Park Cities Presbyterian Church (PCA)

Re-gifting the gift you get to keep

Giving and getting at Voice of Hope

Published November 1, 2011 in Witness

One Sunday over 26 years ago, before the days of PCPC, we listened in our Sunday School class as a young woman presented her vision for a new ministry in West Dallas. We were intrigued by the simplicity of this vision. It was based on the idea of engaging children in the West Dallas neighborhood in after-school and weekend sports games using open fields in the neighborhood and then, after the games, presenting the Good News of the gospel to them.

We, like others in our class, wanted to be a part of this ministry in some way, so we began participating in yearly events and giving financial support to this fledgling ministry. The ministry grew by God’s blessing. It began to minister to children not just on the soccer field on Saturday mornings, but with after-school tutoring, summer day camps, and family events. It was a haven of peace in an unsettled world for many of these children. But the ministry was not without its struggles during the early years.

God assigns a new role
In 2001, our involvement with Voice of Hope changed dramatically. That year the Session and congregation of PCPC determined to give a gift to the city of Dallas in honor of the tenth anniversary of the church’s founding. The gift was a congregational partnering with the neighborhood of West Dallas. The purpose was to join with the various ministries in West Dallas and assist them in presenting the transforming presence of Jesus Christ.

By this time, Kathy, the Voice of Hope founder, had moved on to other ministry, but she left behind faithful workers. Soon, PCPC became acquainted with those godly leaders who were working to transform the neighborhood, such as Arrvel Wilson and Norman Henry. For the partnership of PCPC with West Dallas, the goal was to listen to those running the ministries and become a trusted advisor, or a source of funding, or the working hands, or whatever was needed. We and other PCPC members chose to begin our West Dallas partnership in earnest with Voice of Hope. 

Sold out
Here’s the interesting thing: Yes, we’ve seen transformational growth in West Dallas through the work of Voice of Hope. But we have been the recipients of a greater process of change personally, in our hearts and minds. We have become sold out to the transforming work of Christ in the West Dallas neighborhood and the world.

Because of the diligent and patient work of Ed Franklin, the director of Voice of Hope, and the wonderful VOH staff, we’ve seen young children become models for their community, families benefiting from the life skills that are taught, and a neighborhood being transformed for God’s glory.

The partnership that was begun 10 years ago with PCPC and Voice of Hope has grown from prayerful days of listening to their needs and hopes to an exchange of ideas, obtaining resources, providing guidance, and growing a thriving ministry. PCPC members have become a part of the VOH family through their service as tutors, board members, and event co-ordinators. What began as a gift from PCPC members to the ministries of West Dallas, and in our case, to Voice of Hope, has come back as a great gift of God’s faithfulness when His people are willing to join together to follow His command: “Speak up, judge righteously, and plead the case of the poor and needy”
(Proverbs 31:9).
—Debbie Dunlap