker’s has regularly written to and prayed for 26 children and their families in the remote, poorest of the poor village of Las Mariítas. Through the regular giving of Ginger Creeker’s into the weekly tithes and offerings, GC has financially sponsored these 26 kids through the FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY development program. This small, remote village of hard-working Nicaraguan families is on target to “graduate” early from the FH development program in 2023 and become self-sustaining! To God be the glory!
HOW CAN YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE? Become a GC Pen Pal for a year and brighten a child’s life in Las Mariítas by writing and encouraging them to love and follow Jesus, study hard in school, and fulfill God’s good plan for their future. Over the years, Ginger Creek trip teams have traveled to Nicaragua to walk alongside and serve local spiritual leaders, their churches, and the community. You can also consider joining a GC Service-Learning Trip Team or donating funds toward a mission trip. (Dock and Norma Caton, leaders)

LOCAL TEAMS

Administer Justice is the largest faith-based legal aid organization in the country. It was founded and is headquartered in Elgin, Illinois. It serves vulnerable people in local communities with the help of a lawyer and the hope of God’s love in the community of the Church. Ginger Creek participates in doing justice for our church neighbors through a team of Ginger Creekers who volunteer in the Ginger Creek Legal Clinic.
HOW CAN YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE? You don’t need to be a lawyer to Administer Justice. Serve others through their legal issues as a good listener, interpreter, encourager, or deliverer of hope. We need you today if you can type, organize, create a positive atmosphere, listen, interpret, share God’s love, and encourage or pray. (Kevin Drendel, leader)

Hesed House in Aurora is the second largest homeless shelter in Illinois. Each day, Hesed House is caring for families with children and adults of all ages who require shelter. Ginger Creek has been a partner with Hesed House for nearly 20 years by providing and serving meals on a monthly basis to nearly 200 guests. Ginger Creek’s Second Saturday Serve began as a helping hand, providing food to our community. Then during the early part of the pandemic, Second Saturday Serve became a lot more meaningful as it partnered with Hesed House by making homemade meals for those in the Hesed House (Lighthouse) program for individual adults and families who had found housing in our community and were no longer guests at Hesed House. On the Second Saturday of each month, volunteers continue to gather in the lobby of Ginger Creek, pack food boxes that become staple for the adults and families we serve. The food boxes are then delivered twice a month, which gives us the opportunity to establish a relationship, pray with them and for them, bring them the Gospel, and invite them to church. Over the past two years, Ginger Creek has fed more than 250 people throughout our community.
HOW CAN YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE? You can help monthly by serving meals at Hesed House or by donating funds for the meals. On Second Saturdays of each month, you and your family can help pack food boxes or help deliver them, share a smile, build a relationship, share a prayer… or donate food or funds for items to pack. (Reggie Smith, leader)

Safe Families for Children is an organization whose mission is to help families stay together by keeping children out of foster care. Volunteers come alongside families in crisis by opening up their homes to host the children while their parents get on their feet. Ginger Creek has a partnership with Safe Families and there are so many ways to become involved in this ministry. Join our ministry team as we strive to form a compassionate community for families facing crisis situations. Safe Families for Children is a ministry where you can MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Join us as we keep families together during a crisis.
HOW CAN YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE? You can serve by providing transportation or babysitting, by providing resources, including meals, diapers, formula, car repairs, and so much more. And there’s always a need for more host families to provide temporary homes for these children. Let your compassion shine as you support a family struggling to survive. (Stephanie Booton, leader)

The Garden Ministry at Ginger Creek was started in February 2020 when a garden plot was created on the church property – a beautiful and serene environment so volunteers could work, enjoy each other’s company, share stories about Christ, spend time with our Lord, be in the Word together and share with others the abundance of the harvest that the Lord provides when we plant the seeds, tend the garden and give to people who need it. Simply put, we serve God and others by GROWING FOOD AND FEEDING PEOPLE.
HOW CAN YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE? The Garden Ministry is where you can MAKE A DIFFERENCE by helping bring food security to hundreds of local families. All it takes is an ability to weed or water, plant, harvest, or deliver our food to those in need. (Michelle DeRaedt, leader)

The W.A.T.C.H. Ministry was started in January 2022. The acronym stands for Women Assisting Through Changed Hearts. We are Women Assisting those in need across our community, nation and even internationally. We are conducting this ministry Through Changed Hearts given to us by God’s grace when we committed our lives to Him and received Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Our ministry core focus is on serving and helping fund campaigns against human trafficking. We currently support WAR International in Michigan and a local safe house in the Chicago suburbs, Naomi’s House. Human trafficking is a growing crisis in our world and in 2023 we plan to expand our support to two additional organizations. We also partner with Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) food packing events, and we organize Christmas toy drives for underprivileged children. The rewards and blessings are great in this ministry, and we would love for you to share your gifts in this mission with us. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few -Matthew 9:37
HOW CAN YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE? You can make a difference by helping us organize these events, or volunteering for hands-on service opportunities for the underprivileged. (Tanya O’Connor, leader)

Veterans Outreach of Illinois is a nonprofit with a mission to bring housing to homeless veterans by providing a community project of a Community House and Tiny Houses to allow a veteran two-years to gain job skills, learn social services, take college classes, and much more to help them get what they need to excel, enter the job force, and be given the chance they deserve for their service.
HOW CAN YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE? We have many ways for volunteers to help — board positions, membership, making blankets for each veteran, painting embellishments to put in their rooms, event planning, grant-writing, media marketing and much more. (Jeannette Herbord, leader)

GLORIFY (I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will GLORIFY your name forever. Psalm 86:12)
GLORIFY Ministry was born in 2021 when we heard the call of God and He showed us a need in our community. Among other things, the GLORIFY ministry team helps deliver pizzas to families in need, and without judgment or conditions. These are families who are going through a difficult time, or someone is sick, or having surgery or in the hospital, or busy running kids to doctors’ appointments or just tired. We are excited and humbled with this opportunity to encourage families during the time when it is most needed. Our God has called us to offer our lives in service to each other in the community and GLORIFY Him in that process. You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love (Galatians 5:13)
HOW CAN YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE? GLORIFY ministry is more than just delivering a pizza with a purpose. It’s ideal for those who want to make a difference by uplifting families that no longer want to walk this journey alone. Join GLORIFY and learn to share through acts of service, words of encouragement, mentoring, teaching, praying and most importantly…listening. (Frank and De Lishman, leaders)