Hi! My name is Faith and this summer I will be participating in a 6 week Biblical studies and leadership training program held by King’s Park International Church in Durham, North Carolina. 

What it is

During the first part of my stay, I will be participating in a program called Cornerstone. Cornerstone is a 4 week program where myself and a group of other young adults from North Carolina and other surrounding states participate in classes 5 days a week, engage in leadership training and relationship building activities, volunteer at the church, and participate in evangelism. The motto of the Cornerstone program is “A life centered on the Gospel”, with each lesson plan, activity, and quiet time session keeping that as its primary focus. Like I mentioned, a key part of this program is evangelism! The rest of the team and I will be taking everything we will be learning and participating in evangelism on UNC’s campus, bringing the gospel to students and learning how to share it with love and efficacy. 

In the 5th and 6th week of my time in North Carolina, I will be participating in a program called Spirit-Empowered Academy. This program is focused on the Holy Spirit. It is open to a wider age group, so I will be connecting with multiple different age demographics, being able to learn from them and grow alongside them during this process. 

Why I’m Excited

I know many people who have participated in these programs, and I have heard countless things about how the experience has completely changed their lives. They grew in boldness, patience, priority management, interpersonal relationship skills, being able to communicate effectively, a willingness to share the Gospel, and much more. It has set them up for success in living a life centered on what truly matters, and I am expectant that God wants to do the same thing for me and more through these programs. 

My Goal

As a participant in these intensive programs, I am responsible for allocating my own funds to cover all of the costs for my time in NC! I am seeking financial support to cover the cost of the 4 week Cornerstone program, the 2 week Spirit-Empowered Academy program, and the total housing cost for all six weeks, where I will be living in a house with the rest of the participants. This total amounts to $530. The additional $350 in my fundraising goal will cover the total costs of gas money that we are splitting to carpool to church with everyone in the house, and the grocery money for both personal groceries as well as dinner groceries for all 6 weeks. For our dinner meals, we are split into teams and each team is responsible for cooking dinner on a different night, so the dinner costs are split evenly among all the house members.

How I Got Here and How I’m Expecting God to Move

During the days leading up to New Year’s 2026, I was reflecting on what I felt like God wanted me to focus on going into this new year. I wrote down words that I felt were being particularly emphasized to me at this time, that would possibly serve as a theme for the upcoming year. 

A few of the words I wrote down were as follows: “Sensitive (to the Spirit)”, “Restoration”, “Rebuilding”, “Building”, “Stillness”, and “Recovery”. 

I also kept thinking of Isaiah 43:18-19, which reads:

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

Given that it is now May of this year, these words that I wrote down 5 months ago still ring true. The fact that these themes have been relevant throughout these past few months shows me that it was indeed God speaking to me. I felt like this year I needed to be poured into and have my foundation re-solidified, which gives an explanation to every word listed above. 

I wanted to be sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit, able to hear Him amidst distractions and my own unbelief or lack of faith. I felt like God was going to bring restoration to different areas of my life, accompanied by both “rebuilding” and “building”. Although these words are similar, they are both distinct. Rebuilding often involves tearing down, destroying what once was to make space for what is to come. I believe that God is destroying and rebuilding some old things as well as building some completely new things. He is taking false beliefs I hold about Him, myself, others, and the world in general and replacing them with the truth; “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” - John 8:32 

This inner knowing of truth leads me into a place where I can be still before Him. Though it is not always a feeling that comes naturally to me, as sometimes it takes me forcing myself to embrace stillness when all I want to do is fight it. This stillness leads me finally into recovery, a state of healing where I am put back together by the same God who has held me when I’ve fallen apart. 

I have experienced all of these things through the past 5 months of this year, and I believe that my decision to go to Cornerstone and Spirit-Empowered Academy will be a continuation of the fulfillment of that. As God does this work in me on a personal level, He is simultaneously preparing me to be able to share His love and Good News with others as He makes it even more real and apparent to me. 

What I admire about these programs is that I will be both equipped to do God’s work and sent out to do it, it will not be one without the other. This gives me even more confidence that God is going to use my time in North Carolina exponentially, and that everything I learn and experience there will carry over to the rest of my life and every person I encounter. I am expecting to be stretched, challenged, and grown while also being filled up, loved on, and emboldened.

Signing up for these programs was a leap of faith for me, and I was conflicted for a while on whether or not to take the jump. I had no idea what my summer would look like, already being from out of state, and I was feeling pulled between different opportunities. But the more I sat with God on this, had conversations with others, and referred back to those words God had emphasized to me going into 2026, it became clear that this was the right choice for this time in my life. Not just for the sake of my own faith, but for the sake of all of those who God wants to reach through my obedience and yes to Him. 

Your support through donations or through prayer will help steward the work that God has called me to do both on my campus and wherever I end up after college. It will go towards making the truth and love of Christ known in a world that doesn’t even know they need it. 

Closing

If you cannot partner with me financially, your prayers would be more than appreciated! Please pray for me to grow in discernment, the ability to hear the voice of God clearly, and the understanding of the necessity of the Gospel. Also please pray that I may grow in boldness to share the Good News that has changed my life! Pray that I may be able to meet people where they are, see the needs around me, and be led by grace and love. 

Please feel free to share if you know anyone else who would be interested in supporting!

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If you read all the way to here, thank you!! 

This was straight from the heart, no ChatGPT detected. It is my prayer that you can see my heart behind this and share in my excitement with me as I leave for what I’m believing to be an incredibly beautiful experience. God bless you and thank you for your support <33