My GenSend Summer in Utah

This summer I was blessed to serve with GenSend in a small town outside Salt Lake City, Utah. I served alongside the church plant, Redemption Church North Davis. Many people in Utah are a part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Therefore, most people I interacted with believed that a person is saved by works and must earn their salvation. I did not understand the LDS culture until I was immersed in it, but the Lord grew my compassion towards the people of Utah. In the LDS church, there is a standard of perfectionism that is not achievable; they are taught they must try to keep the laws, oaths, and covenants to be able to enter the Temple. The people are so zealous to know a Jesus that cannot save them. The Jesus they are seeking is not the same Jesus of the Bible, which leaves them in a great state of hopelessness. Thankfully, God allowed me to meet many people over the summer to share with them the hope of the true Christ.

My team and I shared with many LDS people that true fulfillment is found in Christ. We attended LDS events to listen and learn about the LDS culture, and then, we would invite LDS church members to our events. We hosted weekly community nights where we intentionally invited our new LDS friends to play games so we could get to know them. We also hosted worship nights, visited local malls, and played pickleball a couple of nights a week. All these events were intended for us to meet people and begin gospel conversations with them. We discovered in the LDS culture it was easy to have gospel conversations because the people were mostly open to talking about religion. Although getting into gospel conversations was easy, most LDS people I encountered thought we were discussing the same gospel. Unfortunately, they were zealous for a false gospel they believed in, so entering a theological debate was very unhelpful. I learned to point them to Jesus and show them that Jesus was better than their false gospel, because the true gospel is the only thing that can save.

Over the summer, I grew in my reliance on the Lord. I learned and continue to learn I must abide in the Lord first or everything else will suffer. I watched the Lord show up in ways that I never expected. He gave me words when I did not know what to say, He brought scripture to mind in conversations, and He was faithful to give me the confidence to walk into difficult situations. The Lord allowed me to watch Him change the life of one of our friends we met this summer. She was seeking truth, and my team and I were able to share the truth of Jesus with her. By God’s grace, He brought her from death to life this summer. Now, she seeks to follow the Lord and is plugging into the church we partnered with. I knew the Lord could save someone and allow us to see it in Utah, but I did not expect it. On average, it takes seven years from the first time an LDS person hears the gospel for them to believe it. I was reminded that the Lord is steadfast and unwavering even when we are not.

I also grew in humility this summer. I sometimes think that what I say will lead someone to Jesus. However, the Lord graciously reminded me that He does not need me but chooses to use a broken vessel like me. The Lord taught me that when entering a new culture, I must always have a teachable attitude and be willing to learn. When stepping into conversations, I must embrace the awkwardness that sometimes comes and be willing to put my pride on the shelf. By walking in obedience to share the gospel wherever the Lord has placed me, I have learned and continue to learn how to live every day with gospel intentionality. I learned to take everyday conversations and turn them into opportunities to talk about Jesus.

I am thankful for the opportunity I had to serve the Lord in Utah with GenSend. I will take the lessons that I learned this summer and apply them to my everyday life. I learned how to live daily on mission and share the gospel in everyday conversations. I saw firsthand how healthy church planting was done, and now I developed a passion to serve in a church plant myself one day. God used my summer for His glory, so I encourage anyone considering a GenSend Summer to watch how God is going to use it for His glory and your good.