Empowering communities through impactful programs, our nonprofit is dedicated to creating lasting positive change for those in need.
Ash: Life after GFL Before joining GFL, Ash described herself as an atheist who was deeply hurting, closed off, and unable to trust others. Through her time in the program, she experienced healing and discovered a renewed sense of purpose. She recently shared her testimony at a GFL event and accredited much of her ability to change to the love she received from Vanessa who refused to give up on her. Ash is also grateful that she's been welcomed into the "GFL Family", all of whom she can still call upon today for whatever she may need, from advice to help during car trouble. Today, she is engaged to be married, has grown in confidence to begin modeling, and is boldly living out her faith as a professing Christian. Ash and her fiancé now joyfully attend Legacy Christian Church, walking in hope and a future she never imagined possible.
Divine Appointments at Pop-Up Dinners in Our Community We never know what to expect at the Pop-Up dinners that we host every other month in our community. The table that seats between 10-20 people brings people together from all different walks of life, including from different parts of the city, different jobs, backgrounds, and so on, to hear each other's stories. So when two "strangers" who come to one of the dinners "happen" to know each from some walk of life, we always take careful note: What might God be doing here. But when we see this happening across the board (or in this case, across the table) we pay extra close attention to these divine appointments. "Divine appointments" - When God brings two or more people together, who may or may not already know each other, to accomplish His purposes in and through their lives. Our most recent Pop-Up Dinner in August in Old Town Clovis was FILLED with divine appointments. It was crazy! You couldn't miss it. Someone sat down at the table next to a co-worker, neither of whom knew they were coming to the dinner. Another person sat down next to a family friend, again, neither of whom knew they were coming. Multiple people at the table shared a common burden that God has been stirring in their hearts. There were multiple ties and connections between jobs, ministries and common interests. There were so many connections between the 18 people around the table that we lost count. God is amazing! The question ringing the next day after the dinner was what are we going to do with that - all of these the divine appointments. God was clearly at work, so how can we participate in what He is doing? You can be praying with us about this. Pray that God would continue to move in this way at these dinners. Pray that people would respond to the work He is doing and reach out to each other to make connections beyond the dinners. Pray that He would get the glory, and ultimately people would be drawn closer to Jesus. If you are interested in coming to one of our upcoming Pop-Up Dinners, please feel free to check out our website and Reserve a Seat. It would be great to have you join us at the table to hear one another's stories, and see what God is doing through this ministry.
CVSOM 2025 Graduation Impact! CVSOM Class of 2025 Graduation was a huge success with 450 people in attendance! We graduated 19 students from 11 different Church Families. It was an amazing and inspiring night as our worship filled the room, students received their Certificates of Christian Ministry, prayed over and were well celebrated with friends and family at our dessert reception. The Lord moved that night and inspired a CVSOM Alumni who was in attendance, to give scholarship funds for the Class of 2026 students who needed some financial help! God is so faithful to provide for our students and the vision of CVSOM. As a praise report we have given out 8 half scholarships and a book scholarship to students who were thankful to receive the help. Classes have begun for the Class of 2026 with 23 students attending! We are being hosted this year by Mountain View Church in Clovis and are so thankful for their generosity in having us as their guests! If you want to know more about CVSOM check out our Website Here Giving to support the mission of CVSOM is available Here
One Year at the Collective 103 Shop in Old Town Clovis This month marks one year for Gathering Table being at the Collective 103 shop in Old Town Clovis, where the ministry sells Spoon Rings and Local Raw honey to support upcoming Pop-Up Dinners. It has been a big learning experience over the past year having products for sale at retail. It has also been a great opportunity to invite the community to upcoming Pop-Up Dinners by putting out dinner flyers (see pic attached). Between September 2024-August 2025, Gathering Table sold nearly 100 spoon rings and over 135 pounds of raw honey at the Collective 103 shop, for a total gross sales of almost $4,700. After fees and costs, an average of approximately $150 per month went directly to supporting food and venue costs for the Pop-Up Dinners over the past year. Our goal for this second year at the shop is for the spoon ring and honey sales to completely cover the costs of doing Pop-Up Dinners every other month. The dinners cost between $400-500 each, which means the net sales at the shop (after fees and costs of jars, labels, etc) needs to average $200-250 per month. We are already over halfway there! One way you can support Gathering Table is by purchasing our Spoon Rings and Raw Honey at the Collective 103 shop. It is located at 453 Pollasky Ave, Suite #103 in Old Town Clovis, and is open 7 days a week from 11am-5pm. We are hosting a "End of Summer" honey tasting event, open to the public on September 26 from 5:30-8pm at the shop. See picture attached for details, if you're interested in stopping by. Another way you can support us is by giving toward the Collective 2025 Spot campaign to help cover the monthly rent fee of $150. We are looking to raise $1,800 to cover this monthly fee for 2025, so that all sales at the shop from this year can go directly toward supporting the ministry. By giving in this way, you are helping Gathering Table invest in the spot the Lord has provided for Gathering Table to have presence as a ministry in our community. Lastly, another you can stay posted on Gathering Table updates is by subscribing to our Table Talk Newsletter that is emailed and/or texted out regularly throughout the year.
Samantha is one of our GFL girls who joined our organization in April. Despite facing challenges such as homelessness and a lack of familial support, Samantha has always known she wanted to pursue a career in nursing—an opportunity to transform her own experiences of hardship into a life of service and impact for others in her community. Since becoming part of Grace Family Love, Samantha has started working full-time as a front office assistant, enrolled in school part-time to pursue her RN degree, and recently began volunteering weekly at a local hospital, where she serves others every Saturday. At Grace Family Love, our mission goes beyond offering assistance and resources to girls overcoming extraordinary circumstances like homelessness, trafficking, and domestic violence. At the core of our program is a holistic approach: empowering young women to heal from trauma and find purpose and impact in the world around them. As Samantha continues her journey through the GFL program and commits to her passions, we invite you to join us in prayer for her. We are incredibly proud of her progress. Our hope is that she remains steadfast and encouraged in her healing process. Healing can be hard, but it’s easier when you know you're not doing it alone. Please pray that God would reveal Himself to her in ways that inspire and strengthen her as she works toward the better life she deserves.
Starting with Prayer "Devote yourselves to prayer..." Colossians 4:2 I've now been in Mendoza for a little over a month, and so much has already happened! So far, most of my time has been spent getting to know this new church family, studying, practicing my Spanish, and exploring the city of Mendoza. There are so many things to share, but for this update, I want to focus on sharing with you what God has been doing to establish a culture of prayer here at the church. Right when I arrived in Mendoza and started asking about what God was doing in the church, almost immediately Karina shared that she felt we should intentionally devote time to prayer before our weekly Sunday gatherings. We weren't sure if anyone else would want to come, and planned mostly that it would just be us, but extended an invitation to the rest of the church as well. Since we started just a few weeks ago, we now regularly have more than 10 people coming just to pray for a half hour before the service! What's even more exciting is that we have actually been seeing the impact of these prayers in our gatherings! The very first night that we prayed, there was a clear sense of God's presence in worship, and since then, we have been seeing more and more people come each week! This has also led to some people coming early and spending time just talking and drinking coffee, and forming a community together. All this just from choosing to set aside time to pray. This simple time of prayer has been a beautiful reminder of what lies at the very heart of the gospel: Asking God to do for us what we are totally unable to do for ourselves. Jesus says it like this: 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. John 15:5-8 Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing, but if we ask him, he wants to answer! When we first surrender to Jesus, I think this feels so clear. We know we can't do anything to save or change ourselves, but sometimes, over time, it can be tempting to think that we are somehow responsible for where we are, and we forget that it's still that same desperate dependence on Jesus that not only brings us into relationship with him, but also continues to transform us to be more like him. It seems clear to me that right now, here in Mendoza, God is stirring this kind of hunger for him. The focus for this coming month is on pivoting our English gathering from a hangout-bible study to more of a worship gathering. This means we will need to do some very practical work to clear a usable space in the upstairs portion of the cafe, where there would be more privacy for prayer and worship. I'm excited to share how the transition goes, hopefully in the next update! There are so many other stories of what God is doing that I would love to share with you all, but I don't think I will be able to share them all in this format! In light of this, I am planning to have a video call with anyone interested in October, so be looking out for more info on that in the next update! If you haven't already, please sign up for my WhatsApp prayer group! Click here to join the WhatsApp Prayer group! Please be praying for: The Spanish-speaking church and Pastor Mark and Karina The transition for the English service and a clear direction on what this transition should look like My continued Spanish learning process
Hey friends! We made a short video from this past Sunday, giving you a peek into what we’ve been up to.We can’t wait to share more details with you soon! Thank you for being a part of our journey! Click the orange text below to view the video!
Testimonies from the GM.C Summer Internship! God did so much in the hearts of these four young people over two months of exploring with Him and discovering what He is doing in Fresno and Clovis, CA. The video linked below only scratches the surface of the lessons our interns are taking with them as they continue to follow Jesus and learn more about what it means to partner with His Kingdom's work. We hope these interns’ words encourage and remind you that the same invitation they received to join God's mission in their local area is the same invitation God extends to you. You also have an opportunity to engage with the mission of God, where you are, with what you have, for His ultimate glory!
Birthday filled with HOPE! Since joining Grace Family Love, Rhonda has finally been given the space to dream and the safety to hope again. After years of simply surviving, she now wakes up in a place where she is seen, valued, and supported. This year, her 19th birthday wasn’t just a celebration of another year—it was a joyful milestone filled with laughter, love, and renewed hope for her future. For the first time in a long time, Rhonda believes better days are ahead—and with your support, she’s starting to plan for them.
Arrival in Argentina! I'm now officially settled into my new home here in Mendoza! Over the past two weeks, our small team and I traveled through a few different areas in Argentina, visiting and encouraging churches! First, the whole team flew into Buenos Aires, and there I was approved for my Argentine citizenship before our team traveled to visit a church in Cordoba. Cordoba In Cordoba, we visited a home church led by our friends Jorge and Dulci. They are doing an amazing job of building community and inviting both their church community and their neighbors who don't yet know Jesus to join them in ministering to the poor in their community. As we gathered with their community and worshipped and prayed together, someone had invited a woman who didn't have a relationship with God. After our team prayed with her, she decided she wanted to follow Jesus! This church also has a thriving community of young people between the ages of 12-18, so our team spent some time just praying for, blessing, and encouraging them in their walk with Jesus. Gualeguaychu After Cordoba, we flew back to Buenos Aires and drove 3 hours north to the city of Gualeguaychu, where Ezekiel and Gisela lead a small church. As we gathered and met many of the members of their church family, it became clear that many of those in the congregation had suffered recent and significant loss. This led us to a time of all praying for the peace and comfort of God. It was a very sweet and touching time that left all of us feeling that God was inviting this church to be a place of healing for others who are suffering loss in the community. Mendoza After leaving Gualeguaychu, we flew to Mendoza to visit Mark and Karina and the church family I will be serving here in Mendoza! Here we experienced something really powerfully that we had actually already seen at the other Argentine churches as well: both our team and the members of the churches here in Argentina felt a strong sense of kinship with one another. Again and again, people we had just met shared how it felt like we were all family. This brought to mind what Jesus prayed in John 17:20-23 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May the also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one---- I in them and you in me---so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." God cares so much about the unity of his church. Even when it's incredibly inconvenient and impractical for a small team to travel thousands of miles to a group in another country that speaks a different language, it seems that God honors and blesses these connections and, through these kinds of relationships, is showing the world who Jesus is. Thank you all so much for being a part of this with me! Prayer Right now, the most pressing requests for prayer are: That God would bless our new English-speaking gathering to reach and minister to those in the community in Mendoza who don't speak Spanish That God would give me grace to learn Spanish quickly so that I can participate more and more in the Spanish-speaking community That God would give grace for building new community here in Mendoza
Time flies when you're having fun! I can't believe that we only have two more days with our wonderful interns! These past couple of months have been so full of adventure together as a team and individually. It has been such a joy to watch the way God has been unfolding giftings, callings, and next steps for each intern. I know He is watering the seeds that He planted long before the internship. I feel so privileged to have gotten to spend this time walking alongside the four young people and getting to see how God is encouraging them to take hold of their gifts to use in the building of the Kingdom! In our last couple of days together, we will be taking in a harvest, talking about all that God has been doing, reflecting on what we've learned, and blessing one another. Then we will practice sharing about what God has been doing or ... Engaging the people of God, with the mission of God, for the glory of God! Please partner with us in prayer for: Many opportunities to share the "harvest" of all that God has done in the internship with people! A solidifying of the things God has taught us, in our hearts and minds! Joy and excitement for the next steps and next assignments God has for each of the interns! Thank you for partnering with us in prayer. I look forward to sharing more specific testimonies from the interns very soon!
Good afternoon! If you are receiving this email, you have previously supported a ministry through GoMission.Church or are currently giving through GoMission.Church. You may have received an update email from "Gathering Table Farms" about a week ago, thanking you for your donation. If you have not given towards Gathering Table ministries, please disregard this email update, as it was sent out to the wider emailing list of supporters on GoMission.Church by mistake. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused, and can assure you that your previous gifts and recurring gifts are going to the correct ministries! If you have any questions or concerns regarding this message or the status of your giving, please contact our team through email at info@gomission.church . Thank you for partnering with the ministries on GoMission.Church. We pray that God will continue to bless you for your generosity! Many blessings, The GoMission.Church Team
Empowering communities through impactful programs, our nonprofit is dedicated to creating lasting positive change for those in need.