INSIDE COVENANT | Kat Ward

We sit down with Kat Ward to trace her journey from Katrina relocation and a strong church foundation to college drift, depression, and a desperate surrender that brings her back to Jesus. 

We also unpack how God turns that restored faith into a calling to lead, coach, and take the gospel outside the church walls through Living Water Ministry and Hope Fest. 

• Depression, toxic relationships, and trying to fill a God-sized hole 
• A surrender prayer, losing what she clung to, and finding restoration through Christ 
• A specific prayer answered through coaching at CCA as a ministry field 
• Living Water Ministry as local missions, meeting physical needs and spiritual
• Outreach, motel door knocks, prayer, and relationship building  
• Why the church must get outside the walls to evangelize and disciple 

Covenant Church Houma

Transcript

Keep Jesus Front And Center

SPEAKER_02 0:02

Main Thing Podcast with Pastor Steve, equipping you to respond and thrive in the world we live in today. Keep the main thing the main thing has been a saying that Pastor Steve has told for decades. It means no matter what is happening around us, Jesus is what we need to have front and center in our lives. There couldn't be a more powerful reminder for us to recall in today's divisive and dark culture. From foundational truths and scripture to the hot topics of today's culture, allow this podcast to inspire and motivate you on your faith journey.

Meet Kat Ward And Her Story

SPEAKER_02 0:34

Well, hello everyone. Welcome to Main Thing Podcast. This is episode 43. And we encourage you if you haven't subscribed or left a review on Apple Podcasts to do so. That really helps us get this out. And so our heart is to lead others to Jesus, but also to teach them and train them how to lead others to Jesus. And so we'd love for you to partner with us on that aspect. We have with us Miss Kat Ward. Hi, who is here today and has a lot of things to talk about. So we're going to jump right in. Kat, tell us a little bit about your story. So grew up starting from the moment you you can start from the moment you were born or from the moment you were at this church, but just bring us bring us a little context leading us up to this point. Um how you got here at this church, where you went for a while when you went to college, and then how you ended up back here.

Katrina, Mississippi, And A New Faith

SPEAKER_01 1:29

Um, so my family is actually not from Homa. Um, we're from New Orleans. Um, and life kind of was all happening there. My parents and everything, they had us, and then uh 2005 Katrina happened. And after Katrina, we actually were relocated to Mississippi and we stayed there for about six years. Um, and I would say God's plan and everything for sure now, like on the back side and like looking back at it. Um, because before Katrina, we were just like Sunday morning check, you know, we're good people, but if there was like a Saints game, like a 12 o'clock Saints game, we probably wouldn't go to church because we were gonna watch Saints game. Right. I was a child at this time, but so like I remember some of it, but this is like my parents' recollection. I've heard like them talk about it. So moving to Mississippi, um, we got connected with a church there that was like a big kind of catalyst and change for us as a family. Um, my dad ended up being baptized into the Baptist church, he was uh Catholic, grew up Catholic, and then we were actually attending a Methodist church before we moved to Mississippi. Um so that was like a lot of big change for us. But we were we ended up being in Mississippi for like six years or so and decided why are we up here? Our families back home. We would come back home like maybe once a year, and we missed them. We had like a very tight-knit family. Um, so we decided to move back. And um, we weren't sure where we were gonna end up moving back. Um, my dad works for Coca-Cola, and so he transferred. Um, and their opening, they had like two different openings for him. One was either gonna be on the North Shore, which uh we had lived before over there, and we really liked it. So we were thinking that's where we were gonna go back, and then they had one position out here, and we had never lived out here. Um, my mom had kind of come out here a little bit whenever she was younger with my grandfather, but I mean I didn't even know Homa existed.

SPEAKER_04 3:33

Yeah, as a lot of people, yeah,

Finding A Church Home In Houma

SPEAKER_04 3:36

yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:36

Um, so this was like I was going into my ninth grade year when we moved back uh during the summer, and we ended up choosing HOMA because my mom um interviewed with the hospital, fell in love with the hospital, and so we decided like this was gonna be our new home, and we moved out here. So that was my ninth grade year. Um, so how old were you in 2005? I was in third grade.

SPEAKER_02 3:59

Oh, third grade, yeah. Okay, so you so you really okay, so yeah, I remember when Sarah Melancin was the youth director. You were you were in youth, right? Yeah, yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 4:08

I had Sarah and Dave.

SPEAKER_02 4:10

Yeah, that's right. Oh, Dave Harris. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:13

Um, so we actually like when we moved down here, we wanted to find a church, obviously, to be a part of. Um, and I think we had tried one other church um as a family. We went together and we didn't really feel it, you know, didn't really love it. And so then we tried First Baptist, and that's when it was First Baptist in the old campus downtown. And we just fell in love with it. They had a great youth program for me and my brother to go into. Um, my parents loved Steve, you know, just the type of preaching we came from a pastor who was very like fire and brimstone and um all the time young probably. Yeah, young and very like um got into it. Yeah. And so we ended up liking pastors that are kind of like that, you know, get into what they're talking about and have some personality behind the pulpit. So they really like Steve. And so that's how we kind of ended up a part of First Baptists, and we've just kind of been a part of it since then. Um we've all grown here as a a family and like in our walks with Jesus. So it's definitely been, I think, God's plan. He knew where to put us.

SPEAKER_02 5:19

And so you went to college, yeah, yeah.

College Sports And Drifting From God

SPEAKER_01 5:22

So um went to Terrebone High School and graduated and got a scholarship to go to Delgado to play basketball. So I moved to New Orleans um and was living out there and um really kind of like stopped going to church altogether. Um there were a couple of churches in New Orleans that I tried out, um, did not like them at all. It was just a weird vibe to some of them, and I felt uncomfortable. And so um every once in a while, if I was on like a break from school, I would come home and so I would attend church with my parents um when I was back over here. But in college, um really just kind of like fell off uh and fell into the world, I guess you could say. Um, you know, I have a strong like biblical background. I was brought up in the church and everything, but um stepped into the world and stopped um like the church side of my life and the relationship side of my life with God. And it's really easy, I guess, once you step away to like step into things that's right and step into the world. Um, and I guess like it's a slippery slope, a very slippery one. So um things changed a lot for me. Um I went to Delgado for two years and then I walked on at Nichols to play basketball. I stayed for one year there.

SPEAKER_02 6:45

Whenever you came back to Nichols, was was there any change in you living out in the world, or you were still you were still out in the world even

Depression, Isolation, And A Downward Spiral

SPEAKER_02 6:52

at Nichols? Yeah. Same thing, just different school.

SPEAKER_01 6:54

Yeah, same thing, different school. I was in a really dark place at Nichols, actually. Um, I'd had some things happen um in my life, and I guess like not having much of a relationship with God anymore. I didn't have like an outlet.

SPEAKER_02 7:09

Right.

SPEAKER_01 7:10

Um, so I was like very depressed, and Nichols wasn't going the way that I expected it to go. Um I was like skipping class and just like miserable, honestly. And so when I stopped um going to school there, I only went for a year. Um and then I decided I wanted to move back to New Orleans. I liked it out there, and so I went back. And things just kind of continued to like go downhill from there. Um yeah, I I just I really lost sight of like who I was. I was living in the world and doing things that you know, I kind of as a younger teenager and stuff, I I would have never expected myself to become the person I became. And that's truly just from living from living in the world and living in sin and being okay with it. And I think because I I found myself so far from God, I was trying to fill that like God-sized hole inside of me with all these different things. I was, you know, um trying different like spirituality things and astrology and like just all of the things. And honestly, in New Orleans, it's really easy to get into that kind of stuff if you know the culture there. Um they're kind of really big into some of those kinds of things, and so the people I was hanging out with and the things that I was doing were just kind of leading me in that direction, and so that's where I was going, and ended up being like a very dark place, and so I was out there for maybe like four more years. I was living with some friends, I was in a really toxic relationship, um, just very unhappy. Um, and towards the end of all of that, I was probably like the most unhappy, the most depressed, like the darkest spot I've ever been in. Um and through through it all, I will say, through it all, my mom, man, she was praying for me. And every time I called her to talk about something, she'd be like, Did you pray about it? And I'm like, I don't want to pray about it, mom. Like, I need something to happen. I need things to change. And she's like, But pray about it. And I was like, Okay, mom, like it wasn't what I wanted to hear. I think because I was so far from God at that point. Um, but she stayed firm in that the whole time. And I knew that she was praying for me. Um, and I actually started like attending, I guess this was around COVID time, maybe, because I was attending a Bible study that her and my dad were doing online. So like I was at home in New Orleans, but like I would hop on the Zoom with them and kind of do Bible study. And then I don't know, I just I started fearing feeling very hopeless in my life, but I got to the point where like I felt like I couldn't do it

Surrender, Then Everything Falls Apart

SPEAKER_01 9:56

anymore. I was like done. And so like I kind of just like called on the Lord and was like, Lord, I can't do this anymore. I know like how far I've gone. I I don't even recognize myself anymore. Um, but I I need you to help me. Like I know that I've put all of these things in my life in front of you, so take them from me. And it was like that I got to that point and I prayed that to him after probably not talking to him for so long. And I was just like, take everything from me that I've put in front of you, and he did. It was like he pulled the rug from underneath me. Um, I lost my job, I lost my relationship. And at that point, it felt like my world was ending.

SPEAKER_04 10:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:38

Um, because everything was just like falling apart right in front of me. I see now that that was him working, right? And I'm so glad that he did. Um, but because all of that started happening, um, I called my mom and I was like, I don't know what to do. Like everything's falling apart. I lost my job, this and that. And she was like, Come home. And I was like, What? She said, just come home. Like, come move your stuff back into our house. Like it's fine. I'm okay with it. And I think that her saying that was the confirmation that I needed because I was feeling called to come back home. I had been coming back to church. I was driving from New Orleans on Sundays to come to church on Sunday mornings. So, like, I was already kind of feeling that pull from him, and I was listening a little bit. And I think that's probably what got me to that point where I was like, I can't do this

Coming Home And Returning To Church

SPEAKER_01 11:30

anymore. Um, so yeah, I moved back home. I really felt like I was being called back to this church. This church always felt like home. Um, Covenant was just the place where I grew up. Um, I learned a lot. I had a foundation built on like my relationship with Christ. Even though I had walked away from it, the foundation was still there. And I think that's why this felt so much like home because I grown so much here. I had great mentors here. I mean, Sarah. We butted heads a little bit, but I think we butted heads because she saw in me something that like I didn't see. And I was kind of like, leave me alone. But she was like, like she would like push me a little bit, I think, because she saw something in me. And I appreciate that so much now as an adult. Um, I didn't see it as a teenager, but just I was surrounded by good people here, great, you know, God-fearing people who had relationships and who wanted to help cultivate those relationships and like younger people. Um, so I think that's why I was so drawn to coming back here. Um, so I did. I moved back home and I started attending church here again, and it just kind of like blossomed from

Eligibility, Credits, And Academic Collapse

SPEAKER_01 12:40

there.

SPEAKER_02 12:40

And so at this point, when you stopped college, how far along were you like credit-wise to finish?

SPEAKER_01 12:47

Um, so I had done three years. Um, doing my two years at Delgado, because that's a JUCO. When I transferred to Nichols, um, I lost some credits uh because they didn't accept some of the things. So it put me back a little bit. Um, I was able to keep like my junior status, um, but I had to switch uh like degrees in order to the NCAA is like really weird with how they do things. So you have um your GPA that you have to have every year, but you also have like percent to degree. So whatever degree program you're in, you have to have a certain percent of that degree done each year to stay eligible. And so, in order for me to stay eligible when I transferred, I was in business at Delgado. So I had to switch from business to like basically uh they call it interdisciplinary studies.

SPEAKER_00 13:35

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_01 13:36

Just like general studies. Um, but I had to switch over to that. So I kept my junior status. So at that point, like I was still I finished three years of college, although I will be honest with you. Um, my last semester at Nichols, I failed two classes because I just didn't go. Didn't go uh attend class and then didn't show up for my finals because I was just a miserable person and wasn't attending anything. And basketball season was over, so I didn't have practice or anything to go to. That was like our off period. So I just stopped going. So I uh I was on like an academic probation kind of coming out of that period and decided to like take a break from school.

SPEAKER_02 14:22

So you played two years Delgado, one year one season at Nichols, yeah, and then like took a college break.

SPEAKER_01 14:27

I knew like that was something I always knew that I wanted from like young um was to get a degree. But at that point, I just felt like I couldn't focus on that anymore. Playing a college sport is a lot, yeah. Um and so it it takes a lot of your time and your passion on top of like trying to keep up with your grades and everything. And so I got to the point to where I think like mentally I could only focus on one thing. It was either like focus on school or focus on basketball. And so like I ended up giving my all to basketball during season um and stopped worrying about my grades, which is crazy because I've always been like, I wanted to have the good grades. I was always very hard on myself. Um, like I graduated with honors from high school coming out of Delgado. Um, I had like a 3.8 GPA or something crazy. Um, so I've always had really good grades and cared a lot about my schooling, but it came to the point where I was like, I can't give to both anymore. I just didn't have like the mental capacity. So I stopped caring about my grades and then gave it all to basketball. After taking that break from school, going back to school, I was worried that that was gonna hurt me. Um, but it ended up being okay. God's plan. God's plan.

SPEAKER_02 15:46

So let's talk about that that season real quick.

Called To Bible College Online

SPEAKER_02 15:50

So you transitioned from going to college and just being in a dark place to taking a break. So, how in the world did you get from there to going to basically Bible college? Like, what what happened? What was the transition there that that led you to liberty?

SPEAKER_01 16:07

The Lord is good. Let me just say, He will, if you like surrender to him, he will do a work in your life. Um, so yeah, like I got to the point where I moved back home and um really just kind of like dove back into church. Um and I would I I felt like I had no direction in my life at that point. I didn't know where I was going. Um, when I had left Nichols and moved back to New Orleans, um I bounced around to a couple of different jobs. I was waiting tables and bartending, and then I was a manager at Journeys, and then I worked the front office at a podiatry office. So I really had no idea what I wanted to do. I was just kind of bouncing from jobs, um, trying to find something that would pay the bills, basically. So when I came back home, I was like, I don't know what I'm doing. Um, I had no sort of direction. Um, I started bartending just because that's what I had been doing and it was quick, easy money. Um, so I was bartending, working these crazy late hours and still coming to church. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 17:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:12

So it was almost like I had like one foot in and one foot out. Like I was trying to like surrender and like be fully obedient, but I was still kind of like living my own life at the same time and trying to figure things out for me. And kind of within that time was when I had one of my old basketball coaches contacted me and he was like, Hey, you know, we need an assistant coach at Terrabone. Um, I kind of threw your name out there. Would is that something that you would be interested in? I was kind of like, huh. Yeah, absolutely. Side note, kind of like always was something that I had said was that I wanted to come back if like the opportunity presented itself and coach at my high school um and try and like build a better program than what I had going through. Um, so like that was really cool. So that gave me like a little bit more of like a purpose. I'm like, okay, maybe maybe I could do this whole like coaching thing. So I started coaching there and was really trying to like push into um I guess my obedience with God. Um and through that time and doing Bible study and just attending church regularly, I was praying a lot that God would just show me what to do. Um, I was trying to be obedient to Him. And I knew that like I've always had an issue of this is what I want to do instead of seeing what the Lord wanted to do with my life. It was these are my plans and this is how I wanted to go. Very much like a control thing. So letting go of control was hard for me. But that's what I was working on, I think, in that season was just kind of letting go and letting him do his will in my life instead of me do my own will. And through prayer and Bible study, I felt like I was ready to go back to school, and I felt like he was leading me to go to Bible college, and that was kind of like a crazy thing, not anything that I would have ever chosen for myself. I mean, when I first started college, I was going for business.

SPEAKER_04 19:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:13

And like, I know that's like your typical like the athlete is going for business, but it's something I wanted to do. I had like thought that I wanted to open my own business one day. Um, so like complete different direction of like going to Bible school, but I felt like that's I really felt strongly that's what he called me to. Um and I prayed on it for a while. And I felt like I kept getting that yes of like that's where he was leading me. And so then I started looking into schools. Um I actually sent some applications to a couple of different schools, and um it was something about liberty. I heard back from a couple of schools, but Liberty really stuck out to me. Um, and I prayed on it. They had great programs, um, they have a great history behind the school itself. Um, and they also have a really good online program.

SPEAKER_02 20:09

One of the best programs also, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:11

So um, as far as like pricing goes and then like what they offer you as far as an online student, um, it just felt like a really good fit. So I started school um online there 20. It was either twenty-three or twenty-four, maybe twenty-four.

SPEAKER_02 20:29

To fast track the on twenty-four. I c I came back in the spring of twenty-four. And then I believe it it was either that spring or maybe the summer or that I think it may have been in the fall that we were in the class together. And um, I don't remember if it was experiencing God or grasping God's word. One of those you had told me you were at liberty and kind of like shared what you sensed God was doing. Um, and at that point you had been to Honduras once or twice.

SPEAKER_00 21:04

This past year was our fourth. So twice?

SPEAKER_02 21:09

Okay, so twice, yeah. Yeah. So you had been to Hunt, you've been on the foreign mission tour field twice. The Lord was really speaking to you.

SPEAKER_04 21:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:16

And at that time in in my life, the Lord was like dealing with me in Living Water for a number of different reasons. But when we had started talking, you know, it kind of birthed the idea of starting Living Water.

SPEAKER_03 21:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:33

But we didn't quite know what that would look like, and I wasn't quite ready to take that plunge again just yet. Um and to be fair, it was you and it was a number of other different people too that really wanted to see the ministry um up and running again. And so it was a it was a pretty easy transition, I think, because the Lord had already been developing you for ministry and you had a sense of calling and Besides that aspect, um I mean before we get there, would you I think this is really cool, but would you like to share how the Lord gave you even a vision for CCA and how he delivered on that that as well? Because that that's a that's a big that was a big thing for you. I remember having a conversation with you then.

Waiting In Silence And Letting Go

SPEAKER_01 22:18

Yeah, so like all through school, um I was like, okay, Lord, I felt like you called me to go to Bible school and get like a ministry degree, so I'm doing it, but show me where you're leading me. And it was just nothing, like pure radio silence. I had no idea like where this was going. And surely, you know, he has a sense of humor and he knows us better than we know ourselves. I'm a control freak. And if you tell me where it's going, I'm gonna micromanage it and control it. And so he decided, I'm not telling you anything. And so I had no idea. It's so I I laugh at it because I know that he did it for my own good, but I was truly like praying through this whole process of me going back to school, like, okay, Lord, I want to do your will and I want to be obedient to you. Open the doors for me and like open my eyes and show me where you're leading me. And I mean, this was like two and a half years of nothing.

SPEAKER_02 23:18

Right.

SPEAKER_01 23:19

I had no idea. And that was hard for me. I think that was definitely like a stretching period of like, okay, he's gonna reveal it to me when he's ready. He's doing his will. I asked him to do his will and being obedient to him. And so, like, in this time, being obedient is just continuing to go to school and not try and micromanage what the next step is gonna be. When it gets there, he will show me. Right. And so when I tell you, down to the last minute, I was leaving to go to graduation. Uh let me let me backtrack here. Through all of this, of me like praying, Lord, you open the doors for me and show me where you want me to go and allow me to be obedient to your will of what you're doing in my life. I was praying a very specific prayer. I had been coaching basketball um for about four years at that point, assistant coaching over at Terrabone, and I loved it. I mean, basketball had been such a large part of my life for so long. You know, I have the knowledge um to go and teach the younger generation. I love the kids, and I love being like a mentor to the kids. So it had been something I really fell fell in love with. And so there was like these two things that I had in front of me. It was like, okay, me choosing, I'm like, I either go into ministry full time and you open that door for me because it was the only paths I could see. Uh, you open a ministry door for me full time, or like I I stay coaching. And I was like, okay, if you want me to coach God, I would really love to be at CCA. Um, I had previously a couple of years past, um, talked with Hutch and I met Jack at church, and I kind of spoken to them a little bit about the coaching position. Um, but then like nothing ever came to fruition with it. And it kind of just like went in the back of my mind. Um, so like now I was here in this place and I was praying that and I was like, I would love to be at CCA. I wanted to be in a Christian school where not only could I be like a mentor to these kids, but also like help them grow in their relationship with Christ as well, um, more openly. Not that you can't do that at a public school, but there's like this weird line that you have to walk. Um and so I was walking that line for four years. I just wanted to be, I don't know, in a different environment. Um, and not only that, but knowing that, you know, it's like an offshoot of our church. It is part of our church, it's a ministry of our church, the school is. So I just really wanted to be a part of what was going on there. And I had no idea, I didn't think of it that way. I don't think until you and I talked about it kind of after I got the job that like it is a ministry in and of itself. And after almost a year now of being over there, I totally see it that way. Right. It's absolutely a ministry in itself. Um, just because it's a Christian school does not mean these kids don't need, you know, Christian people in their lives, help and lead them. Um, doesn't mean that they go to church regularly. Um, it's just a private school that their parents want them to attend. Um, so being able to try and be a part of their lives in that way has been really awesome. I think it kind of went off track a little. But yeah, so he answered, obviously, now that I said that, he answered that prayer for me. And it was such a specific prayer, and he answered it. Their head girls basketball coach was leaving. Um I did not know that until I got the phone call. I had no idea she was leaving and the spot was opening up. Um, and this was the week before I left to go up to graduate because I wanted to go walk and do the whole thing, even though I was older than most everybody that was graduating. I hadn't had not walked.

SPEAKER_02 26:59

Because we we met before you left and right before the phone call. And it tell me if I'm wrong, but you were in a very not it wouldn't, I wouldn't say not a dark place, you were in a very contemplative state.

SPEAKER_04 27:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:12

Where you're like, okay, Lord, I'm about to leave to go officially graduate, and I have nothing lined up, right?

SPEAKER_01 27:20

So that was kind of Yeah, it felt like I was at like the end of the road. I'm like, okay, like I did it, I'm graduating, and please tell me what you want me to do. I I think I was so scared to like for me to take the step too, um, because I didn't want to mess it up or go in the wrong direction. And I didn't feel like he had given me any insight. He had still been very like closed-lipped about things. So I was like, uh, we're here. Like, what do I do? And I was like, okay, I'm just gonna go graduate. Like, I don't know what else to do other than that point.

A Last Minute Door Opens At CCA

SPEAKER_01 27:54

And then it was literally like right after our conversation um, that I got a phone call from Jason Hutchinson, who is the principal over at the school. And he was like, Hey, I'd like to sit down and have a meeting with you. That was all it was was I want to sit down and have a meeting. And so we actually scheduled that meeting for when I got back. I told him, you know, hey, I'm about to leave. Uh, we took like a week vacation and went up to Virginia. It did like Washington, DC, and everything, uh, the week before my graduation. So uh we scheduled that meeting for when I got back. And so we got back and um I went and had that meeting, and I didn't realize that the meeting was an interview for the position. And so I walked in and sat down with him and Coach Jack, uh, who was the vice principal also, and he's the boys' basketball coach, and sat down and we kind of just chatted about everything. They kind of picked my mind um about basketball and picked my mind about kind of my relationship with God and and you know, my degree that I had gotten and everything. And it was a really good conversation. I felt comfortable. Um, and I left, and I remember calling my mom and she's like, How'd it go? I was like, I think it went really well. She's like, So did they offer you the job? And I said, No, like I was really confused. There was no like actual offer, yeah, like official offer. So I was like, I don't really know. And then not an hour later, um, Mr. Hutch called me and he was like, I just want to let you know. We do want to give you the job. I realized that we we didn't actually like formally offer the job to you, so pray about it, but we are offering you the position. So I was like, wow, um, I do need to like pray on it a little, but I will tell you this this has been a very specific prayer of mine to end up at CCA coaching basketball. And I had no idea how the Lord would even open those doors for me because they had someone who had been coaching basketball there, her kids were at the school. Uh, so I didn't think that it was even gonna happen anytime soon. But she ended up one her daughter was graduating, and um they decided to move closer to the school that she was gonna go play basketball at. And so the position was available. So I was like, yes, absolutely, I will take it. Um, so I truly feel like that was God's hand and everything. And it was really cool to see him kind of work out that and I see it. He listens to you and he wants the desires of your heart as well. As as much as he's gonna he wants to do his will in our lives, I think when you're obedient and you're walking with him, a lot of times, like those two things kind of line up in a way. That's right. And so, like what I wanted for me was also his will for me as well. Um, and so he opened those doors for me. And yeah, so now I'm the head boss basketball coach at CCA, and it's been a journey for sure.

SPEAKER_02 31:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:02

So that's been really cool to see him kind of work that out in my life.

SPEAKER_02 31:05

Amen.

Why Local Missions Must Matter

SPEAKER_02 31:06

And so an another passion of yours is missions.

SPEAKER_01 31:10

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:11

And um, you had expressed to me that Honduras was great, but it was one week every year. Yeah. And, you know, your heart was, and a lot of the team's heart was to do this on a regular basis. And whenever we were talking, you know, we we initially thought that the campus in Thibodeau was gonna be up and running last year.

unknown 31:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:31

But now that I look back and see like the Lord's timing and it all is really it it lined up much better than I could have imagined. But um, which I think gave us time to like not only develop the team, but develop where we're going each week and and all the ins and outs of it.

SPEAKER_04 31:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:47

But um, you are the leader of living water. So I want to hear from you, you know, where do you see the Lord taking Living Water? What do you do week to week? What is living water? Um, and we just had this huge event called Hope Fest. So, like, what is that? How did that turn out? You know, just kind of give everyone the in in and outs of Living Water Ministry and why it's here.

SPEAKER_01 32:11

Okay. Um, so yeah, Living Water was something that you guys were doing previously um and kind of I guess fell off whenever you left because you were leading it, um, and nobody kind of picked it up to lead. Um, so it was something that kind of fell off. I was never a part of it before. I would have been in high school when you guys were doing it before. Um, and I'd never been a part of it. But um I think I've always had like a missions heart and a missions mindset. I I love people, um, I like serving people. Um, and and so I think it was like our second trip to Honduras. Um, that when we were like I think towards the end of the week, a kind of a couple of us were talking about like what can we do at home? Like there's more to this. And I had been wanting more too. My mom and dad had been wanting more. Um, we just felt like we go for this week to a foreign country to do missions and we love on these people, and you know, we not just physically or not just spiritually, but like physically also. Yeah. You meet their physical needs first and then you meet their spiritual needs. And I had taken a class in um in school about missions, and so like it kind of felt like everything was kind of lining up. It was like, yeah, we need to do something at home. Like we go and we do this, and that's great, but that's for a week in another country, and they have other teams that are constantly going out there. But it's like, what are we doing in our own community back home? Our community is not perfect, our community needs Jesus. We have people that are hurting, we have people that need help, um, and they need hope. And you we can find all of that in Jesus. And so, what are we doing to like get outside of the church doors and really just like pour into our community? Um, so I think that's where like our heart was kind of as a group. Um, and then talking to you, other people in the church as well. Whenever you got back, we're like, okay, are we gonna like start this back up? And I think already like our missions group from Honduras had been kind of stirring about it too. So I think that was you coming back was just the catalyst of like, um, okay, Chets back, we could start back Living Water.

SPEAKER_04 34:28

Right.

SPEAKER_01 34:28

It was a thing that the church had done previously. We were looking for a place to do this outside ministry within our own community, and that kind of gave us the perfect vehicle to do that. Um, so basically that's what Living Water is. It is missions, but here at home in our own community. It's getting outside of the church doors, um, loving on our community, meeting their physical needs and meeting their spiritual needs as well. And that's kind of what um I think like street evangelism and missions has become this in this generation, in this time period that we're in. You can't just kind of walk up to a person and start telling them about Jesus. Um, it's a weird thing like that. We're kind of situation we're in these days where it's almost like you you need to get them with this and start a relationship with them and then kind of open the door to that. Um so you're you're like in your foot in the door normally is meeting their physical needs. Um, and a lot of the people that we go to and that we want to show love to need their physical needs met, um, whether that be food, housing, um clothing, kind of just anything for like day-to-day life, really. Um they're needy people um that not only need like physical things, but man, they need Jesus too. Right. Um, so we try and meet their physical needs and then cultivate a relationship with them that can break down those barriers and open the door to like really leading them to Jesus. Um and it's a process, man. Like it's it's a process. It is not a messy process, yes. Yeah, it it's like you said, it's messy, it's not pretty sometimes. Um we have people who are very open to speaking to us and people who it takes a while to really like break those barriers and those walls down and get into like the nitty-gritty of like really while we're there.

SPEAKER_02 36:34

Or every once in a while you catch a person falling down against the cabinet door, too.

SPEAKER_01 36:38

I mean there's that also.

SPEAKER_02 36:42

You just never know what you're gonna get.

SPEAKER_01 36:43

You never know. Yeah, I will say that it changes from week

Motel Outreach And Weekly Door Knocks

SPEAKER_01 36:47

to week. Like we go, we go out, so we go out every Wednesday night into the community. Um, we have two areas that we've kind of honed in on when we first started going out again. Um, we didn't know where the Lord wanted us to be. So as a group, we were very prayerful in that. And um actually the first area that we started in ended up being a no. Yeah, we prayed about that area, we went into that area, and we felt that that's not where the Lord wanted us to be. And so then um these two other areas came to mind. It actually started with just the motel, um, which was not far off from where we originally started. So I think we were like close, but we missed the mark a little bit. Um because we were just like two streets over.

SPEAKER_03 37:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:32

Um, but we ended up uh kind of landing at that motel, which was very close to the sugar bowl, which is where you know old living water was kind of, you know, stationed. That was their area. Um so we started going to the motel on Wednesday nights, and it's grown now to the veterans' home as well, right there on New Orleans Boulevard. But we just we go in, we the motel is a little bit more, you never know what you're gonna get because you don't know who's gonna be in the rooms. Um we just knock on doors. Uh the the owner has been so gracious enough to allow us to go there every Wednesday. They give us a list of rooms that they've rented out, and we just go knock on the doors. And if the people answer, we offer them food. We always bring food with us. So we we offer them food. We ask, you know, is there anything that we can pray with them about? You just those ones, it's a little more like you're you're trying to get them to talk to you, really, at first, and then be friendly and cultivate a relationship right there. It's kind of a quick relationship, but getting them to talk to you is like the first step. Um, asking them like about theirselves, their lives, what's going on with them, are they working right now? Um, just get them to open up with you a little bit. Um, and then you kind of dig deeper if you can. And we've gotten some people that just really open up to us and some people who don't want to talk. And you can't push it. You take it, um, ask if they want prayer. Sometimes they say yes, sometimes they say no. We try and always get their name so we can continue to pray for them even after you know we leave. Um, but yeah, there's kind of like a this unknown of you never know what's gonna happen. You don't know who's gonna open the door. And it's crazy how even within that unknown, and some nights we go and there's like only a couple rooms booked, it's not like a ton of rooms. The Lord is always working. Yeah, it's always we we say that like every Wednesday night. Like, man, I felt like it was gonna be like a bust tonight. And then like something happens. We we encounter someone who needed some hope and needed some positivity and needed some Jesus at that moment. And so it's like he's always putting these people in our paths that has um, I think continued to show us that we are where he wants us to be right now, as far as like that area goes.

Getting Uncomfortable For The Gospel

SPEAKER_02 39:51

And you know, I will share this too, Kat, because I think a lot of people they like it's hard for them to picture what we do. Um, last Wednesday we knocked on a door and um the guy answered and we said, We're from Covenant Church, you know, we're here to to give you some food and we'd love to pray for you, you know, talk to you. And he's like, I don't believe in Jesus, you know. And it was obviously, it was obviously an evil spirit on that man. Because I mean it was he was repulsive at the just the thought of Jesus, you know? And I think what what what we want people to understand is that if the church doesn't get out the walls, who's going to?

SPEAKER_04 40:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:33

And so if every church in this community would get out the walls and evangelize and disciple, revival would break out. You know, like how many times has someone told us, I'm I haven't seen a church do this in decades. This is wonderful, y'all are doing this. Like, it's not normal, but it should be. You know?

SPEAKER_01 40:51

Like the, and that's truly like the the proof is right there in the pudding. How many people have told us, like, whoa, uh we you don't see church people out and about in the community anymore.

SPEAKER_02 41:03

Right.

SPEAKER_01 41:03

And I think that blows my mind because you know, we're commissioned, go and make disciples.

SPEAKER_02 41:09

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 41:10

How can you go and make disciples of all nations, of all different people, if we're stuck just attending church on Sunday or doing a Bible study on a Wednesday night? You're yes, cultivating your relationship with Christ and building on that, but there gets a point where, okay, now you need to go.

SPEAKER_02 41:30

Right. You're too full.

SPEAKER_01 41:31

Yeah. Yeah. What are you using? So you have this relationship and you've cultivated this relationship. How are you using it?

SPEAKER_04 41:38

Right.

SPEAKER_01 41:38

You know, we want to we want to build the kingdom. That's what we're here for. He's built you up to go and now build other people up. You know, that's our whole purpose. Um, and I think, yeah, the the church as a whole, not like our church, just as a whole, we've gotten comfortable with being within our little bubble.

SPEAKER_02 42:00

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 42:01

And we say this a lot within our group because doing ministry this way gets uncomfortable. It stretches you. You step outside of your comfort zone. But I think when you step outside of your comfort zone and you are living in this space that is uncomfortable to you, that's when God truly works.

SPEAKER_02 42:23

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 42:23

Um, because you like have no control at that point. I'm uncomfortable. This is stretching me in ways and has me doing things that I wouldn't normally do. But that's when like the Lord comes in and like he does it. Yep. And you end up being like, whoa, I would have never done that on my own. That's truly just the Lord working through me. Right. So he like meets you in those uncomfortable areas, and that's truly when he does a big work and he stretches you and he uses that. Um, so I think to like anybody listening that maybe the Lord's been like working on you to do something more, to step outside of the church walls, but it's scary. Like live in that uncomfortableness, take that step, and like he's gonna work through it. And it's a beautiful thing.

SPEAKER_02 43:07

Amen. Amen. So let's talk

Hope Fest Outreach And What Happened

SPEAKER_02 43:10

about one more thing. Hopefest. Yeah. So what is it? How'd it go? And like, what does the future look like for things like that? Um, okay.

SPEAKER_01 43:17

So Hope Fest was this big community event that we planned. Um, we wanted to do something more than just like our Wednesday nights that we were doing and going out to these areas. Um, so we decided to plan a big community event. Um, we kind of all put our heads together. It was something that we preyed on for a while before we actually started like fully planning it. Um, and it ended up being just like a kind of like an outreach event where um everything was free and we tried to get people in. And um you kind of draw them in with all the free things. And then we had, you know, a worship session, we had some testimonies by um two of our lovely. Members who kind of shared what the Lord's done in their life. And then we had a little bit of a message given by you, and then just like a call to Jesus. Um and I think like our whole purpose behind it was to try and draw the community in um to see that there is hope that's found in Jesus. Um and we kind of built it the same way of like how we do Wednesday nights, meet their physical needs. So we had um free haircuts, we had free food, we had free health screenings by Terrable in General. We also wanted to draw in families. Um, because I think not only like our church, that's a big thing that we hit is young families, but um that's a large portion of our community who also really needs Jesus too.

unknown 44:49

Right.

SPEAKER_01 44:50

Um, so we had, I mean, four or five bounce houses. Um, we had face painting, we had a little craft table.

SPEAKER_02 44:58

There was kids crawling everywhere.

SPEAKER_01 45:01

Yeah. Children all over the place. Yeah. I mean, when I tell you, like we it was at so it was at the courthouse. And so on one side of the courthouse on that street was where we had like the food and the health like screenings, and then on the other side was like the whole like kids' corner. I mean, people would go get their food and what they needed, and then back over to the kids' area. I mean, we'd kids all over the place. Um, but it really ended up being like a beautiful thing. We didn't know fully, we were like, okay, we're gonna plan it, but like who's gonna come kind of thing. Um, and we were hoping that we reached the right people. Um, and I think all of us, I think I can speak for all of us, we were surprised at the turnout.

SPEAKER_02 45:41

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:42

Um, especially because there were so many different events happening that same day all over town. I mean, we were competing with so many different things. Mind you, two blocks down the road, the boucherie was happening.

SPEAKER_04 45:55

Right.

SPEAKER_01 45:56

Um, so there was tons of stuff for people to go do that day, and still we had hundreds of people show up. Um shout out to all of the volunteers from our church because we could not have done it without you. Yes. Um, couldn't have done it without our team as well. I mean, when I say that we've prayed on this for probably a year.

SPEAKER_02 46:15

Yeah, yeah. At least, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 46:17

Um, about this event.

SPEAKER_02 46:19

Yeah, because we were gonna do it in the fall. And then we changed it to the spring. Yeah. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 46:24

So for over a year we prayed on it and we started putting all the details together. And then I think about two months before, um, we came together as a team to specifically pray. Um, not only for like what we were doing on Wednesday nights, but to pray for Hope Fest. Um, that the Lord would use it for him to do his will, that we would meet the right people, that they would come um and just be loved on. Oh. And a huge part of what we had there was the prayer team. Can't forget about them.

SPEAKER_02 46:55

They were they were everywhere, they were all over the place. I mean, um and old. Yeah. Yeah, it was great.

SPEAKER_01 47:00

It was all different walks of life, all different types of people on this prayer team that we had that were just like spread throughout the entire initiating conversation, praying with people. I mean, as I was like walking through the event while it was happening and and you know, trying to like put out little fires here and there, because it went over great. There wasn't much for me to do as far as like leading in a way, but as I was like walking through the event to see all of the conversations happening, that was really cool. Like they were truly like working, and I was seeing deep conversations and tears and prayer happening. So that was like a beautiful portion of it. Right. That the, I mean, the Lord worked through them to really have some beautiful conversations with some people and and pray over some people. So I think that was really awesome. Um, but yeah, it went over really well. It was a way for us to like reach out to our community. Um, I think we ended up having to run two buses, two church buses the next Sunday.

SPEAKER_02 48:03

The next Sunday, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 48:04

Because we had so many people who wanted to come attend church and see what we were about. Um so yeah, I think the Lord is truly like working within this ministry of us getting outside the walls. Um and I think it's more we are getting people to come to the church, but I think it's more than just like having another number um in attendance. Uh we're we're looking to catch souls for the kingdom. Like we're truly trying to be like fishers of men. Um, I think that's where our heart lies, right? Is is we know what Jesus has done for us because we are like a band of like misfits, you know, people that have been through so many different things, all of us, and the Lord has done such a work in our lives that how can we not go out and tell people about this? Like tell people about my Jesus and what he's done for me, and he can do that for you also. Um I think that's where that fire in our hearts comes from.

SPEAKER_04 49:06

Amen.

SPEAKER_01 49:07

And that's truly like what the basis of this whole ministry is is just trying to get outside the doors and tell people about Jesus.

SPEAKER_02 49:15

Yeah, that's the heartbeat for sure.

How To Join And Final Prayer

SPEAKER_02 49:18

And if uh if anybody wants to see it, they just go on the Covenant Church Home's Facebook page because our producer behind the camera here, Sean Mear, put together a great video and interviewed the different aspects of it so they can go check that out too. That was pretty neat. But um, from here on out, living water ministry is growing.

SPEAKER_01 49:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 49:40

People are coming to know the Lord, they're being uh they're being touched by him when we step out in faith each week and go see them. And so anyone is welcome to come. Uh, we encourage them to get with you first.

SPEAKER_01 49:53

Can I add on that real quick? Yeah, go ahead. Like, not only are we like trying to go and get outside the church walls and spread the joy of Christ in his name and and have people try and, you know, garner relationships with him, the work that he's done in like our members, the people who are part of this group. Yeah, he's gonna work on you too while you go through this. I mean, we've seen so many of the people um that are a part of our group open up more, yeah, and and and become more willing to do things and live in that uncomfortable space. And you just have seen the Lord like work through them. Right.

SPEAKER_02 50:34

So you don't have to be put together.

SPEAKER_01 50:36

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_02 50:37

You do not have to have all your stuff together to serve the Lord.

SPEAKER_01 50:40

Trust me, we don't.

SPEAKER_02 50:42

Yes, that's right.

SPEAKER_01 50:43

We're just doing it, and and he's gonna use it. When you you walk in that like obedience and that submission, he is gonna use it. So, like, it's okay to be scared of it or a little like right taken back, uh uncomfortable. That's not something like you feel super comfortable with. Like, he's gonna use that.

SPEAKER_02 51:01

Amen. Yeah, I just wanted to add that. Amen. Well, Kat, I think we covered it. I think we we actually covered everything. I didn't even look at my iPad. So we did well. We did well, did not have to even go to the notes. So I'm gonna pray for us before we head up. If that's okay with you, yeah. Heavenly Father, we love you. And uh Lord, we believe in the power of prayer. And Lord, I thank you for Kat. I thank you for all the ways that you've worked in our life, Lord, the way you, the ways you've saved her, the ways that your providence and your peace has infiltrated her life, Lord, and that she's here doing what she desired to do, Lord, because you planted that desire. And Father, I pray for her, I pray for Living Water Ministry, I pray for our church, Lord, that that our church can see the fire of Jesus and what we do. Lord, there's an urgency in the times. There's an urgent season ahead of us and here now where Jesus is coming soon. Souls are headed straight to hell, Lord. But Father, you have called us as the body of Christ to be on mission for you to go and to share the message of Jesus, Lord, and to be bold when we do that. And Father, we admit that there are times we're not bold. And Father, we just pray that you would give us that boldness and give us that courage. And Lord, this ministry is a place where we can come together and feed off of each other's strength as we go out each week, Lord, to share Jesus. And Lord, I just pray for Kat that you would bless her as she leads this ministry and the team, wonderful team that she has, Lord, that that love you and love people. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, guys, see y'all on the next one.