Articles for tag: Gayla Congdon

July 1, 2022

Laura McKillip Wood

Amor Builds More Than Houses

Amor Builds More Than Houses

By Laura McKillip Wood She was only 9 years old, but Gayla knew what God was telling her. “I will follow you, God,” she promised, certain she was hearing him tell her to be a missionary. That commitment made at Guadalupe Christian Service Camp in New Mexico stayed in little Gayla’s mind over the next few years, even though she did not know exactly how it would play out. By the time she was a sophomore in college, Gayla had shelved the idea of cross-cultural ministry. She was studying speech therapy at Arizona State University. Her pastor, Don Hinkle, who

March 17, 2017

Christian Standard

Welcoming the Stranger in Our Midst

By Gayla Congdon My first experience with refugees was in the early 1980s while working at First Christian Church in San Francisco. The community the church served had an influx of about 200 families seeking asylum in the United States. These families had fled El Salvador due to a bloody civil war taking place there. FCC pastor Bill Miles called me to ask for my help with a little translation problem the church was having. He said about 50 kids from El Salvador showed up for FCC”s “Summer Fun in the Son” program. A 10-year-old was the only one in

October 25, 2015

Christian Standard

The Book that Saved My Ministry

Seven leaders tell how reading made all the difference for them. ____ TODD CLARK, teaching pastor, Christ”s Church of the Valley, Peoria, Arizona Too Busy Not to Pray: Slowing Down to Be with God by Bill Hybels (InterVarsity Press, 1998) Choosing to Cheat: Who Wins When Family and Work Collide? by Andy Stanley (Multnomah, 2003) The Life You”ve Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People by John Ortberg (Zondervan, 1997) Soul Keeping: Caring for the Most Important Part of You by John Ortberg (Zondervan, 2014) A Tale of Three Kings: A Study of Brokenness by Gene Edwards (Tyndale House, 1992) As I

January 5, 2015

Christian Standard

Going Strong

By Jennifer Johnson “I am the least likely person to lead a trip of women,” Gayla Congdon said during our interview. “I grew up with brothers and I”m not a “˜woman”s retreat” kind of person. I want to do something that matters.” Apparently she”s not alone””the Women of Strength trips she started in 2012 have had to be capped at 65 people, and dozens of ladies have attended more than one. A significant number of the participants aren”t even Christians, but find the experience more than worth the investment of money and vacation time. Actually, Congdon does think “women”s events”

January 5, 2015

Christian Standard

Showing Their Strength and Connecting as Women

By Jennifer Johnson In 2009, Gayla Congdon attended a planning meeting for the International Conference on Missions and realized she was one of only three women in the group of more than 60 people. “Our guest speaker, a man from Wycliffe Bible Translators, pointed out the discrepancy,” she says. “Then he said one of the biggest demographic groups in developed countries, and especially in the United States, is educated women age 55 and older who have discretionary income and are looking for meaningful experiences. I was reminded of the Barna study reporting that, for the first time in U.S. history,

July 12, 2014

Christian Standard

Quality First

By Gayla Congdon (From our series “The Best or Worst Advice I’ve Ever Received.”) Some of our best advice came from the late, great Mike Yaconelli (Scott and I received this advice from him when he was a member of the Amor Ministries board): “Focus on quality and quantity will come.”Â  Mike”s advice was based on his belief we were measuring our effectiveness based on the number of participants coming on trips. We took his advice and shifted our mind-set to creating a quality mission trip that was relationship-based versus numbers-based. The result was that growth came in significant numbers. 

November 26, 2013

Mark A. Taylor

Giving to Those Who Can”t Give Back

By Mark A. Taylor Looking for a different way to infuse your Christmas celebration with meaning? Gayla Congdon has an idea. During our November 21 Beyond the Standard BlogTalkRadio program*, she mentioned a program with lots of possibilities. “We”re encouraging families to participate in 24 days of disruption, starting December 1,” she said. “Each day visitors to our blog or Facebook page will receive another idea for family activities to create a meaningful Christmas.” Here”s how Amor”s website describes the challenge: The 24 Days of Advent journey will stretch you. It will cause you to rethink your economy of Christmas

November 12, 2013

Mark A. Taylor

Must-Haves for the Missions-Minded

By Mark A. Taylor Several resources remind me of Standard Publishing”s commitment to missions and a host of special opportunities for missions-minded visitors to this website. The first is actually a set of three books, mission trip devotions and journals by Lena Wood. Called (item 022501113) gives spiritual nourishment and assessment to older teens and adults preparing to go on a short-term missions trip. Challenged (022501213) helps the reader deal with the spiritual transformation he may experience while he”s on the mission trip. Changed (022501313) is the devotional journal to use once the traveler has returned home. How will he

November 10, 2013

Christian Standard

A New Framework for Mission

By Gayla Congdon It was about four years into our work in Mexico that we decided to start building homes in the Tijuana dump. We recognized that most of the children living at the Tijuana Christian Mission were from families squatting there in makeshift houses. We designed a house that could easily be built and dismantled, so in case the families were ever kicked off the land, they could take the materials with them. That became Amor”s framework for mission as more than 17,000 homes have been built these past 29 years. Over the years our vision has expanded to

October 8, 2012

Christian Standard

The Power of Uncertainty: Find This Book and Read It! (Part 1)

By Gayla Congdon   In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day Mark Batterson Colorado Springs: Multnomah Books, 2006 The book I have read that has impacted me the most in the past few years was In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson. The title comes from a story found in 2 Samuel 23:20, 21. On a snowy day during the reign of King David, Benaiah chased a lion down a pit and killed it. The story is timely because we are living in days when fear is consuming us and, I

July 3, 2012

Christian Standard

What I”ve Learned, What I Believe About Immigration

By Gayla Cooper Congdon and Erin Illingworth As a resident of an international border city, I encounter immigration issues on a regular basis. Every time I drive down Interstate 805 to my office in San Ysidro, California, a warning sign reminds me to watch out for people running across the freeway. That sign is there to protect those who cross the border on foot and are in danger of being hit by cars. Each time I travel to our camp in Mexico near the border towns of Tijuana and Tecate, I see a fence that was constructed to keep people

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