Students at Azusa Pacific University are offered a variety of ways to involve themselves in the local community through the Office of Service and Discipleship (OSD) in order to spread the word of God through their actions. One long-standing ministry opportunity is the Community Meals program. Community Meals is one of the many year round Local Engagement programs which the OSD has partnered with for more than five years.
Every Saturday, student volunteers meet at a local church to provide community members with meals and a safe place to eat. Most of the community members are older adults facing poverty and homelessness. When they visit the church, they are provided with a meal that they can either eat at the church or take to go.
Before any meals can be served, APU students help organize and cook. Up to three hours are dedicated to unpacking groceries and making the food. “If you say yes to God’s call to serve in this program, you are saying yes to something great,” social work major Nicholas Marquez ’25, a local engagement intern, said. “All APU students are welcome to help, and it’s inspiring to see everyone come together and serve the community.”
Marquez believes that while the food is a major draw for people to reach out for help,
the interactions community members have with APU students is what drives the positive
environment of the program. Students are intentional in spreading a sense of love
and joy when interacting with others. “Lots of the people we meet don’t have homes,”
he said.
The community members are grateful for the time and effort students put into building up and helping the less fortunate in the community. “When I’m serving, I’m not looking to get thanks for my actions, but it’s nice to know that we are actually helping those around us which is the most important part,” Marquez said. Students actively encourage community members to stay as long as they’d like in order to foster personal conversations and connections. “Having been on the other side of this program before, it feels really good to know that there are people willing to give those in need their time and attention,” he said.
Sometimes these interactions can become emotional for those involved. Marquez said that the most challenging part of helping with Community Meals is seeing the broad spectrum of problems those in the community can face. “The program does expose students to aspects of life that they might not be familiar with,” he said. “You’re gonna hear about some spiritually, emotionally, and physically challenging things, but you’ll also get to see all of the good things that come from helping others and having hope.”
Marquez’s experience with Community Meals as both a volunteer, organizer, and intern is a testament to the powerful way in which community engagement not only benefits community members, but APU students as well. “This is a great ministry, and anybody who says yes to helping is chosen for a reason,” Marquez said. “I hope our partnership with Community Meals continues for years to come because it’s not just a chance to earn service credits. It’s a way that APU students can be introduced to ministry through service and an encouragement for them to explore other types of ministry as well.”