Ray of Hope World Outreach Ministries has seen more than 800 people make professions of faith since its inception five years ago, said founder Michael Sammons.
WEST MONROE – Ray of Hope World Outreach Ministries has seen more than 800 people make professions of faith since its inception five years ago, said founder Michael Sammons.
Along with his wife Karen, who serves as co-director with him, Sammons became burdened about going after the unchurched on a full-time basis, he said, and so resigned from being a full-time pastor to found and direct Ray of Hope.
“Leading people to the Lord is what the ministry is all about,” Sammons said, remembering a particular man named Tommy who’d come into the center with his arms bandaged, the result of a propane bottle exploding in his arms.
“If you’d been killed, where would you be today?” Sammons asked Tommy.
Tommy, tears in his eyes, indicated by nodding his head downward that he would have been in hell.
“Is that what you wanted?” Sammons continued.
“No, but I don’t know what to do about it,” Tommy said.
Then, Sammons shared the gospel with Tommy, leading him through the plan of salvation. When Sammons asked the young man if he could lead him in prayer, Tommy simply fell to his knees in a position of prayer and accepted Christ as his Savior.
“They’re seeing people come to the Lord every week,” said Jerry Price, director of missions in the Northeast Louisiana Baptist Association where the ministry is located. “[Ray of Hope] really blossomed after Katrina. They’ve been expanding ever since and are actively involved in evangelism.”
With three facilities and about 30 volunteers, the ministry recently grew to include a facility at Bethel Baptist Church in West Monroe, in what was once that church’s daycare, Sammons said. Wesley Pitman, pastor at Trinity Baptist in Monroe, directs the West Monroe facility, which is staffed by volunteers from many Baptist churches in the area.
The primary warehouse is in Monroe and is directed by Richard Runnels, who is a member at North Monroe Baptist.
The administration center is located on the second and third floors of Trinity Baptist church’s main building.
“In West Monroe, about 70 people have come to Christ, and volunteers have prayed with many suffering through personal problems, family trouble, health needs, substance abuse, and other issues,” Sammons said.
The ministry reaches out in a variety of ways.
“One of the things we do is coordinate mission trips for individuals and families, church and youth groups, anybody and everyone interested in taking mission trips,” Sammons continued.
Ray of Hope coordinates trips to South Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Texas, and Mexico where volunteers conduct revival services, door-to-door canvassing, block parties, backyard Bible clubs, and vacation Bible schools.
Ray of Hope also operates two disaster relief units, with about 145 volunteers in its database, said Jim Peters, disaster relief coordinator for the ministry.
A 28-foot shower unit with seven shower stalls, a washer and a dryer, and a 16-foot laundry unit with three washing machines and four dryers stand by, ready to be activated in the event of a disaster or even when volunteer mission groups need the services.
“We’re striving to expand our database [of volunteers] all the time,” Peters added. “Every time we speak to a church or go out to a ministry fair at a church, we endeavor to interest people to join our database. We would eventually like to have about 300, a good strong base to draw from.”
The disaster relief arm of Ray of Hope has been active since the fall of 2005 when volunteers began delivering supplies to South Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, Peters said.
“We realized the need and started planning in October to have disaster relief units,” he added. Construction on the trailers began in March 2006, and the units made their first service call in Kinder in the fall of 2006 after that area experienced heavy rains and flooding.
The units have had three call-outs this year, Peters said. First to Teche Baptist Church in Centerville where about 65 college students from Oklahoma City were working on some homes in the community.
The second call was to Eagle Pass, Tex., where a tornado had struck. The evacuees in Eagle Pass were primarily Spanish speaking, Peters said.
“Communication was limited, but the service was there,” he continued, remembering how he’d done the laundry for an elderly Hispanic woman.
“The next day I saw her coming with a Red Cross interpreter,” Peters said. “I thought I had done something wrong.”
But through the interpreter, the woman explained that she’d spent her whole life doing laundry and cleaning for Americanos, Peters said. She was honored that an Americano senor had done her laundry for her.
“That one instance made the whole trip for me,” Peters said.
In order to respond to a call-out, Peters must assemble a crew of about five, he said. Usually, volunteers rotate out after about three days to be replaced by others.
“The primary part of [disaster relief] is that when you service the most basic sanitary and physical needs of a person, you really open the door to their soul at the same time,” Peters said. “With laundry and shower units, you have face-to-face contact with everyone who comes through, whether you’re sorting their clothes, or giving them clean clothes back. When people are standing in line for a shower, you can listen to them, you have an opportunity to pray for them and be there for them face to face.”
The most recent service call for the units was to Pilgrim’s Rest Baptist Church in Covington where 80 men with Carpenters for Christ were constructing an education building, Peters said.
But ministry at Ray of Hope goes much further than disaster relief. Volunteers also distribute about two and half tons of food every week to a clientele base of more than 900 families, Sammons said.
Though some families come as often as possible, others come once a month, depending on their needs, he added.
Ray of Hope also provides clothing, furniture, dishes, and appliances free of charge to those in need, and offers GED classes.
The prison ministry at Ray of Hope is unique in that the prisoners come to the warehouse to work, giving volunteers an opportunity to develop relationships with the inmates, Sammons said. Volunteers disciple, pray with, and minister to the inmates on a daily basis.
At the Monroe warehouse, Sammons conducts worship services every Thursday evening at 6:30, sometimes assisted by retired IMB missionary Braxton Humphries and R.W. Frazier who leads worship service.
Sammons, who pastored for 17 years before beginning Ray of Hope, volunteers his time to the ministry.
“The Lord has been so good to us,” Sammons said. “Along with the wonderful individuals and churches He has used to bless us, He also has provided ‘odd jobs’ to help us take care of our family and meet our financial obligations. This is where Karen has been amazing. Along with ministering to others and helping administrate, she has cleaned houses and kept our home running.”
The work brings the couple much joy, especially when God makes the results so easy to see, such as in the case of Melissa, a Christian in acute poverty who came to the center in need and now has hope and a future, Sammons said.
Melissa participated in Ray of Hope’s GED program, received her diploma, and is now preparing to go on to nursing school, the director said. Ray of Hope also helped Melissa’s daughter with her education, tutoring her so that she could re-join her age group at school.
“Ray of Hope is blessed to minister to a wide range of people, including whites, blacks, Hispanics, Asians, atheists, Christians, Jews, Muslims, and Buddhists,” Sammons said.