LOVE Week: A Talk with Our Outreach Partners | Holly Furtick

And welcome to Lunchtime Live. It's lunchtime here in Charlotte. I just had Chipotle. It was pretty okay. It got the job done. I'm wondering what you ate for lunch today. Who's joining us? It is a special Lunchtime Live edition because it is Love Week. I don't know if you can see my T shirt. I don't think you can, but I have a lovely T shirt on. And it's Love Week here at Elevation. And so I wanted to do a special version of Lunchtime Live where we talk with some of our outreach partners that are literally all around the world. Technology is amazing. So let me. Let me welcome some people who are here today. We've got Amanda Bernhardt. Hello. From Chicago, Sandra Palermo from Waterbury. Waterbury. I don't know. Here in Charlotte, we'd call that Waterbury, Connecticut. We've got Carmen says hello. Holly. We've got Patricia. Patricia, me, Mijia. KGB mom of six. Six kids.

Wow.

Welcome to Lunchtime Live. I don't know what your kids are doing, but I'm sure they'll be fine for just a little bit. We've got Wendy Cooper. Hello. Wendy White from Kyle Kalua, Hawaii. I wish I was in Hawaii right now. I bet the weather is much better than the weather here in Charlotte. Because here in Charlotte, it is what we like to call hot and humid and stay inside kind of weather. We've got James from Nairobi, Kenya. We've got Terry from Hazelwood, Indiana.

Hi.

Heidi Gorecki. Annette from Asheville. Rebecca from Asheville. Colin. Colin from Johnson City, Tennessee. Heather Cook from Indiana, Renee Cup.

Hello.

As always, nice to see you guys. We got a great crowd here on YouTube. And like I said, it's Love Week. If you don't know what Love Week is, Love Week is a special week that our church sets aside to spread the love of Jesus to our communities. And our church has grown from. From just being one community in Charlotte to being lots of communities all over our country and all over our world. And so there are Love Week opportunities happening everywhere. Whether there is one where you can physically attend, we have lots of virtual events that you can be a part of. We want you to be a part of Love Week. Our outreach. Elevation Outreach is a division of our church that partners with organizations, like I said, locally and all around the world, who are serving the underserved in our community. So the people of Elevation Church are very generous. And when you give to Elevation Church, I don't know if you're watching, if you're a part of Elevation or not. But if you are and if you've ever given to Elevation Church, 12% of everything that you give goes right into our outreach program and right back into all of our communities that these programs that are helping people in our community. So today I'm going to get to talk with three of our outreach organizations that we are partnering with. And like I said, Love Week is a special event that we set aside where we're not only giving away money, but we're also giving our time and our talents and we're helping people all around the world. So I want you to be a part. If you want to be a part of Love Week, go to Love Week. Let me look at my thing. Love Week. I don't even have it. Loveweek22.com to find an event near you. I was just told that there are still 800 opportunities that you can be a part of. So there aren't even 800 people on here. So everyone can go sign up. Don't go right now, obviously, unless you have YouTube. What's it called, used to be called YouTube Red YouTube Premium. If you have YouTube Premium, you can. So just lead me up and then go over and find yourself a little outreach event that you can be a part of. If not, don't, don't go off because you don't want to miss this. I'm about to talk with some amazing organizations and, and get to hear a little bit about what they're doing and how we're partnering with them this week. Okay, Are you ready? Let's see. Is everybody ready? Let me look at some of these comments. Camilla Lewis says. Good morning, Holly. Oh, I forgot. I knew there was something else I was supposed to do. I have a giveaway. Let's do a giveaway. So we have some outreach merchandise. Look at this. We got a little hat. This hat is super nice, too. It has. I like it. I like the way it fits my head. I like the way it feels.

I'm not gonna put it on, though.

Because I have a clip in my hair. So we got a hat to give away and I got a water bottle to give away. And guys, this is no off brand water bottle. This is a Nalgene water bottle. So this is a very nice water bottle. If you would like to win. I'm going to give away one water bottle and one hat. Leave me a comment. Tell me. Oh, I know. Tell me if you've served anywhere or if you're signed up to serve anywhere with Love Week this week. I'm going to give you a second. But here, look, if you, and if you don't win, while I'm waiting for you to comment, if you don't win, you can buy these amazing Items@guessware loveweek22.com It's super easy. You go, you sign up for an event, you buy a hat, you buy a water bottle. And I think the T shirts are free, right? You can get a free lovely T shirt. You just have to pay shipping. If you don't live in Charlotte, if you live anywhere in the Charlotte area or near any of our campuses, you know, like we have one in Orlando, we have one in Melbourne, Florida. We have multiple ones in other places in North Carolina, like Asheville, Winston Salem, Greensboro. We've got a location in Toronto, Canada. If you are enjoying the beautiful Canadian summer, you can go to a Love Week event and we will give you a T shirt there. You don't have to have a T shirt before you show up. We will give you a T shirt there. But if you want to support this amazing hat or keep yourself hydrated, you're going to have to buy it unless you win the giveaway that I'm about to do. So Karen Emerson says Norfolk, Virginia, I didn't get my shirt yet. Um, let's see who else. So, Karen, we're going to send you a water bottle and hopefully you'll get your shirt by the time you get your water bottle. Let's see. Gabriella Reynolds says, I'm signed up at BVCC in Bonita, California to volunteer. That's amazing. I don't know what that is, but I'm really happy that you're gonna serve there. I for and, and oh, I forgot to tell you, if you win, the comments are just flying through you guys. I'm so happy to see that you guys are all be a part of planning to be a part of Love Week. If you win, email me at Holly Furtick YouTube ElevationChurch.org Holly Furtick YouTube Elevationchurch.org we're going to pin that, that email address and the Love Week website for you to go sign up for an event or get the merch if you want. But let's see who else is on and is serving somewhere. So this is somebody all four Js for me. I don't know what that means but you serve each year and you will be serving this year at Turning Point. So I would love to send you a water bottle. Moses Cisneros says Michelle, God bless you. Thank you for the blessings. Maritza from Tampa, Florida is hosting Meals On Wheels. That's awesome. I love Meals on Wheels. In fact, I used to serve with Meals on Wheels when my kids were little and we would go and pick up the meals in the little and have a cooler in my car and then we would drive and I would let my kids carry it to the front door and then we would ring the doorbell and we would go. Meals on Wheels is awesome. And let's give away one more. Emily Allman says, I'm serving this weekend in Dallas on July 30th. This is so awesome. I'm just, it's so amazing to see how Love Week has grown, evolved over the years. I think we were trying to decide the other day. I think this is the 14th year that we have done Love Week. Elevation church is 17 years old, but I think this is the 14th year that we have done Love Week. And it's so, it's so amazing to look back and see not only how many events and, and volunteers and hours that we've been able to serve and partners that we've been able to give money to, but also to see if it grow just beyond the, the, the area of Charlotte and to hear people saying, oh, I'm, I'm. Here's another lady, Victoria Estrada. She says she's hosting in Oakland, California. And, and here's Candy, says she's serving in Winston Salem this week. It's just amazing what God has done. And if you've never been a part of Love Week, you're really missing out. And I want you to be a part. Loveweek22.com to find an event near you. Okay, now we've got some really fun stuff, some really fun people to chat with. And the first person that I am going to bring on with us today is Benjamin Willis Wills. Benjamin Wills. And he is the founder of this organization called Peace Prep Academy. All right, let's bring Benjamin on. Hello there.

I'm here.

He's here, but I can't hear him turn my volume up. Let me see. Hold on. All right, say hello, Benjamin.

Hi.

Hi.

Oh, there you are. Hi. Nice to meet you. How are you today?

I'm great. Nice to meet you too.

Good.

Now, Benjamin, you're in Atlanta, right?

That's right.

Tell us a little bit about Peace Prep Academy.

Yeah. So Peace Preparatory Academy exists to educate whole children, support whole families, and provide growth and change opportunities for whole communities in a high quality, Christ centered learning environment. And so we've been doing that on the west side of Atlanta since 2015. We've grown from one class of 12 kindergarten kids to this year, we'll serve 100 kids in pre K through seventh grade. And we're excited about what God's doing in and among us.

Wow, that's amazing. And so when you say whole families, you've got 100 kids enrolled in your school, what does that mean for their families?

Yeah, so that means for their families that our programming is centered around trying to provide opportunities for flourishing with a recognition that a child is situated in a family, a family situated in a community, A community and an ecosystem. And so another thing that we've done has been to engage in safe, quality, dignified, affordable housing. And so around our campus, we have purchased 32 units that we have bought, renovated, and re. Kind of introduced people to our community in a, in a new kind of way. And so that in tandem with the school and our after school program are the ways that we're holistically addressing the variety of situations that can happen in the life of a child and a family.

Wow, that's incredible. So are you telling me that every child that's enrolled in Peace Prep Academy, that their family basically lives within this community?

So 50% of our kids live directly in the English Avenue community, and then the other 50% live within five miles of the school and other neighborhoods on the historic west side of Atlanta.

And does it cost them anything to attend the school, the families, or is it all provided by your organization?

So it's a pay what you're able tuition model. So we recognize that a majority of our neighbors make less than $15,000 a year as their household income. And that economic barri has often been a barrier to someone receiving a high quality education. And so in order to remove that barrier, we've partnered with churches, with people, with companies who would say yes to what God's doing, and have helped fund this opportunity for people in our community.

Wow, this is so amazing.

So how.

Tell me again, when did you, when did you launch this with the 12 kindergarteners?

So in 2015 was our official launch. Yeah.

Amazing. And I, I read in your bio that my team gave me that you are so committed to this, that you and your family also are a part of this community. Is that true?

Yeah.

So we've lived in this community since 2011. So over a decade now, my wife and I and our five children live in the community. And a lot of what we do is born out of our heart to be with our community. And so what affects our neighbors, affects us. And so we work to find solutions together. And it creates this environment that is very holistic and healing centered.

It's amazing. So tell me a little bit about what is the thing that you are the most proud of about your organization that's going on right now?

Yeah. So I think I'm just most proud that we are showing up to do the thing that God asked us to do. The genesis of this is that in Lent of 2012, I spent 40 days and 40 nights asking God to allow me to physically dream. And God shared this dream with me for this school. And so I'm just really proud of the fact that here we are 10 years later with our hands to the plow, not looking back, trusting God to provide everything that we need to see the kingdom of God coming on earth as it is, is in heaven. And so when you step on our campus, you feel peace, you feel shalom, you feel nothing broken, nothing missing, everything as it should be. And so I'm proud that we've joined where God is at work in the world and that we've just continued to say yes to what God is asking us to.

That's amazing. What led you to Atlanta? Are you from Atlanta?

No, I'm from Dallas, Texas and my wife and I moved to Atlanta in 2006 to do a year long missions program. And we're planted in this neighborhood. We left for a season, but then discerned that the Lord was calling us to a longer season than just that one year. And so we moved back to the neighborhood in 2011 to just really kind of put everything back on the table and say, God, okay, where we live and the jobs we do and the way we build our family, we want you to breathe on all of that. We don't want to hold anything back from you. And God has just richly blessed our yes with God's yes. And it's been a really beautiful thing to see all that God's done to transform not just our community, but us as people and as a family.

So what are some of the biggest challenges that you face within your organization?

Yeah, so as you can imagine, being a pay what you're able school, there's a big financial challenge, right. And there's a people challenge of like always having the resources that we need to do the thing that it is we're going to do. And just the recognition that a lot of our world was not set up for people to flourish. A lot of our world was kind of systematically designed for there to be people who were on the margins. And so when we look at marginalized people groups, there's a challenge to Showing up and working in those spaces. And so we have to be this kind of three kind of presence at all times. A prophetic presence, a priestly presence, and a practical presence. And so there's a lot of challenge that comes with that just in the way that systems of the world operate. And when you try to move against that, there's some opposition. And so we, again, just kind of continue to trust the Lord to provide in all of those spaces.

Yeah. And this week we have several Love Week events happening with you guys. Tell us what you guys are, what, what we're able to help you do this week.

Yeah. So thank you so much. Elevation has been able to fund all of the furniture for a brand new classroom modular structure that we've been installing this summer. So classrooms and grades, first through seventh grade will all have brand new furniture, new desks, new chairs, new storage for teachers. And so when teachers walk back into classrooms ready for school to start, everything will be brand new. And so we've got an event today where all that furniture is getting put together and spaces are getting prepared to host these amazing children and families. And then this weekend, we'll throw a big party. We love to throw parties. And so we'll throw just a back to school party that'll have games and music and cooking and just what our community does best to celebrate, enjoy. And so Love Week is a great culmination of what will send us off into our eighth school year. And so we're very grateful and excited to partner with Elevation and do this.

I love it so much. So, Benjamin, though, even though we're sending people to help you and we've provided furniture, I also have another surprise for you today. Because of the generous people, people of Elevation Church, I have a check for you for $25,000. And we just want you to know we love you and we believe in what you're doing.

Yeah. Thank you, John. John made me cry last time he did this to me during Black History Month. And it. It never ceases to amaze me the provision of God. And so thank you for being, you know, God's hands and feet and doing this work with us. We. We really sense and believe that and are so grateful that will go further than you could imagine to love kids and families.

Well, yeah. I just want you to know we believe in what you're doing and we believe in the impact that you're making and in these hundred kids in this school year, it's. It's impacting so much more than just those children. It's impacting their families and their futures and all of the people that they come in contact with and all of the amazing things that they're going to do in their futures. And so we're just so grateful for people like you and your family who just said, like, you know, we're going to do this. We're going to move here. We're going to. We're going to love this community. We're going to give them everything that we have. And so I love that as, as a church, we're able to come alongside you and say, yes, yes, yes. We believe in you, we support you, and. And we hope you guys have an amazing love week.

Yeah.

Thank you so much. We're super grateful.

Nice to meet you.

Have a great day to meet you, too. All right, Peace.

All right, guys. That was amazing. So we are going on a little journey. We went to Atlanta, and now we are going to talk with Nicole, who. Oh, she's right here. So we're going to circle back home. We went to Atlanta. We're coming back to Charlotte. Nicole is the executive director of Congregations for Kids, and I am so excited to meet her. Let's see if Nicole can join us.

Are you there?

Hey, there. Hi, Nicole. How are you? I'm wonderful. How are you?

Great. Busy this week as I know you guys are, too.

Yes. So, Nicole, tell us about congregations for kids.

Sure.

As you mentioned, we're here in the Charlotte area. We really work to equip and empower the community, specifically the church, to be champions for children, families, and social workers in the foster care system. And we do that through four specific pathways. Foster, mentor, serve, and give. So we do things like recruit and train foster families. We hook kids up with mentors. We have a program that uplift child welfare social workers. And then we have ways to meet immediate, tangible needs for our most vulnerable families here in the greater Charlotte area.

That's amazing. How did you. How did you get involved in this? Why do you have a passion for this?

Great question. I worked in international orphan care for about eight years, and then my husband and I decided to become foster parents.

We didn't know anyone that had.

Had done it. And we just said, hey, we think God's calling us down this road. And so we followed and became foster parents and had just some. Our eyes were just opened kind of once you see behind the curtain, so to speak, with what's happening in our own cities with children that are in the foster care system, it's really hard to look away. And so that led me to CFK And I've been here for the past five years.

Wow. So you are. You have fostered children in your own home? Yes. How many children have you fostered in. In over the years?

That's a great question. So we have fostered one child. We had a baby for quite some time. I always say that. I think God gave us his story to take care of, and it was a roller coaster, and God threw all of the speed bumps at us, really preparing me for the work that I do as CFK now. So, yeah, it's one of my greatest life passions to walk with other foster families who are really advocating for children that are tied up in the system. We often say that the system is broken in our country, and it is, but the way the system set up is to protect these children, which we absolutely should, but so much so that they've become invisible. And so these kids are sort of suffering in silence and nobody knows about it.

Yeah. I love how you guys also care for the social workers, because I know that that is, you know, probably one of the hardest jobs in the world and that you're able to just come alongside them and care for them. Tell us a little bit about what you do for social workers.

We have a program called Socialite, and it's essentially adopt a social worker program. It's really be a light to a social worker. And I think often people don't see child welfare social workers as first responders, but they very much are. They are the ones going in homes when there's emergency situations to protect those children, to advocate for them, to really ultimately get them to permanence. And unfortunately, it's a tough job. There's a high turnover rate, and it's because of that that it negatively affects children and finding their permanence when you constantly have a new advocate who has to learn your story. And so we're really passionate about what we call radical hospitality. And elevation has just been such a champion for us in partnering with us to uplift child welfare social workers. So this week, because of you all, we are able to serve over 600 social workers. We are going to seven different locations, serving them lunch, loving on them, celebrating them. And when I tell you, it's hard to put into words how much this means to so many of them when someone says thank you, much less a lunch or a gift basket or something like that. So we're super excited just to see how they respond this week.

That's amazing. I really love the work that you guys are doing, and obviously we believe in it. Tell me A little more about love week this week. So we're serving meals for. For the social workers. What else are we doing?

Yes, we have a huge event tomorrow. Actually. That's why there's some. Some busyness around me. Tomorrow we're preparing a back to school event for about 80 children that are in foster care. So it's a day for them to just have fun. You guys are bringing like a carnival setup. So this is really just a time for them. Yes. To be equipped for school. We're going to give them backpacks with school supplies, but for them to be with each other and just to have fun. Snow cone machines, popcorn machines, jump houses. So really exciting. These opportunities don't come often. And the reason for that is, like I mentioned, these kids are they're fiercely protected. And I think the thing that we honor the most is this church state relationship that we've been able to cultivate here in the greater Charlotte area to just kind of show everybody that it is possible for church and state to work together.

Yeah. What's one of the greatest needs that you guys are facing this year within your organization?

Well, as you can imagine, Covid, with everyone else, it has sort of turned things upside down. It is fractured and already broken system. And so when kids were out of school, the amount of kids coming into foster care actually went down. That's because teachers are the number one reporters of abuse and neglect. So when kids got back in front of teachers, the needs are just tremendous. Not only the tangible needs, but we need folks to mentor these people. We need folks to step up and say, hey, I'll be a foster family. Or we need folks to say, hey, I'll be on your prayer team. But I think probably the biggest practical need right now are the tangible needs that we have. These one time immediate needs that will help stabilize families and children coming into foster care. That. That's on the rise for us. And, and we know that it will only get. Get more immediate as kids get back into school in August.

That's amazing. I love how you guys are able to come alongside so many different people. So you've got the social workers and you've got the actual foster families, but then there are a lot of people out there that are like, hey, I want to help, but at this time of my life, there's no way that I could be a foster parent. And that you're able to say, well, no problem. Here's what we need in house. Here's how you can jump in.

And.

And I love that. I love you guys. I am so excited. We have partnered with you guys for four years, and. And we're just excited to come alongside you and cheer you on and give you physical help and money. And speaking of money, I have a check for you guys. This is $25,000 from the generous people of Elevation Church. We love you. We believe in what you're doing, and we want you to do more.

Thank you so much. And let me just say that Elevation has been a game changer for our organization. Being on the front lines and being able to build capacity like this and really meet these kids needs and help stabilize them, there really aren't any words. So thank you so much.

You're so welcome, Nicole. It was so wonderful to get to talk with you and. And just praying for you guys, believing in you guys. And I know that you are making an impact far beyond what you can see, and so keep up the good work.

Thank you.

Thank you. Have a great week.

You too.

All right, guys, we've got one more. So we've been to Atlanta. We've been to Charlotte. Now let's cross the Atlantic Ocean. Oh, I have somebody fun joining me. Before we go across the Atlantic Ocean, can you guys help me welcome my wonderful, beautiful, amazing husband, Steven Furtick? Are you on with me?

I'm right here. You don't have to cross the ocean. Well, I would right by your side.

I would cross the ocean to be with you.

Yeah, I know. I know.

How are you?

I'll meet you in the middle. I'll bring you a float.

What are you doing?

I'm working. I see you're giving away a lot of money to great people.

You're working hard, and I'm. And I'm hardly working spending.

No, you're working. You're representing our church well, and you're making amazing connections. I was just watching you right before I logged on, trying to figure out how to get on the zoom and if I was doing it right. And remembering when we first decided that our outreach strategy. You remember I called you, I was driving back from Raleigh, and we. We were just starting to meet y'.

All.

This is even before we had Sunday morning services. And I thought, well, we got to do a lot more than just sing songs and preach sermons, because I'm not downplaying that. But if it stops on Sunday, and you know, our faith doesn't have a tangible expression, faith that. That works is dead.

Right?

You know, So I knew that, but I was overwhelmed because I thought, how do we touch the world with just. At the time, it was 20, 30 people, and felt like God gave us a vision to have a worldwide reach. And I never forget calling you driving back from. Driving back from Raleigh, and I'd attended a meeting, and God said, you know, I want you to do it through partnership, not through recreating ministries, but I want you to be the best friend of the ministries and organizations that are already doing the best work. And we've been doing that now for, like you said, 17 years. I remember giving away our offering before we ever had a Sunday morning service, remember, in Slidell, Louisiana, to Pastor Larry to help them after the storm.

Yeah.

And it's just been a part of our. It's been a part of our. Our ministry and our mission since me and you were kids, you know. But now to be able to do it on this level with over. I think the last total I heard is $1.7 million given just this week.

Just this week.

I know, just this week. And then. And then everyone who's showing up. But, you know, this is kind of cool because now we're. I think we're going to talk to Nadia, who, like you said, is not even a part of our church locally, but she's a part of our efam, which stretches around the world. And, yeah, get to hear from her.

It's what I think is so, so amazing about the vision that God gave you. And I know for you, the vision was always bigger than. Than I saw it. But at the time, you know, you had said, like, well, we're not going to start our own, you know, clothing closet or. Or build a building that serves the community. And I think. And what you had said was, we want to partner with people who are already doing that, who are doing it way better than we could. Because at the time, our church was really small, and it was like, no, let's partner with people who are already getting the job done. But to me, what's so amazing about that vision is it was also global, because if we had invested millions of dollars in some kind of facility here in Charlotte, our ministry is so, so much farther reaching than Charlotte. And so to be able to have all of these resources that we can allocate to organizations that are not just here in Charlotte, but they're global and they're. They're all over the world. I just think it's amazing. And I know I say this all the time, and I know you're probably going to be mad at me for saying, like, making this about you, but I'm just so. I just. I'm still so in awe of how God has just given you a vision for this ministry. And. And to see what it's become now, 17 years later, it's just.

Just.

It's just awesome.

Yeah. Yeah. Thank you for saying that. And I feel same watching you. It's. It's amazing. People who don't know us and maybe just see our ministry right now, they get to see, you know, here's. Here's $25,000 to help here, and here's $25,000 to help there. And there was a time where we couldn't even imagine the ministry receiving $50,000, let alone on a. On a lunchtime live. And that's. That's because of the people that God sent. That's not because of me or you or how smart we are.

Right.

That's not because. Oh, there. There's some good songs and good sermons. That's because a great church is built on the. The consistent generosity of so many people. And that's what I feel during Love Week. I just feel so much gratitude that God would let me even be a part, let alone the leader of such a generous people. So. So we're keeping Nadia waiting, though, aren't we?

Now let's bring her on. Nadia. She's all the way. Kenya technology is so amazing, is it not, that we can talk to someone all the way across the world now?

You sound 70 when you say that. You know, technology is so cool.

Well, I mean, make fun of me, but there was a time when, even when we started Love Week, that we wouldn't have been able to do something like that.

That's true. Love Week was very lo fi at the beginning, wasn't it? You're right. You're right. This is cool. Holly. I stand corrected.

Hi, Nadia. How are you? Hi.

Hi. I'm so excited to be here with you guys today.

Oh, my goodness.

Good. Good to see you. Good to meet you. I've heard about your life.

You are a legend. So.

Yes.

Way. So, Nadia, you're originally from New York. You've lived in Kenya for. My sheet says you've lived in Kenya for about 18 years, but also, you're a part of our EFAM, so you live in Kenya. You work with an organization called Bloodwater, and we want to hear all about that, but you're also a part of our efam, and I. On my sheet. Now, you tell me if this is true. You lead an e. Group of women across four continents.

Yes. Yes. That's true.

That's amazing. Yeah.

We have ladies that dial in from North America, across the continent of Africa, Asia and Europe. So it's. We're a real diverse group.

I love it so much and I love that you have given your life to live in Kenya and work with Bloodwater. So tell us about Bloodwater.

Yeah, so Bloodwater was started by the band Jars of Clay in 2004 and we are an organization that partners with African led community driven organizations that are responding to water and HIV related health disparities. And we do that by pairing together grant funding to support community HIV and WASH responses with paired investments to strengthen their leaders, their organizations, their systems, how they do the work that they do so that they can live into the fullness of their mission in communities for the long haul, like long after our partnership with them ever ends. So currently we work with eight organizations in four countries in Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Malawi. And we are serving communities across that don't have access to safe water, that don't have adequate hygiene and sanitation facilities in schools and households and health facilities. We're responding to HIV prevention needs, care and support needs. We're seeing our partners break stigma and discrimination patterns in the communities that they're working with. So it's really life giving work and the fact that we're able to do that with community born organizations, African leaders that have a vision for their communities and the change that they want to see happen and that we get to actually resource that rather than, you know, have the ideas, have the solutions, we just invest in what they already know is what their communities need.

Wow, that's incredible. Tell me what is.

Hey Holly, I know this is random but you know Nadia's EFAM says she'll get it. She's used to my randomness. Do you know a lot of Jars of Clay songs? We sing one.

So thankfully I don't. I actually it's so funny because I, I grew up in a very kind of insular immigrant community and so we didn't have any exposure to Christian music outside of the traditional hymns in our church. So I knew Jars of Clay when I joined the organization nine years ago. So I'm like the anomaly of our team.

All right, I'm going to leave you with a tutoring session with Holly after this and she'll catch you all up on the 90s Christian rock that you miss. She knows the deep cuts. But no, it's amazing. Like I don't know what you were going to ask next, Holly, but I just wanted to ask Nadia how we can be praying for you. How we can be praying for the work and what you'd like us to have on our minds as we do pray for you.

Yeah, yeah, I would. I would have two tracks of prayer. The first is for just the leaders of the organizations that we are serving and partnering with the burden that they carry as, you know, frontline workers responding to an incessant demand of needs from be it material or physical, medical or psychosocial, and to constantly be operating in resource limited settings. It's a strain that I think is really hard to connect with on a day to day basis. So I would pray for them just for strength and expanded vision and reach and to not be discouraged when it is really hard or when there are seasons of deficit or restrictions for us as bloodwater we are, you know, coming out of this like Covid season of restricted movement and activity. And we're scaling our team through the partnership with Elevation. We've established an office here in Nairobi and we're growing our team. So just that we would find that we would be continue to match with people that are really aligned with the work that we're doing so that we can do it with greater impact and reach.

Yeah, well, we will most certainly be praying with you and believing you for that. I do want to ask you like one really specific question about the help us understand the HIV crisis in Africa. Because I think that it's important. That's a really important part of the work that you do. And I feel like here in the United States, HIV is not the same thing that it is in Africa. And I'd love for you to just briefly sort of explain what the crisis is there in Africa.

Sure, yeah. So I think that just as a global community coming out of the COVID pandemic crisis, we can all really understand some of the issues around when communities are marginalized, they become more at risk for some of the gravest kind of health health epidemics that that could be possible or that could reach a community. And HIV is one of those kinds of illnesses where it really preys on the economic, social, political vulnerabilities of a community. And the more marginalized that you are, the more likely you will be at risk of infection where you are not able to protect yourself if you are in a scenario where you are exposed. And so on the continent, 68% of the world's HIV infections is on eastern and southern Africa as just part of the region of the entire continent. So we hold a disproportionate amount of the world's population of people living with hiv. And every year that number is going up by hundreds of thousands. And most of the drivers of infection have to do with just socioeconomic disparities. People being marginalized, unable to access economic resources to let them really have the agency to protect themselves, to live a life of self sufficiency and survival where they're not in a circumstance of considering, you know, coping mechanisms to make it through the day to day to day to pay rent and what that may require in terms of exposing themselves, be it through a transactional relationship or otherwise. And then also just for communities that are spread out, you know, farther away from city centers where they don't have close proximity to a health facility, right to have access to medication, regular doctor's visits, all those things which now are available and are absolutely life saving in terms of preventing HIV from becoming AIDS, becoming the death sentence that we knew in the 1980s. Still to be able to get to a health facility. If you are a person living in a village and you have to make the decision of should this money go to send my child to school to pay rent or to get on a bus and make it, you know, an hour to the, to the closest health facility, what are you going to choose? So when, when we're looking at communities in this part of the world, we're looking at populations that could have as high as 15% living with HIV. So it's not, you know, it is, it's, it's a significant proportion of communities and it's, it's men, women and children of all ages of, of all kind of socio demographic group groups that you could identify. And so our, the work that our partners are doing and that we're supporting through our mission is to ensure that that gap is bridged. Where there is access to medical care, there are life saving treatments, there are spiritual and psychosocial support groups that they could be plugged into that people are being connected into it. And then we as Bloodwater are investing in the team that is doing that, strengthening their leadership, strengthening their, their programming, just helping them to expand, learn from the data that that's coming out of their programs. What's working, how do we do it better so that they can really impact with longevity and with depth.

It's amazing and I'm sorry, so grateful I think for organizations like yours that aren't, you're, I mean obviously you're, you're making a difference, you're helping people, but you're also bringing awareness to people like me who are able to see that this is a crisis and that I can be a part of helping you guys in. In fighting this. And I love the way that you guys partner with. With local people, and because I think there are things within culture that maybe we, as Americans, we can't just swoop in, but to be able to partner with people who are like, no, no, no. This is how we need to do it, and this is how these people are and how these people think. I just think it's amazing and so grateful for you and so grateful that you're a part of such an amazing organization, but also that you are part of our church and our EFAM and you lead this egroup. And I just. I hope we can meet in person one day soon.

Well, this is where the world's collide, Nadia, because Holly has something for Blood Water from our church. Your church. So now we're honored to present Love Week 22 on behalf of the people of your Elevation Church. $50,000 to help the work continue. And we appreciate you so much, and we're standing with you today.

We do. We stand with you. We believe in you and the work that you're doing, and it's just beautiful.

Thank you so much. Thank you so much. You guys will never really fully understand. I know that every partner will say this, but there are things that the partnership with Elevation Church is making possible that we otherwise would not have been able to activate this year. And it is. It is the honor of my life to be a part of this spiritual family. And what I. I have visited the church a few times, and every time that I visit anyone who I connect with, I always say that the difference for me, as somebody who has, like, grown up in the church, I've been a part of church communities in some cases, for, like, spans of my life, decades. That I've never been a part of a church that loved so well and that cared for people so well. And I am just. I'm so honored to be a part of the church and that Bloodwater can also be a partner with the church. Thank you so much.

Yeah. It's an honor. Give the team our love. And give the E Group our love, too. On behalf of me and Holly.

They're all watching.

Hi, guys.

Oh, hey.

Hey, y'.

All. Absolutely amazing, Nadia. Happy Love Week, and thank you for all you do. May God continue to pour out his strength and refresh you and give you wisdom and direction as you lead. We appreciate you.

Yeah. Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Have a great afternoon.

Okay, bye.

All right, babe. That was awesome.

Just us.

It's just me and you left, and I Kind of can't believe that this is what we get to do. I. I personally have given away. Wait, hold on. I can't do the math. I think $125,000. Just today.

You gave away a hundred thousand since I logged on. This is getting expensive. We need to cut this stream off. You know what I'm saying? Now, it's joke around, but that's what we exist for, you know, and she was saying, Nadia was saying, and one of the other partners said as well earlier that this church is making things possible, that maybe they wouldn't have been able to do otherwise. And that touched me because one of my early prayers for outreach within our ministry was that God would make us the answer to somebody's prayers. And then the people who are. Whoever's still hanging in there. I know I made Lunchtime Live go a little long, so maybe they're. Maybe they're all logged off.

They're all still here.

But I want you to hear this, those of you who are still hanging around before we go. And I'll let you close it, however, Hall. But, you know, you're the answer. Those of you that are part of this ministry and friends of the ministry, who pray for us, who give, who are serving this week in Love Week. You're the answer to the prayer that we prayed.

Yeah.

That God would send people who could help us build a church that would make a difference. So I appreciate you. I appreciate you, Holly. I think, like, I, you know, I'm a big fan of. I'm a big fan of this last several years of you stepping forward in leadership and stepping forward to fulfill the calling that God has placed on your life. So it's just an amazing thing to watch, and that's that it's Love Week. Who would ever thought, you know, that's so true. When we met up and we were telling stories last night because our oldest turned 17, Elijah turned 17 last night. We're telling stories about. We used to travel around these little towns in South Carolina. We're on a ministry team at a Baptist school. And we'd show up and there'd be. There'd be no kids at the camp, and we'd have to go round up kids. And we traveled to another little town in South Carolina and it was fun looking back. And, you know, we were. We were. We were in love with. We were in love with God then and trying to serve Jesus then. And same thing's going on right now. And just grateful to have so many of you that. That God has sent that we get to do this with. It's. It's an honor.

I agree 1,000%. And I don't know if you're working on your sermon today, but.

Yeah, well, I've got two missions that we're speaking at later this week for Love Week, so I'm preparing for what I'm going to share there and praying through that. And y' all pray for me and pray for us and we'll pray for you. I'm gonna leave it to you. I don't know how to close Lunchtime Live. I'm out.

I'm gonna close it off. I love you. And work hard on those sermons. He left. Work hard on those sermons, babe, because they are touching us and life giving to us. And so. Yeah, and he's gonna preach twice this week and then again on Sunday. And I don't know how he does that because he is a one gifted man. All right, guys, did you love that? I. I love that it's Love Week and it's an amazing week and I hope that you will be a part. So thank you for joining. Thank you for watching. If you are a part of Elevation, if you give to Elevation, thank you for giving. Your giving is making a difference. It is not only helping the gospel go forth each and every weekend, but it is. Is empowering us to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Not just this week, but Love Week lives on. And the money that we're able to give to these organizations is just. It's amazing. And so I'm so proud of Elevation. I know you're proud of Elevation. If you like Lunchtime Live today, make sure you like. If you love this content, make sure you subscribe. So you know, whenever we're coming back on with Lunchtime Live and all kinds of other silly videos that I like to put out there. Me. Leave me a comment. Let me know where you're serving this week. I want you to be involved. If you are not signed up to serve anywhere yet, no matter where you live in the world, go to loveweek22.com and one more thing before you get off. If you're around tonight at 8pm Eastern time, I will be back here on YouTube, but not on the Holly Furtick YouTube. I'll be on the Elevation Church YouTube. We're going to be doing a global prayer call and I would love for you to be a part. It's exactly what I just said it is. It's a global prayer call and we're just going to join our hearts and our faith together as we pray God's blessing over Love Week and all of these outreach partners and everything that we have going on at our church. So I would love for you to join me. 8:00pm Eastern Time Elevation Church YouTube. I will see you there and I hope you have the best afternoon or whatever time it is where you're watching. And I love you. I'll see you back here next time.