USA (MNN) — As summer wraps up in the United States, so does the On Eagles’ Wings Summer of Hope outreach.
A division of Hutchcraft Ministries, On Eagles’ Wings equips Native American Christians to reach their peers for Jesus. More about that here.
Hutchcraft Ministries founder Ron Hutchcraft says, “There were 36 Native American and First Nations people on the team, and they represented about 20 different Indian nations.”
(Photo courtesy of Hutchcraft Ministries)
Native American youth at each reservation share similar experiences and trials, from substance abuse to violence and suicide. They also share a similar mistrust of Jesus, often calling Him “the white man’s God.”
“They don’t know anybody who is young, Native, and Christian, so He doesn’t even seem to be an option for them.”
Local Christians invite the On Eagles’ Wings team to their community to spark change.
Previous efforts to introduce the Gospel go unheeded until one summer day, Hutchcraft says, “Here comes a busload of young, Native Christians from 20 different tribes who have life stories like their own, except they have hope, and they all found it when they found Jesus.”
Read individual impact reports here. Below, Hutchcraft shares three reasons why hearts change during the Summer of Hope.
“Breakthroughs happen on each reservation, and there’s an unprecedented interest in Jesus,” Hutchcraft says.
3 Drivers of Change
Transformation begins when Native youth hear something they can relate to. “People are most likely to listen to a Gospel messenger with a shared life experience,” Hutchcraft says.
Because On Eagles’ Wings team members “bring the Gospel wrapped in their own hope story,” Native young people can relate to “how it was before Jesus,” Hutchcraft says.
“Those are sad stories. There has been a lot of abuse and family violence, addiction, depression, self-harm, and, all too often, thoughts of suicide. As they tell that story, the young people on the reservation are going, ‘Well, that’s my story, too.’”
(Photo courtesy of Hutchcraft Ministries)
Noise fades as all attention turns to the Native Gospel worker in the middle of a basketball court.
“What was perhaps a rowdy and loud situation when we got there becomes strangely quiet,” Hutchcraft shares, “as these young men and women talk about what Jesus has done for them and they share the Gospel, the message that changed everything.”
Prayer is a second factor influencing heart change. “Before they go, there’s a time when they each hold their (written) hope story up to the Lord and I ask them to pray out loud [that it would be] something God would use to bring hope to people who are where they used to be,” Hutchcraft says.
“It’s powerful to hear them all praying simultaneously for God to use that hope story, and the rest of the month is God answering that prayer.”
Finally, Native youth experience the peace of Jesus through On Eagles’ Wings team members and Summer of Hope activities, opening hearts to the Holy Spirit’s leading.
“They’re feeling the presence of Jesus without knowing it initially because there’s joy and safety in those events,” Hutchcraft says.
Keep praying for the On Eagles’ Wings team. “They don’t just need it in the summer, they need it all year long,” Hutchcraft says. Ask the Lord to help them live in continued supernatural boldness.
Header and story images courtesy of Hutchcraft Ministries/On Eagles’ Wings.
