One of Tomoka’s interns, Jacken Holland, is set to embark on The World Race in January. This ministry sends young adults on an 11-month mission trip, where they are able to share God’s Word to people in many nations, including ones where Christians are persecuted.
“My desire is to go around and share the gospel with people who haven’t heard it before,” said Holland.
He also mentioned that his main goal is to reach people in the 1040 window, which is a specific region of the world, spanning across three continents, where the gospel is rarely shared due to the danger Christians face.
“I want to do what Paul did in Romans 15:18-21,” said Holland. “I want to go and preach the gospel where Christ hasn’t already been named.”
Holland was adopted from Haiti when he was six years old, and he fully understands the importance of reaching people who aren’t blessed with the same opportunities we have in America.
“I vividly remember what it was like to receive hope, and to be loved for the very first time,” said Holland, who grew up in an orphanage whose name literally translated to “less than nothing.”
“I was treated like garbage. We weren’t fed and we didn’t sleep in beds. We slept on the ground and drank water from horrible rivers,” said Holland. “When my dad ended up visiting my orphanage, all of the kids ran up to him except me, because I was mad at my friend. My dad makes eye contact with me, walks over to me, picks me up and I just fell into his arms, because it was the first time in my life that anyone picked me up solely for the purpose of showing me love.”
His experience in Haiti has helped him realize that there is an abundance of people all over the world who still don’t know what hope feels like.
“Whenever I think about unreached people groups, it’s people who are struggling and don’t know the love of Christ,” said Holland. “I can’t imagine what it’s like for people who are 25, 30 and 40 years old, and are just receiving hope for the first time.”
Holland is part of a 30-person team, and they all have to raise an individual amount of $18,500. Through the generosity of many people, Holland has accomplished his financial goal, and he has a few team members who are inching near the finish line. Now that Holland has raised the amount needed, he has shifted his focus on helping his fellow team members.
He stated that team members are able to continue collecting money when the trip begins in January, but anyone who doesn’t have the full amount collected by April 18 will be sent home, and unfortunately won’t be able to continue sharing the gospel with people in the 1040 window.
The buttons below list a few of Holland’s team members who are at the cusp of reaching their goal. If you would like to make a difference in not only the lives of these team members, but also the lives of everyone they’ll reach on their 11-month journey, please consider donating to their fundraising pages.
