How can I serve at Good Shepherd?
In the Church
In the Community
Serving others is a vital part of being the Body of Christ. Each person has unique gifts, and there are many ways you can serve our church & congregation. Click the link below to learn about different opportunities.
A Turning Point's mission is to support families by providing basic needs and education equipping them for self-sufficiency. We partner with organizations and agencies to provide the best services to the Northland communities as possible through combining our resources or referring clients to appropriate agencies and services. Also
In the World
Good Shepherd has a long-standing partnership with a community in Guatemala. Read more below!
Our history: In 2013, Good Shepherd sent a few folks to Guatemala to explore whether a long-term partnership in ministry was of interst to Guatemalans. We were excited by their enthusiasm, and the connection blossomed from there. Over time, groups from Good Shepherd have built a church and a playground in Choaxan as well as playrounds in Paxot and Xepacol. These buildings are tools for the deep and rich power of Christ to work in these communities.
The experience: Good Shepherd’s Guatemala ministry represents and partners with the church that is already present in Guatemala. We are working for God, and God is present in Guatemala all the time. God is everywhere. No experience in construction work is required, but a strong love for Christ and work ethic will go a long way to ensuring you get the most of the work we do in Guatemala. Our mission is to experience the presence of God in Guatemala through our love for people and work in their communities. The things travelers will learn are magnificent memories to be cherished forever.
Travel: Travelers will need to get immunizations for Hepatitis A, Typhoid, and Tetanus before traveling with the group to Guatemala. The journey includes a plane ride, customs, and a bus to Choaxan. Many ask, “is it safe?” Risks accompany any kind of travel. However, if you feel safe in the Northland of Kansas City, you will feel safe in Choaxan. It is a vibrant community with incredible people.
Cost: The cost for each person will be approximately $2,000. This covers plane tickets, transportation, hotel stay, the cook and food at the hotel and other costs associated with the mission trip. It will not cover spending money for souvenirs or travel meals. Grant opportunities can be found with a little research. You can also write personal fundraising letters to family members or save gifts from holidays and birthdays.
The 2020 trip has been canceled due to Coronavirus. We're looking forward to an amazing trip soon!
Update from Doris Flores, ISE School Coordinator, April 2021:
Dear friends and brothers/sisters in Jesus Christ:
Once again I become a spokesperson for the hundreds of families in my country Guatemala who have achieved God's blessing through the support that you send us each year.
Since Good Shepherd decided to bless Guatemala in 2012 I had the opportunity to be part of this beautiful Ministry, there have been many families whose lives have changed and now they live in a dignified way thanks to the projects that alongside you, we have worked together such as stoves, latrines, buildings, medical days, playgrounds, student scholarships, etc. This year we will have the blessing to graduate our first class of ESL (English as Second Language) at ISE School program that has been a huge impact in our community, 2020 was very challenging for the school since the Education System fails due the Covid Pandemic but now our country has seen this failure as opportunity and online education has became a necessity that means that internet access is more accessible and at more reasonable prices, children can now educate themselves from a smartphone without having a computer at home this has been also an opportunity for ISE School because we can teach English not only to students in one community we opened our barriers and now we have students from various parts of our country with your help this makes us feel proud and happy.
The emergency feeding program in 2020 supported by you as well marked a big difference in our communities you don´t know this yet but when we started distributing bags of food many other NGO´s and Churches saw this as an appropriate response to the emergency and started doing the same, basically we acted as example for others many people called me asked how we were getting the food in big amounts and some other questions and I was happy to share the logistics we were following for this successful program It has been one of the best experiences of my life. Through this program we could support more than 2,500 people.
And now that the world is changing we feel blessed to know that your love for Guatemala is the same as is started to be in 2012, thank you very much to every single of you that make all this possible and please extend our gratitude to those who are not copied on this email.
I also want to express my condolences on the passing of our dear friend Doug Borgeson as an important part of this team he will be terribly missed, I pray God gives all of us strength and comfort.
All of you already know all of us are always praying for you as we appreciate all of you so much.
Dear friends and brothers/sisters in Jesus Christ:
Once again I become a spokesperson for the hundreds of families in my country Guatemala who have achieved God's blessing through the support that you send us each year.
Since Good Shepherd decided to bless Guatemala in 2012 I had the opportunity to be part of this beautiful Ministry, there have been many families whose lives have changed and now they live in a dignified way thanks to the projects that alongside you, we have worked together such as stoves, latrines, buildings, medical days, playgrounds, student scholarships, etc. This year we will have the blessing to graduate our first class of ESL (English as Second Language) at ISE School program that has been a huge impact in our community, 2020 was very challenging for the school since the Education System fails due the Covid Pandemic but now our country has seen this failure as opportunity and online education has became a necessity that means that internet access is more accessible and at more reasonable prices, children can now educate themselves from a smartphone without having a computer at home this has been also an opportunity for ISE School because we can teach English not only to students in one community we opened our barriers and now we have students from various parts of our country with your help this makes us feel proud and happy.
The emergency feeding program in 2020 supported by you as well marked a big difference in our communities you don´t know this yet but when we started distributing bags of food many other NGO´s and Churches saw this as an appropriate response to the emergency and started doing the same, basically we acted as example for others many people called me asked how we were getting the food in big amounts and some other questions and I was happy to share the logistics we were following for this successful program It has been one of the best experiences of my life. Through this program we could support more than 2,500 people.
And now that the world is changing we feel blessed to know that your love for Guatemala is the same as is started to be in 2012, thank you very much to every single of you that make all this possible and please extend our gratitude to those who are not copied on this email.
I also want to express my condolences on the passing of our dear friend Doug Borgeson as an important part of this team he will be terribly missed, I pray God gives all of us strength and comfort.
All of you already know all of us are always praying for you as we appreciate all of you so much.