By Brittany Scruggs, 2007 Summer Intern

H.I.S. BridgeBuilders is more than just a typical inner city ministry because it prioritizes hope in salvation as the beginning step to all heart change in the people touched by this ministry of the Gospel.  One of my favorite parts of the ministry is the visible change that Christ makes in the people of the community, and the practical steps that BridgeBuilders makes to help them accomplish their dreams and experience change for themselves. BridgeBuilders meets physical needs, but spiritual food is the ultimate priority.  The Bonton community has experienced external cleaning and transformation through Clean Sweep and weekly service in the community, but this does not compare to many coming to understand the knowledge and salvation of Jesus Christ, and the power that he brings to their social struggles and weaknesses. 

This summer, three interns from the Bonton Community as well as four interns from North Dallas have come together with the purpose of continuing to build up and serve this South Dallas neighborhood.  God has been working in amazing ways this past month.  Each of the summer interns has a different story, a different passion, and a different family dynamic, but we all have one thing in common: We believe Jesus Christ can change Bonton through the power of His name and salvation.  Because of this unification, we have not only been joined together through our passions for the transformation of lives in the community, but we have also created deep bonds with one another and have learned to interact together as if we are family.  This unity is a powerful testimony to the people of the community, showing the reality of Christ’s power.

During the course of this summer, we have started a teenage girl’s Bible study discussing God’s ideals for purity, a teenage guy’s Bible study outlining the basics of the Gospel, and we have also held Vacation Bible School for the children.  We have created new relationships with people all over the community.  We have learned the importance of modeling Christ’s servanthood as well as seeing the power of prayer at work everyday.  We have learned that without Christ our impact would be small and true transformation of the soul would not exist.  It is through Christ that we have good news for anyone lacking hope.  As much as we believe serving and meeting the physical needs of the people in Bonton is important in our ministry, we know that hope in salvation is the only true way to create heart change that lasts eternally.