June 2025
Dear Friends of God’s Resort,
Thank you for sharing in the mission of God’s Resort to help people, through this Christ-centered community, choose freedom from the past and reach their potential as a child of God! Your investment in the ministry to our residents is invaluable!
Mark came with his church to serve on a Sunday night. He sat on the back row and took it all in and by the end of the night, he knew he needed what God’s Resort provided. Life had handed Mark a lot of hurt. He grew up living with his mother and his adoptive stepfather. However, he felt he never measured up and that cloud of self-doubt followed him into his adulthood. Hurt haunted him. After two failed marriages, his heart was in tatters. In almost every area of his life he needed stability and healing.
Mark applied to God’ s Resort and came to be a part of a family that has loved him back to wholeness and strength. He got his heart back. What a joy to watch Mark as he continues to spiral up! He is an important part of the life of the community here at God’s Resort! With a lot of hard work on his goals, including paying down tens of thousands in debt, Mark will be moving into his own Habitat for Humanity house! That is an accomplishment he would have thought impossible just a few years ago! Mark said, “Since living here, God has taught and shown me numerous things about Himself and myself. My time at God’s Resort has been priceless and full of love, support, and ongoing renewal.”
Sometimes I really wonder what would have happened to brothers like Mark if there hadn’t been a place like God’s Resort. Thank you on behalf of all the lives being changed here! If you would like to give a special gift towards helping residents like Mark finding healing and stability, click here.
Love and prayer,
Jay St. Clair
Executive Director
Staffing Updates
We’re excited to welcome Jeremy Butler as a Life Transition Coordinator at God’s Resort! With 27 years of experience as a teacher and coach, Jeremy brings a wealth of wisdom, compassion, and leadership to his role. He walks alongside our male residents, helping them pursue stability goals and encouraging them toward a deeper relationship with Jesus – the foundation of true freedom. Jeremy’s passion is to see residents not only come to know Christ but also grow in confidence and the ability to live fulfilling, independent lives. Guided by strong values like family, perseverance, discipline, and faith, Jeremy is committed to living out the Great Commission. When he’s not working, he enjoys spending time with his wife Krista, weightlifting, watching his favorite sports teams, and creating pottery and sculptures. We’re grateful to have Jeremy on the team and look forward to the impact he’ll make in the lives of our residents.
We’re also excited to share that we have hired Mackenzie Richars as our NextGen Coordinator! She interned with us while she was in college and has volunteered with us for six years – so, she’s no stranger to God’s Resort. Her husband, Owen, also serves with us where he helps with audio and video for our worship services. Mackenzie partners with parents and walks alongside children, teens, and young adults to help them set goals and pursue spiritual and personal growth. She organizes events, spends time with the children weekly, and prays over each young life she encounters! Mackenzie holds a bachelor’s degree in biblical justice from Ozark Christian College and has a rich background in ministry, including leading small groups for all age levels, serving on worship teams, and engaging in inner-city missions. Fun fact: she is the second oldest of eleven siblings! Her faith journey is deeply personal and rooted in transformation. She is passionate about seeing residents experience healing, freedom, and lasting change through Christ. Her core values – love, justice, hope, growth, and peace – guide her work and relationships. Outside of her role, she enjoys hiking, reading, and being in nature. Welcome aboard, Mackenzie!
Volunteer Spotlight
We are overflowing with gratitude after an incredible week with 6:8’s Wisconsin High School Mission Trip 2025!
A huge thank you to the amazing serve group from Wisconsin who showed up ready to work, serve, and love well. Their energy, unity, and servant-hearted attitudes were nothing short of inspiring. From mowing and landscaping, to demo work, staining, painting, garage cleaning, organizing, and so much more! They gave their all with joyful hearts.
This team didn’t just come to “get things done.” They came to serve with purpose. Every project they tackled – whether improving a shed, caring for the lawn, or helping move a resident – was done with excellence, compassion, and a willingness to listen.
And that’s the beauty of what we’re witnessing here: Not only are these high schoolers giving their strength and skills, but they’re also learning to listen. They are learning to listen to each other and to those they’re serving alongside. And most importantly, they’re learning to listen to God’s voice in the middle of the work.
There’s something powerful that happens when we serve together: walls come down, hearts open up, and the love of Christ shines through the most ordinary tasks – because there are no ordinary tasks: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” — Colossians 3:23
Thank you, Wisconsin team. Your faith in action is leaving a lasting impact on God’s Resort and in the lives of everyone you’ve touched already. Keep going. Keep listening. Keep serving.
Are you interested in serving at God’s Resort? Contact Machaela Cantu at machaela@godsresortjoplin.org!
Current Serving Needs:
– Sunday Night Food Group for July 27, 2025.
– Thursday morning Coffee and Chat Breakfast Team.
– Overnight volunteers at The Well.
– Sunday Night Food Group for October 12th.
The Well at God’s Resort
Liz Met Jesus at The Well!
We’d like you to meet the resident of The Well who’s been with us the longest: Elizabeth. Every time we think about Liz, she reminds us why we chose “The Well” to be the name of our residential program. Liz shared that before she came to our program she was looking for something like “clear water” in her own imagination. Soon after she moved in, she learned about the story of Jesus and the woman at the well, and how Jesus changed her life. Now she realizes that the story didn’t just happen a long time ago, it’s happening in her life as well – Liz has also met Jesus at The Well!
We’ve been walking with Liz for nine months, and we can testify that God is moving in her life in amazing ways. The first way we have seen God move in Liz’s life is in her health. When we first picked her up, she could barely walk. She had so many health issues that caused us great concern. God helped us connect Liz with the resources she needed to get better and live a healthier lifestyle. And more
than that, God has been healing her body, her heart, and her mind.
Liz has also found a great community to encourage and support her new life. She found a church to call home, and she loves worshiping there and also at God’s Resort. She’s reading her Bible every day and loves to share what God has been teaching her. After Liz met Jesus at The Well, she’s changed completely. The way she thinks about herself, others, and God has been transformed. No longer does the trauma and addictions she’s experienced in the past define her, now she is defined by the grace she experiences in Scripture, her church family, and in the staff and other residents at The Well. Every night she sends the staff and other residents a text expressing how grateful she is to be at The Well, and how much she loves us all.
This is just a small portion of how much God has been changing Liz’s life, and we’ll share more in the future. Thank you all so much for supporting The Well at God’s Resort – your gifts are truly changing lives as women are receiving the “water” of life following Jesus!
God’s Resort Youth
The kids’ summer has been filled with attending summer school, playing outside, working on math facts, and memorizing God’s Word! In the world of children, prizes are EVERYTHING! With that being said, the kids who memorize Psalm 23:1-6 will get a fun ice cream party at the end of the summer! We are excited for that!
The kids have accepted this challenge of memorizing 5 verses of Scripture, attended events, and reading through the Bible in preparation for CAMP SEASON!! Camp for our elementary aged kids is right around the corner! We are so excited as the kids get to dive deeper in their faith through camp experiences.
Finally, we have an amazing opportunity to host a two-day VBS! We will be walking through how to love Jesus and others in the midst of this crazy and Rodeo-like world. Continue to partner with us in prayer as we walk through the parables and how to love our neighbors!
Supplies Needed for New Residents
Would you like to help supply some items to prepare homes at God’s Resort for new residents? Here is a list of items that we currently need. Items can be dropped off at the God’s Resort Community Center (1501 S. Pearl, Joplin) Mon-Thurs, 9-noon or 1-4, and Friday, 9-noon. Thank you for any items you can provide!
• Salt & pepper shakers
• Navy blue and royal blue bath towels
• Cookie sheets
• Crockpots
• Large mixing bowls (for baking brownies or cake)
Let Us Gather
Sunday Night Fellowship
Sundays at 5:30 pm
No Sunday Night Fellowship July 6
Bible Study
Mondays at 6:30 pm
Refuel Prayer Service
Tuesdays at 6:30 pm
Recovery Meeting
Wednesdays at 6:30 pm
Coffee & Chat
Thursdays at 9:00 am
Men’s Bible Study
Saturdays at 8:30 am
No Men’s Bible Study July 5
Men’s Prayer Breakfast
Saturdays at 8:30 am
Women’s Bible Study
Saturdays at 8:30 am
The Blessing House at God’s Resort
1505 S Pearl, Joplin, 64804
No Women’s Bible Study July 5
