From Donny Martin: Launching a New Location in the Hood

We’re a very small staff at Greenhouse Project, so I wear a lot of hats. For those who are just getting to know me, my main focus is teaching on Sundays at our home church, managing outreach events and overseeing our discipleship program. Some days I’m the maintenance guy, other days I spend with community neighbors meeting needs as they come up. The rhythms of house ministry life bring surprises each day.

My plan from early on did not include doing ministry in an urban area like Chester. As a Wilmington, DE native, I honestly tried getting away from city life. I went all the way to California for bible college where I met my wife Rachelle. When I moved back, I wasn’t sure where God would lead me, but Chester wasn’t on my mind. God has a way of interrupting our plans and presented Rachelle and I with an opportunity to serve at Greenhouse Project.

Paul references the prophet Isaiah in Romans 10:20 saying, “I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.”

When I accepted Jesus as my Savior, what was most clear to me is that He found me. I’m not saying I had no other choice, but I was not on a great search for truth or meaning. Jesus put so many believers in my path that disrupted my own plans for life. God came looking for me.

It’s a great responsibility to help lead this ministry of loving neighbors where they are, possibly being that person for someone else that God had provided for me years ago and changed my path forever. One of most impactful moments since being here at Greenhouse was working with a certain client in drug recovery–we’ll call him Peter.

I was discipling him closely, and he was living sober and following Jesus probably for the first time in his adult life. It was during a time of trial around a recovery house living situation when Peter shared he was going to live alone and make choices that almost inevitably lead back to a life of addiction and homelessness. I spent a lot of time trying to intervene and persuade him away from this decision, to no avail. One night after a long conversation, Peter had really dug himself in and seemed set on his decision. I felt deflated and hopeless about his situation and, if I'm being honest, questioned what I was doing here in Chester. I doubted if I could really make a difference at all. 

I prayed and asked God what I should do. My prayer turned into a prayer that God would preserve Peter and bring the work He had started in him to completion. The very next day, Peter approached me and it was like talking to a different man. He was abandoning his own plan for a committed stay in recovery and in discipleship with us. All I could do was praise God. He had done all the saving work–on the cross and in our hearts. He did it for me and I saw Him do it for Peter. 

I learned this journey isn’t about what I can do; it’s about what God wants to do in His power as we faithfully serve as the hands and feet of Jesus. It’s all about God’s search for us. God is not redeeming lives like Peter’s from the ashes, but working in his life to become His hands and feet.

Romans 10:15 says; “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” As my wife and I prepare to move into the 912 House in a rundown, crime-infested community, I admit we are nervous at times. We ask questions like: Will we be effective? Will we be received? Will we see any fruit? 

What I've come to understand through the Word and my walk with the Lord is God asks us to do things we don’t have the power to do, and when we go in faith he meets us there with HIS power. We are simply part of his story.

There is a clear sense of abandonment in Chester, whether it’s neglect of the space around us–like our new street marked by many abandoned houses–or the hard reality of broken families and abandonment from those who claim to represent them. It’s easy to stay hopeless in a place like this. I am honored to represent in this neighborhood the God that is searching for broken people I have yet to meet. 

I am thankful to so many of you that have used your resources and partnered with us in this journey! The word of God declares “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” We are staying firmly rooted in his Word and open to His plans in this new, exciting chapter.

Help Donny & Rachelle Renovate Their New Ministry House

For the first time, Greenhouse Project is replicating. Our second location means God can double our impact in Chester by reaching hundreds more struggling neighbors who need to experience the life-changing power of the gospel.

This ministry house is a near complete reno project, and we need your help! All donations go 100% towards making this house a home including building materials, labor costs, and technical expenses like permits. Thank you for supporting this very special project and helping Donny and Rachelle get their feet ready for ministry on new ground.