Immediately after completing my undergraduate degree, I came to Philadelphia during the summer of 1993 as a full-time volunteer with Kingdomworks (now called Misson Year).  I was on a team that lived at Cookman United Methodist Church in North Philadelphia.  We worked closely with Kingdomworks founder Bart Campolo (son of Dr. Tony Campolo).

Over the course of the summer, I led a six week summer camp for children aged 4-12, did outreach among neighborhood children and families, taught Sunday School and participated in the ministries of the local congregation, including a teen youth group.

My volunteer experience with Kingdomworks caused me to fall in love with the city of Philadelphia and Southeastern Pennsylvania.  When I began planning to attend seminary six years later, I knew that I wanted to return to the area!