WHO WE ARE AND OUR HEARTS FOR SERVING OTHERS
We would love to introduce ourselves to you! We are Jason and Lauren Winningham and Southern Oregon Axe of Kindness is our vision, calling, and hearts. We both grew up in families that were always willing to help people out in any ways they could. I believe that because of this, we have it ingrained in us to want to help others. God has taken that a step further and laid on our hearts to start this ministry.
The calling feels undeniable to us. God was calling us both but we hadn't mentioned it to each other until one afternoon, Jason looked over at me as we were driving and said, "Don't freak out, but what if I told you I felt God calling us out of our 9-5 job and into a non-profit?" I remember smiling and responding with, "What if I told you I felt God was calling me into a form of ministry also?" It was in that moment that we couldn't deny that God had some much bigger plans for our lives than we had ever imagined.
As we discussed our hearts and what we specifically felt God's calling on each of our lives looked like it quickly became obvious that they fit perfectly into one ministry. And so the idea for Southern Oregon Axe of Kindness was born!
The more we prayed about it and tried to lay it all out we knew right away that our calling was to meet the needs of those around us in our local communities, but it didn't stop at just meeting the needs. We needed to meet the hearts of those we were serving.
Jason's calling is to connect service minded and talented people from local church congregations with the practical needs of the unchurched and de-churched around us. His desire is to reach people that need to know they are not only loved by us and our volunteers, but also by Jesus. By partnering with churches we are made aware of needs that people see in their spheres of influence. We can be a light to help out those who we can, while letting them know that the church cares about them. Jason felt God showing him how this would look practically and using what we were both shown while growing up.
Lauren's calling was to change how we reach people and show them Jesus. She felt God asking her to help others learn how to use their stories to show Jesus to those around them, to embrace those parts of their stories that many want to leave out. She felt God calling her to use her story, even the nitty gritty parts, because that is where you will find the redemption of Jesus. We all have parts of our stories that we feel ashamed about, but because Jesus has redeemed us, those parts become free of shame and full of God's love, and that is how we show Jesus to others. That is how we connect to a hurting world! He laid on her heart a desire to help our volunteers learn how to connect with people through those stories and to let people know they are not alone in this life and that we can relate.
It made sense to combine our two different callings. The effectiveness of one was amplified by the other. God has given us both unique gifts that work together for the greatest purpose of all: helping people find Jesus and to get connected to churches. We do this by meeting the practical needs that exist all around us. He has given everyone a unique talent and gift, and our hope and mission is to connect you to a need that God is already lining up for you!
Welcome to Southern Oregon Axe of Kindness... are you ready to get connected?
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