Gordon College Connects to Lowell Mission Church

When Rhea Gordon reached out to the Office of Community Engagement in July 2014, she prayed and hoped she could develop a new relationship between her church, Lowell Mission Church, and Gordon College. In the early 2000s, Gordon College and Lowell Mission Church had a very successful partnership through the ROCK ministry program- Reaching Out to City Kids- which had since ended due to some transitions in the church. Rhea and her husband, Pastor Ken Gordon, deeply valued the relationship between Gordon and Lowell Mission Church and prayed that some Gordon students might feel called to step into youth and music ministry at their urban Cambodian church.

Within a month of Rhea’s conversation with the OCE, a group of freshmen attended an information session hosted by the Office of Community Engagement, looking for a way to serve and get plugged in to the community. These first-year students had anticipated serving in Lynn during their first semester of college, but unfortunately were not able to serve through The Great Conversation course due to changes in the Gordon in Lynn program. One freshman from Guam, Hannah Sablan, learned about the opportunity at Lowell Mission Church, and began attending the church. Within a few months, she had a group of freshmen coming regularly with her to attend church, build relationships, and serve at youth group. Since then, the team has grown in size and in outreach capabilities. One team member designed and directed a Christmas pageant to engage the youth in a fun way. Several new members joined in the spring semester in order to help lead worship on Sunday mornings. As Hannah points out, this is “bigger than any of us intended it to be, but it's definitely that God orchestrated this team.” The relationship between the church and the Gordon team has been mutually beneficial, and will continue to grow and expand next year.

Lowell, which has the second largest Cambodian population in the United States, is a rich place to learn about Cambodian history and culture, as well as cross-cultural ministry. For those interested in learning more about this Gordon partnership with Lowell, or to get more involved in this outreach team, contact [email protected].

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