Full Circle Moments: Kimmi Lochner’s Mission Trip Experience to India
Kimmi Lochner found her recent experience serving on a mission team from Mt. Bethel to India rich with full-circle moments.
“On the first day, all six of us were supposed to teach VBS. But we got there and they told us they could only take two of us because taking the whole team would bring too much attention to the ministry taking place,” recalled Kimmi. “And because Marla and I work with kids here at Mt. Bethel, the team nominated us to be the ones to go.”
That first day held not one, but two full circle moments for Kimmi. The first being that, as Director of Children’s Ministry for Mt. Bethel, she had challenged the kids who attended our church’s VBS last summer to each bring in five dollars to sponsor a kid to attend VBS in India.
Mt. Bethel’s children raised over $1,300– enough to cover the cost for 261 kids in India to attend VBS. And while the kids Kimmi and Marla taught in India that day weren’t necessarily the direct beneficiaries of the money Mt. Bethel’s children gave, “it was sweet to see the program we supported in action,” said Kimmi.
The second full-circle moment was a little more personal. Marla Arnold, the second team member from Mt. Bethel who had been nominated to teach VBS alongside Kimmi, had been Kimmi’s children’s minister when Kimmi was a kid.
“She’s like a second mom to me. She’s a big part of my life and has made a huge personal impact on me and my call to ministry,” Kimmi explained. “It was so sweet to teach the kids these cheesy little songs and dances Marla taught me as a child.”
Kimmi and Marla used wikki sticks to walk over 200 children through the gospel story and were amazed at how eager the kids were to not only hear about Jesus but learn about how to share Jesus with their friends and family as well.
The eagerness of the children at VBS was just a glimpse of the hunger for the gospel Kimmi, Marla, and the rest of our missions team experienced throughout the trip.
Only a little over 2% of India’s population are considered Christians.
Only a little over two percent of India’s population are considered Christians. The culture is seeped in Hinduism, the religion that 8 in 10 residents practice.
“Religion is everywhere in India,” said Kimmi. “Even in the poor villages, you’ll see an overcrowded hut where people live in extreme poverty and the next structure you’ll see is an opulent temple where people go to worship one of their three-million-or-so gods.”
“In the cities, which are incredibly crowded and loud, there are temples on every corner and market stands everywhere that sell idols and trinkets for different gods. Everyone is worshipping something. There’s a city-wide call to prayer at 5AM in the morning. Religion is such a way of life for them.”
Kimmi remarked that the religiosity of India’s culture struck her in two ways: the first, how different it is from American culture where so many are apathetic to faith, and the second, how being the minority impacts believers in India.
“Everywhere our brothers and sisters in India go, Hinduism is abundantly present. Many of them are the only believers in their families. How intimidating that must be!,” Kimmi reflected. “And yet, our partners in India are so on fire for the Lord and so in love with Jesus. And the people we taught, who were either new believers or were interested in the Christian faith, were so eager and hungry for the Word.”
Living Like a Missionary
During the trip, in addition to Kimmi and Marla teaching VBS, our short-term mission team members encouraged new believers through The Empowering Women’s Conference, trained church leaders who are planting house churches all over the country, and led worship at a prayer rally thousands of people attended.
The final full-circle moment for Kimmi on her trip was how immersed in the culture our missions partners in India encouraged our team to be and how effective these efforts were in ministry there.
“On the last day, we wore full sarees,” Kimmie explained. “I remember feeling so out of my comfort zone and self-conscious about what parts of my body could be seen. But when we got up to teach dressed like that, the women we were teaching were so encouraging. They kept telling us how beautiful we looked and how they loved how we dressed that way–it made it all worth it.”
Kimmi compared her experience to the Apostle Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 9:20-22: “To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.”
To live these words in action through their experience in India has forever impacted Kimmi and the mission team she served with from Mt. Bethel Church.
“This mission trip opened our eyes to so much need and hunger for the Lord. It’s increased our urgency to share the gospel with our friends and family back here in the States now that we’re home.” – Gaylyn Kelly, Mt. Bethel Pastor of Discipleship
Thank you, Mt. Bethel family, for your tithes and offerings which helped make not only this short-term mission trip possible, but the work of our partners in South Asia possible. Because of your support, our partners were able to train 237 pastors and reached nearly 20,000 kids through VBS in 2023.