Dear Friends and Ministry Partners,
Each summer at World Hope seems to get busier and busier. In the last few months, we have been around the world and all over the country being hope, giving hope and sharing hope. It is an exciting time for me to update you on some of those great events, how God has blessed us in this season, and how we continue to share those blessings and the love and hope of Christ with the world.
This summer saw two trips to the newly purchased K-LOVE Hope Center in Detroit, MI. We had many travelers from around the country join us on this mission field. As soon as the building was purchased, it became a rush of demolition, clean-up and refurbishing in order to get the center ready for our outreach efforts in the community. Walls have been built, roofs have been repaired, and ministry has begun!
We also had another incredible trip to Nairobi, Kenya. Nearly fifty people from various states joined together to work on projects at our Hope Center there. We hosted a great multi-day medical clinic where we saw and provided medical care for over 900 members of the community and surrounding slum. We also completed the building of a “baby cot,” as it is called in Kenya, similar to our church nurseries here in the States. A building project for the third story of the Hope Academy Senior School was started as well, and it will be completed in the weeks to come.
Additionally, our partnership with K-LOVE extended beyond the work in Detroit this year as we headed back to the second annual K-LOVE Fan Awards. This is a weekend-long event where today’s top Christian musicians and entertainers perform and are recognized for their achievements. The highlight of this event for us was knowing that because over two million votes were cast by K-LOVE listeners, four houses will be purchased and given to families in Detroit!
We love returning to our partner’s events year after year, and this summer marked the 6th year of our ministry partnership with Camp Electric. Camp Electric is a Christian music camp held each summer at multiple locations across the US. Students come to Camp Electric to learn musical skills and to further their musical talents by interacting with successful Christian music artists. Imagine taking a drum class from Mandisa’s drummer or learning about lyrics and vocals from Toby Mac. Each year, the students donate to World Hope’s Strings of Hope campaign. The idea behind this initiative is that for the price of a pack of guitar strings, students can have an impact on their world in a tangible way. And this year they raised over $11,000 dollars- incredible!
Lastly, I was able to travel all over the country leading worship at Christian camps with The Derek Janney Band to close out this full summer of ministry. Each stop on our summer tour included sharing with campers and their churches about World Hope’s vision and work, and raising money for our newest ministry project in Detroit called “REFUGE.” The final stop on our tour was Panama City Beach where we not only led worship but also hosted Above the Waves 2014, a camp with over 300 students that was sponsored by World Hope. Teens wanted to be a part of the work being done and many of them gave in offerings which will go towards sponsoring “rooms of refuge” in the Detroit K-LOVE Hope Center. These rooms will be set up for Detroit teens and youth of their age to come and find Hope away from the dismal conditions they face in the surrounding city limits. We cannot wait to see this new project flourish and impact young lives!
Derek Janney