Outreach and Discipleship
Outreach is not a separate activity from discipleship—or additive—but rather it is the very fruit of good discipleship.
Jesus commissioned His followers with these words:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” — Matthew 28:19–20
This Great Commission remains the heartbeat of the Church. Often, this mission unfolds within the four walls of a church building—where believers gather, grow, and are equipped for service. Yet sometimes, it must happen beyond those walls—in the streets, schools, shelters, and forgotten places where the hurting dwell, often unable to bring themselves to the church. The call of Christ compels us to go where light is needed most, carrying His hope into the darkest corners and meeting people where they are.
And just to make sure we never forget that mandate, Jesus prefaced the Great Commission with these powerful words:
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
With that divine authority, He sends us—His followers—into the world to carry His message, His mercy, and His mission to every corner of the earth.
Imagine a hospital without an AMBULANCE—a vehicle for reaching critically injured people who, for various reasons, cannot or will not get themselves to an emergency room. Such people require paramedics, or EMTs, with advanced training, capable of performing complex medical procedures in the field, to provide pre-hospital emergency care, assess injuries, and transport patients. A paramedic is a first responder—someone who doesn’t wait for people to come to the hospital but goes where the need is. They enter the chaos, stabilize the hurting, and prepare them for healing. Without such responders, many would never survive—such people would perish without hope.
The AMBULANCE to the hospital is one of the most accurate pictures of what OUTREACH is to the local church.
It’s a vivid illustration of what you are supporting when you partner with Breakaway Outreach to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to young people who can’t rescue themselves. As a mobile ministry, we’re hospital EMTs on wheels—taking hope to where the hurting are.
Breakaway is not a substitute for the Church. From our very inception thirty years ago, one of our core values has always been to serve in, for, and through the local church. Our mission is inseparably connected to the Great Commission given to the local church—serving as a vehicle of compassion that carries the hurting from the streets to the Savior.
“Ambulance” people are missional medics who live out the words of Jesus in Luke 14:21 “Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.”
The hospital represents the “gathered” Church—a healing community where the wounded find grace, and together we walk toward wholeness in Christ. But the ambulance can be seen as a “sent” part of the church—the people who seek out those too injured to get themselves to the hospital. We like to call it “discipleship in the margins” or “discipleship at the crash scene.”
Many kids living in broken-family structures, domestic-abuse shelters, juvenile centers, transitional living spaces, or shifting caregiver situations don’t have the means or support to get themselves to church. So we bring the church to them. We’re the community that shows up, on their turf, to carry hope into where they are and demonstrate they are not forgotten.
Our specially trained paramedics—trauma-informed mentors, camp facilitators, sports coaches, outreach volunteers, and cross-cultural missionaries—don’t wait on the sidelines. They run toward the pain. When life throws youth into crisis, our teams are the ambulance arriving with care, presence, healing and community. Our people listen, they stabilize, they give hope on the frontlines. Most importantly, they bring the Gospel into broken places.
I saw a mural in our hometown that pays homage to combat medics. It reads: “During battle the Medic was often the difference between life and death.” I not only believe this—I’ve witnessed it over more than three decades of ministry, going to battle for young people in hard places.
THANK YOU for helping us keep the ambulance fueled, the lights flashing, and the sirens sounding—because every child deserves the chance to encounter hope and healing in Christ. Our mission continues because of friends like you who pray, give, and send us to the places where hurting kids need Jesus. You make this mission possible, and that is the difference between life and death with the young people we serve.
Sent Paramedics for Jesus,
Team Breakaway
- See how the ‘ambulance’ of Outreach and Recovery Ministry reaches kids in hard places—where youth impacted by trauma are encountering the risen Christ, finding healing, and learning stability through the hope of a better future.
- See how the ‘ambulance’ of Hope Again Christmas Outreach is bringing Gospel hope and restoring dignity to kids and families in hard places.
- See how the ‘ambulance’ of Sports Ministry and Cross-Cultural Mission partnerships is carrying the Gospel to spiritually destitute youth—bringing hope, healing, and the life-changing message of Jesus to communities around the world.
Partner with Us: Give. Serve. Pray.
DONATE: Every act of generosity fuels the ambulance of hope—bringing Christ’s love, healing, and dignity to those who need it most.
SERVE: Volunteer with us: Be the hands and feet of Jesus to kids in the margins.
PRAY: Receive our monthly prayer letter.