CBU students serve L.A. homeless through Urban Excursion project

Riverside, Calif. (Nov. 7, 2017) – Sarah Weber found herself moved with compassion as she connected with and served the homeless community on her recent California Baptist University service trip to the Fred Jordan Mission located on skid row in downtown Los Angeles.

“The homeless are people very much like myself. They have fears and they hurt, just like me,” said Weber, a psychology senior. “I do not know what they have been through but what I saw is that they are far from what God intended.”

More than 20 CBU students participated in the Urban Excursion project from Nov. 3-5. The students performed a variety of service-related tasks at the Fred Jordan Mission, such as cooking, cleaning and serving meals to the homeless. Students also walked the surrounding area to invite people to chapel, for a meal or to pray for the individuals they met. 

Julie Dobbins, director of compassion and women’s ministries at CBU, said Urban Excursion is a way to put faith into action.

“People tend to listen more if you care about their story and often, if you can meet a physical need, they are more willing to talk about a spiritual need. We want to be able to create opportunities to do that,” Dobbins said.

The students trained for three weeks prior to their service trip. They participated in team-building activities, received training on how to share the gospel and learned about the Fred Jordan Mission and the needs of the people it serves.

Weber, a student leader on the trip, said service is a tangible way to show God’s love.

“I serve because God has called us to do so as a reflection of His glory and His love. Serving is nitty and gritty and sometimes messy, but it is wonderful,” Weber said.