From volunteering as a mentor to local youth, Lori learned she has a passion for seeing how God works in the life of just one person. She loved getting to sit down and chat with students about their lives—even saying to a friend, “If only I could get paid to sit across from people and hear what God is doing in their life, and have coffee with them—that would be the best job ever.”
Now, as Church Ambassador, she has the chance to sit with local pastors and church leaders, and do just that. Listen to their stories, and see how Water Street can serve or work alongside them.
“I get to sit across from Pastors, and hear about what Gods doing in their congregations, and celebrate that with them, and have cup of coffee,” she explains.
How We Serve
Part of her passion for the work of local churches comes from her strong desire to see and share the power of restoration—stemming from her own personal experience with restoration in her own life. For years, Lori found herself thinking about and talking about the theme of restoration, until finally someone said, “You know, you love restoration so much, you should work at Water Street.”
And as an ambassador of Water Street, Lori gets to share her passion for restoration every day.
It overflows naturally as she describes that here, restoration often comes not only from what we serve, but how we serve. “We are not just a place to sleep, and we are not just a place to get food as fantastic as those things are, we are a place to be able to pour hope and honor and dignity into people.”
”We are not just a place to sleep, and we are not just a place to get food as fantastic as those things are, we are a place to be able to pour hope and honor and dignity into people.”
Compelled by Love
In serving local churches, Lori sits down with pastors and helps them feel completely at home, to have an hour to pause, open up, and reflect on the blessings and challenges we are facing as a community. A few weeks ago, she met up with a local pastor even though she had been feeling completely drained.
Lori chose to be authentic about where she was—worn-out by hardships hitting her family. But in her exhaustion, God still moved.
After listening to this pastors heart for his congregation, Lori actually got to be part of planning out his next sermon. She was left astounded at how, even when we feel at our weakest, God can use us to advance His Kingdom and care for others.
And in our community, there are so many ways churches are seeking to spread the love of Jesus. In partnership with the local congregation, Lori helps us see how as a community we can keep love and Jesus at the top. “And so I often go back to I feel like Jesus told us to love and to love others, and we as Water Street, this is how we have been compelled by love.”
If you are a church leader or pastor and want to find out more about Water Street through a tour, or just meet up to share what God is doing in your congregation, contact Lori at (717) 538-5815 or lober@wsm.org!
