Jacki came to Hope for the Inner City this summer with an urban ministry team from a church in Lakeland, Miss. This was her third straight year serving on an urban ministry team in East Chattanooga.

Her experience with Hope for the Inner City has left such a “huge” spiritual impact on Jacki’s life that it’s hard to believe that she was once against the idea of coming.

“Originally I was doing everything I could to get out of it,” she says. “When they told me I was going to inner-city Chattanooga to do Bible class in the projects, I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me!’ ”

Instead, Jacki wanted to spend that week earning money at her summer job back home. But she changed her mind after talking to an older friend and coworker. That decision signaled a series of formative changes in Jacki’s life.

A Listening Ear among Hope Staff

Upon her first arrival, Jacki felt strong bonds beginning to form with Hope’s leadership. “I really connected with the staff. I immediately clicked with Coach B.,” she says about Robert Blevins, Hope’s leadership development coordinator. “I really looked up to Mr. Green [Hope for the Inner City’s executive director]. He and Coach B. really latched onto me and loved me.”

Worshiping at one of Hope for the Inner City’s local supporting churches was also deeply moving for Jacki. “I have a really strong compassion for racial reconciliation,” she says. “Going to New City Fellowship was such an eye opener.”

A Fulfilling Role in Service Projects

Jacki describes the service projects in which she participated as an especially meaningful part of her visit. As a returning team member, she has had the opportunity to witness the development and completion of certain projects. “[I have] come back to see the things [at the St. Andrew’s medical clinic] that we started are followed up with [by other teams] ... that the clinic is now up and running!”

A Personal Encounter with Christ

But what has given real meaning to Jacki’s experiences at Hope is her faith in the saving grace of Jesus Christ, a faith she did not have prior to her first visit to Hope for the Inner City. Though she couldn’t have foreseen it three years ago, when she was reluctant to visit Hope for the Inner City, the importance of her visit is now clear to her. “I came here for a reason,” she says. “Now I know God has a plan for me.”