Published Aug 23, 2018
LONG BEACH — Eight California Southern Baptist congregations in Long Beach Harbor Baptist Association received assistance with their ministry during Familyfest July 21-26.
Thirty volunteers — from Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina — joined another 30 members of California churches for a variety of ministries, including Music in the Park led by Iglesia Emanuel in Lakewood.
Eva De La Rosa, with the California Southern Baptist Convention missions and evangelism initiatives team, and Richard Graham, director of missions for the association, organized the effort to bring the projects to five locations.
Other churches involved in Familyfest were Encounter Community Church, Torrance; United Baptist, Carson; New Hope Community, El Monte; Victory Through Jesus, Lakewood; Hillside Faith Baptist, Lakewood; and Hillside Southern Baptist and Hillside’s Spanish-language congregation, La Puente.
Ministries during the week included Vacation Bible School, door-to-door evangelism, a science camp, building repairs, ministry at a housing project and painting a fence.
Marian Graham noted, “We live in a mission field. People need to hear ‘that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.’”
She also acknowledged that “it’s great to have these volunteers here, but they will be going home. The job of sharing the gospel in California is up to us. We are commanded as Christians to go and preach the gospel.”