Reach Every Street

Robert Horn, senior history major

My name is Robert Horn. I am a senior History major. God gave me the opportunity to serve as an intern at a church-plant named Bay Cities Fellowship in Oldsmar, Florida.

My internship was unique because it was with a church-plant, and the church had only met five times before I came. I did everything from printing the bulletins to developing their web/social media presence to leading their worship. Although the church is new, God has really blessed Bay Cities in multiple ways. He provided an incredible space for meeting, financial support from several churches, and an awesome group of believers to be the core body for this new church.
 
First, I want to share with you some of the cool experiences I got to be a part of this summer.

As I mentioned earlier, I got to be a part of the worship team and even lead worship for a few Sundays. I am not musically gifted, but this was so good for me because it forced me out of my comfort zone. I also had the opportunity to develop Bay Cities’ brand throughout the community. This included developing their website, their social media, contracting with a bill-board company, etc.

While these experiences were great for their practicality in my future ministry, my favorite experiences were with the people. I met so many people in Florida, both from the church and in the community. I want to share two stories of people I got to meet during my time in Florida.
 
The first story I want to share is when I met Jeff. I met Jeff at the driving range. We connected over the game of golf and were able to talk for about 30 minutes. Jeff shared with me that he was new to Florida and that he was looking for a friend to play golf with. Jeff and I stayed in contact. I was able to set up a time to play golf with Jeff and two guys from Bay Cities, so that Jeff could make some permanent connections with the church. I didn’t get the opportunity to share the Gospel with Jeff, but I did invite him to church and connect him with people at Bay Cities. I am still in contact with Jeff and am praying that he would attend Bay Cities and eventually get saved!
 
The second story I want to share is about a guy named Ben. Ben is my age, and is in school year-round for radiography at the local community college. I got to meet Ben through my roommate. We immediately connected with similar personalities. Ben and I started meeting together every Thursday during his lunch break at the hospital. What stood out to me about Ben was his love for people and for the Gospel. He is passionate about studying God’s Word, and his desire to share the Gospel where he is at is incredible. Ben is planning to start a Bible study in his radiography program at school this school year. My prayer is that Ben would have the opportunity to see the Gospel’s power at his community college.
 
I learned so much from my internship this summer and was able to see God use me and work in me in so many ways. Here are my 3 biggest takeaways:
 

1. Ministry can be lonely. Church planting is lonelier. Because the church plant was so new, I got to be a part of the ground-level of Bay Cities. I got to be a part of some really cool things, but I also got to be a part of the everyday mundane and not-so-fun parts too. I came to a place where I didn’t know anyone, didn’t know the area, and didn’t have a work community to connect with. This was so good for me because I experienced a small taste of the loneliness that people in ministry often feel. It also grew me as an individual by forcing me to connect with new people and try knew things.
2. Prayer isn’t optional - it’s necessary. Prayer is often something I intellectually know is important, but my life doesn’t practice. This summer forced me to run to prayer often. I was able to sit under the pastor who helped foster a love and desire to “bathe” our ministry in prayer. And this didn’t always mean long, set-aside times of prayer. Often it would be short, 30-second prayers to bring something before my Father.
3. Every person will spend eternity somewhere. Bay Cities slogan is “Reach Every Street,” and we often reminded our body of this. We passionately believe that God wants every person to experience his Gospel, and His means for this to be accomplished is His church body. I walked away from this summer with a mindset to look at every person I come in contact with as a person who will give an account to Jesus someday, and the most loving thing I can do for them is share with them the Gospel.

 
God is doing some incredible things all around world through His church.

For those of you who are on the fence about giving a summer up to do ministry, let me plead with you that it is worth it. It will be hard, it will stretch you, it will cost you (whether monetarily or relationally or in some other way), but spending your life to serve Jesus is worth it. You may not see the results and rewards of serving Jesus immediately or materially, but it will count for eternity, and that’s what will truly last!

​Serving Jesus is worth it!