First in, last out.
That’s what I think about when I think of Jason DeJongh. He was Director of Operations but that title doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of his contribution to the ministry of Love Your Neighbor. When I began in 2014 as the Executive Director, Jason had already been a member of the team for ten years. He led numerous teams both on campus and off. He had a winsome way of just being steady and keeping the Outback and Resale areas of the ministry fully operational. Many of the current systems, teams, and environment that one may wonder about how they were implemented were designed by Jason.
I remember all the things he just took care of….
What happens when it snows? Jason will take care of it.
What happens when the elevator breaks? Jason will take care of it.
What happens when a volunteer doesn’t show up as expected? Jason will take care of it.
What happens when [fill in the blank]? Jason will take care of it.
If I have one lasting memory of Jason it was during a team meeting one morning. It was Jason’s turn to bring a devotional. Instead of the usual reading from a devotional book, Jason had been memorizing a chapter from the book of Colossians and wanted to see if he could recite it for us. He recited from memory an entire chapter from Colossians and we basked not only in how amazed we were that he would make this kind of investment in God’s word, but also in the beautiful truth of the passage he was able to recite.
In 2018 when Jason became ill with the cancer that would take his life, we felt the loss of his presence not just for the practical leadership he brought, but for the faithful devotion that was rooted in his faith in Christ. He modeled for us what it means to serve Christ fully in life and in death.
As in many cases, we often don’t know the vast footprint that a person has until they are no longer with us. Jason DeJongh’s contribution to the Love Your Neighbor ministry we enjoy today runs deep and it is an eternal contribution that supports the transformation of lives into the future. It is right that he is remembered as we celebrate 40 faithful years of ministry!
We’ll be sharing 40 stories of transformation leading up to our 40th Celebration Block Party on September 24th. Please join us!