Testimony upon testimony came out of Serve Lehigh Valley, June 26-27. Some stories were as simple as volunteers excitedly sharing how they were serving, while others highlighted God at work in more specific ways. Every story is a declaration of God’s goodness and faithfulness through Serve Lehigh Valley. We pray you find these stories encouraging!

Hub Pastor Testimonies:

Pastor Joe Velarde, Riverbend Community Church

Pastor Joe Velarde of Riverbend Community Church shares how serve volunteers continued to serve at Riverbend’s block party despite the rain, and how grateful he is for all who came to serve the Lehigh Valley.

Pastor James Taylor II, 1427 Church

Pastor James Taylor of 1427 Church, Allentown, shares about The Caring Place’s 30th Anniversary Celebration, where Serve Lehigh Valley volunteers served. The full day included activities for children, games, musical guests, testimonies from recipients of The Caring Place’s ministry, a visit from the Allentown mayor, and so much more! Mrs. Mary Griffith is the executive director of The Caring Place.

Pastor Wilson Tuero, Mision Vida

Pastor Wilson Tuero of Mision Vida shares about the trilingual block party that they hosted for their community as part of Serve Lehigh Valley.

Pastor Don Meadows, Calvary Baptist Church

Don Meadows, Executive Pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Easton, Pa., shares about his Serve Lehigh Valley experience and the blessing volunteers were to his church and their community.

Disaster Relief Team Testimony:

Clay Quimby, Arkansas Disaster Relief

Clay Quimby from Arkansas Disaster Relief shares about the work DR volunteers did during Serve Lehigh Valley. Clay and his wife Keturah traveled all the way from Arkansas to participate in Serve Lehigh Valley.

Testimonies from the Boys & Girls Club of Allentown:

Matt Sommers, Boys & Girls Club of Allentown

Matt Sommers, development coordinator of the Boys & Girls Club of Allentown, share about the Staff Appreciation and Kindness Carnival put on by Serve Lehigh Valley mission volunteers.

Eva Gower, Allentown Boys & Girls Clubs

Eva Gower, marketing intern at Allentown Boys & Girls Clubs, shares how special it was to have Serve volunteers caring for the club.

Melissa Norman, Mt. Herman BC, Taylorsville, NC

Melissa and a team from her church served at the Allentown Boys and Girls Club’s carnival during Serve Lehigh Valley.

Jeanette Fricker, Harvest House Community Fellowship

Jeanette Fricker and Beverly VanOstrand of Harvest House Community Fellowship in Towanda, Pa., share about their service through Serve Lehigh Valley to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Allentown. Their church brought 16 volunteers to serve during this large-scale outreach!

Testimonies from the Nehemiah Wall:

Pastor David Fisher, Nehemiah Wall

The Nehemiah Wall is a transitional home for women and children caught up in crisis. David Fisher is also pastor of Alpha and Omega Church in Bethlehem.

Christina, Nehemiah Wall

Christina calls the Nehemiah Wall “home,” and in this testimony she shares her story and her journey with the Lord.

Salima Rodriguez, Nehemiah Wall

Sarah Devaney, logistics coordinator for Serve Lehigh Valley, introduces Salima Rodriguez, a recent graduate of the Nehemiah Wall transitional program. Rodriguez shares how the program has changed her life, most notably, by introducing her to Jesus.

Testimony from Route to Respite:

Leah Cofield, Route to Respite

Leah Cofield founder of Route to Respite shares about the landscaping work Serve volunteers did for their ministry during Serve Lehigh Valley – despite the rain!

Testimony from The Comfort Cottage:

Pastor Jim Gould, Comfort Cottage

Pastor Jim Gould from Living Faith Baptist Church in Littlestown, Pa., shares how 50% of his church participated in Serve Lehigh Valley by serving at the Comfort Cottage with The Vine Calvary Chapel.

Testimony from Victory Recovery Homes:

Harry Lake, Victory Recovery Homes

Dr. Larry Anderson, BRN director of church advancement and evangelism, interviews Harry Lake of Victory Recovery Homes about their experiences with Serve Lehigh Valley.

Testimony from The Caring Place:

Annette Leatherbury, The Caring Place

Annette Leatherbury, a member of Great Commission Church, shares about her exciting experiences during Serve Lehigh Valley. She and her team assisted 1427 Church, who helped prepare and served at The Caring Place’s 30th Anniversary Celebration. The full day included activities for children, games, musical guests, testimonies from recipients of The Caring Place’s ministry, a visit from the Allentown mayor, and so much more!

Testimonies from Local School Projects:

Laura Coates, William Penn Elementary School

Laura Coates, Serve Lehigh Valley volunteer, shares about her experience of serving at William Penn Elementary School faculty room renew.

Laureen Conversano, Freemansburg Elementary

Laureen Conversano, Community School Coordinator from Freemansburg Elementary, shares about the work that Serve Lehigh Valley volunteers did at their school during Serve!

Melissa Roehrich, Harrison-Morton Middle School

Melissa Roehrich, an assistant principal at Harrison-Morton Middle School in Bethlehem, shares about a basement clean-out project Serve Lehigh Valley volunteers are doing to help the school.

Jennifer Smith, Ruby Bridges Early Childhood Center

Jennifer Smith of Riverbend Community Church shares an amazing testimony of how God provided for their Serve Lehigh Valley projects.

Testimony from College Prayer Walking Project:

Dawn, College Campus Prayer Walk

Dawn, a Serve Lehigh Valley volunteer from Calvary Baptist, shares her experience of prayer walking on the campus of Lafayette College in Easton, Pa., with fellow Serve volunteers.

Testimony from Sports Evangelism Project:

Erika Coleman, The Vine Basketball Clinic

Erika Coleman, a local coach in the Lehigh Valley, shares about the free, one-day basketball clinic that The Vine Calvary Chapel put on for local kids during Serve Lehigh Valley.

Testimony from Mobile Grill:

Frank Litke, Mobile Grill

Serve Lehigh Valley volunteer Frank Litke, who is also a member at The Vine Calvary Chapel, shares about his experience serving with the mobile grill team in the Lehigh Valley on Saturday, June 27.

Testimonies from First Responder Thank You Projects:

Ian and Bre Noll, First Responder Thank You (Schnecksville Fire Department)

Ian and Bre Noll from The Vine Calvary Chapel share about serving first responders, specifically the firefighters at Schnecksville Fire Department, during Serve Lehigh Valley. Ian also shared about his experience as a local firefighter.

Jeannette Burnett, First Responder Thank You (Schnecksville Fire Department)

Jeannette Burnett, a Serve Lehigh Valley volunteer from Horseheads, New York, and a volunteer firefighter for Tompkins Corners, shares her heart in serving first responders in the Valley and a BIG thank you to all first responders!

Testimonies from Block Party Projects:

Megan Hathaway, Hopesprings Community of Faith

Megan Hathaway from Hopesprings Community of Faith in Bangor, Pa., shares about the Block Party they hosted for their community as part of Serve Lehigh Valley.

Pennington Family, Riverbend Community Church Block Party

The Pennington family, from Smyrna (Ga.) First Baptist Church, shares their favorite experiences from Serve Lehigh Valley. Their church, whom Dr. Jeff Pennington pastors, has been a long-time partner of Riverbend Community Church in Bethlehem, Pa.

For additional information about ServePASJ and how you can serve with the BRN next year in York County, visit servepasj.com. Moved to give to the ServePASJ Initiative/next year’s Serve York County? Learn more here.