While at a macro level, churches should commit themselves to Mobilize for Impact, it is in and through the mobilization of individuals – one life at a time – that the heart of a healthy multi-ethnic church is most clearly revealed. In this case, Joy White, tells the story:

“Our friendship with the women in Alexander, a small community just outside of Little Rock, soon led to opportunities for us to serve their children. For instance, not long after we began “’El Club de Amistad,’ I met Sandra, the oldest daughter of a family with seven children. Her mother had shared her concern that Sandra was not doing well in school; and it did not take long for me to discover why. Often, Sandra was kept home from school in order to baby-sit her siblings.

“One day in the summer of 2003, I went to the trailer park to work with Sandra one-on-one and brought a few children’s books to see how well she could read. Though technically, at the time, Sandra was in the 6th grade, I soon realized that she could not read a complete sentence, even from a book as simple as, ‘The Cat In the Hat.’ Over the next couple of months, then, we began to meet regularly simply to read.

“At the end of that summer, her mother wanted me to go to school with Sandra to get her schedule for the fall. When we got to the school, however, we could not find her schedule in the place where it should have been. Taking her to the office, I asked the counselor for some assistance. ‘Where can we find Sandra’s schedule?,’ I asked. The counselor looked at Sandra sadly and replied, ‘Oh, honey, do you not know? You flunked 6th grade and will not be able to go on to 7th grade this year.” Sandra wept, and so did I.

“We began, then, to work with the school in order to help Sandra move forward. I personally met with her teachers and promised to help get her to the point where she would be ready for 7th grade the following year. Others, too, including my daughter, Carrie, assisted in the effort. At one point, for example, we helped her write a talk for an English class, come up with a costume and even went to the school (like proud parents) to see her presentation! Looking back, that was a most significant moment. Since her own parents were not able to attend, she would have been the only child that day without someone to cheer her on.”

At the time of this writing, Sandra is in the 9th grade and just recently received her semester grades: All but one was an A! Of greater eternal significance, however, is the fact that Sandra received Jesus Christ as her Savior that first summer, while sitting in my car and learning to read. In the end, that’s what it’s all about!