Another PA Winter

Camp at Old Mill Update:

December and January are the months when the camp has the chance to sit idle and recover in preparation for the busy months ahead. In February, The Camp at Old Mill began hosting groups again. 

Calvary Chapel “The Rock” located in Kensington, brought a group of students for a weekend retreat and time of investing into their next generation. Located in lower Northeast Philly, The Rock ministry serves an extremely tough demographic and the youth are often neglected. Problems ranging from drug addiction to healthcare needs often arise. The time they spend at Old Mill helps the young people to get away from the city and be refreshed in God’s Word. We were thankful to see another successful retreat this year.

In March, West Fallowfield Christian School held their annual local mission trip in Coatesville. The 8th grade class served during Mom’s Club, at after school programs with The Bridge Academy, and in a local Christian shelter called City Gate. They cooked a meal for the men in the shelter and joined them for the morning Bible study. Students from WFCS also assisted the ministry CCGM does in the prison with writing cards for inmates.  These encouragement cards are read to inmates during chapels. The last day was spent completing work projects at the camp and many students exclaimed the week went by too quickly. 

Pray for the spring as many mission teams have already dedicated time to working in a newly purchased building which will house The Bridge Academy and Providence Church. Groups like Calvary Chapel Philadelphia and others will be at camp the next few weeks, so pray for a powerful move of God among their students and young adults.

Prison Ministry Update:

Just before 2025 ended I experienced a neat personal milestone. I have now counseled with over 100 (and counting) men for weekly discipleship in a one on one format.

Men come forward to be discipled in a number of ways. Many times it is through connecting with a preacher who has taught a chapel service. Sometimes the requests happen through referral from friends or family and in other cases they are out of the blue from an unlikely inmate. One of the greatest joys is seeing men who have been incarcerated leave prison and begin a new path with the Lord. 

This is not an easy decision as they face many obstacles but we are committed to supporting those in our local area. Many have been coming to the Providence men’s breakfast and bible study we have every two weeks in Coatesville. On Easter, several of them were sitting in service with their families and just months before they were incarcerated at Chester County. That is God at work!!

Pray for Providence Church Coatesville which has been a faithful and much needed partner for CCGM to lean on in the midst of re-entry challenges. Meetings and programs are necessary, but the most important thing needed is to be in community and sit weekly under the teaching of God’s Word.  There is no substitute for the transformation those things can bring.

One example of this is a young man named Sabree. Sabree recently came to the Lord at Chester County Prison and began meeting one on one. Since being released he has been to church every week, is actively being discipled, and has participated in outreach and men’s ministry. We are thankful to see Sabree thriving in Jesus and pray more men will continue to connect with vibrant local churches like Providence. 

Ministry Partnerships:

Preaching at Real Iglesias

On a recent trip to Ft. Lauderdale to catch up with some of our ministry supporters, I spent time at Real Iglesias in Hollywood, Florida. Real Iglesias (Real Church) just passed a significant milestone of 10 years and God has used that church mightily to reach many in the neighborhood and help other churches with space to meet when needed. 

Youth Conference at Gilead

Ministering at Mt. Gilead is always a reminder that it is a privilege to do what God has entrusted and a blessing to do it with like-minded believers. This is true of the relationships we have with many of the staff who we keep in touch with throughout the year, and the director and his wife, Dave and Dawn Gould. 

This year, Mt. Gilead hosted the first Gilead Winter Retreat for students and I had the honor of being the speaker for the weekend. We dove into Acts 2:24 and looked at what it means to be a people devoted to God. I love speaking to high school students but this retreat featured a number of tangible activities the students performed to encourage them in their faith. It was the personal nature of these challenges the student raved about the most. The stories of young people dealing with difficult situations but staying faithful to God never gets old. We are looking forward to summer camp!

Whether we are ministering abroad in Northern California or with faithful partners just down the road such as Believers Bible Fellowship or Parkesburg Mennonite, God is always accomplishing His work and we are better when we partner together.

Mayo Family Update:

To say this was a “bear of a winter” would definitely be an understatement. Even lifelong Pennsylvanians have remarked this was an especially difficult winter from the perspective of cold temperatures and the large amount of snowfall.  Through it all, the Mayo family had a great time shoveling and throwing the snow!

SO…a really FUN thing happened in Philly recently…

A former CCA student - Andy Painter - who was one of our discipleship interns, was recently called up to pitch in the major leagues. The beautiful thing is that he was drafted by the Phillies which is our hometown team. When he made his debut a few weeks ago, our family went to the game to support him and he did not disappoint! He pitched an amazing game but is still the same grateful and humble young man from a few years ago.

We were honored to be in attendance with his family and happy that Andy is pitching for the team Morgan and I grew up rooting for!

Where Is The Door of Your Church?

At a recent bible study Jack Crans challenged all those in attendance with a question I have been thinking about since that morning. He asked us, “Where is the door of your church?” This seems like a basic nuts and bolts type question and most people answer with the street name or physical location to the front door of their church. This is not what Jack meant.

When he asked “Where is the door of your church?” he was trying to drive home another point. He meant, how are the people in your church extending a “door” into the community and among the unreached? In what ways do people in your local church reach out past their own communities and offer invitations to those who don’t know Christ? What if a congregation could say that the “door” of their church could be found through faithful believers in schools, in prisons, in fitness centers…among the widows, the poor, the homeless, the wealthy, and to those who don’t know Him. 

In Revelation 3:20 Jesus says… “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

It is certainly a challenge for us all to consider. 

Thank you to those who faithfully pray and for those who support us with financial gifts. We believe this is a work of all of God’s people through Jesus Christ and we are grateful you have partnered with us in ministry.

Grace and Peace

The Mayo Family