His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.[e] You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ – Matthew 25:21

In the parable of talents, Jesus tells a story that explains how things work in the kingdom: those who are faithful over the little God puts into their hands will be given more, and great joy besides. Nathan Zug has seen that play out as he leads ministry in Anaheim, CA. After serving as a youth pastor, a community pastor, a fire chaplain, and a board member for the school district, Nathan felt a call to launch an organization with the goal of developing relationships and bridges to spread goodness and meet the needs in the city of Anaheim. He started JMh – Anaheim in 2013 to help faith-based organizations team up with non-faith-based organizations to do the most good in the city, utilizing the many relationships he had built over the years. This meant that JMh – Anaheim was perfectly positioned in 2015 when an organization called Love Our Cities approached Nathan to see if he would be willing to launch Love Anaheim.

Love Anaheim’s vision is to meet the city’s needs through a coordinated volunteer effort of churches, civic institutions, businesses, and other nonprofit organizations. Working closely with Magnolia Baptist Church—one of our long-time NAB churches—and another church in the city, Love Anaheim sponsored four large-scale service projects in 2016. Although it took a lot of time, trust and hard work to facilitate cooperation between dissimilar organizations, participants caught the vision and became more and more excited about the work. Last year, 1,400 volunteers completed over 240 different need-based projects in Anaheim!

As Love Anaheim made an impact in the city, the Lord opened new ministry opportunities. In 2017, the city mayor approached JMh – Anaheim about using a similar program model to help homeless people get off the street. Once again partnering with Magnolia Baptist, which allowed the new program to use the church premises, JMh and the City of Anaheim have served over 2,000 individuals through the Better Way Anaheim (BWA) program, seeing many success stories in its eight years of operation.

Working together on BWA built trust with the City of Anaheim, so when covid struck, the city again turned to JMh—this time to assist with food and resource distribution to those in need. Participants in BWA served as logistical support, while Magnolia Baptist provided volunteers, space, and leadership. The program was so successful that it continues to this day, as the Choice Market Truck takes food and resources to thirty-four high-need neighborhoods. This summer, they hope to raise funds to purchase a second truck that will specifically service seniors and families, getting them the food and other services they need.

In addition to these three major emphases, JMh also continues to work with Anaheim’s churches to meet a variety of needs across the city. Each step of the way, Nathan and the rest of the leadership sought to love God, love others, be filled by the Spirit, and meet needs with presence and kindness. Their faithfulness with what God gave them led to more and more opportunities to share his love with their community.

One person who has seen this love in action is Katherine, who was living in a series of motels with her school-aged children when she entered the BWA program. Eager to work, she took every opportunity BWA offered, moving from weekly work to regular classes to regular part-time work, which qualified her for a housing voucher. Now, four years later, Katherine works full-time as the administrative assistant for BWA, serving their clients with the compassion and understanding of someone who has been there!

Readers at home can pray for JMh, Love Anaheim, Magnolia Baptist and the Southern California (SoCal) NAB Churches in the following ways:

  • Pray for SoCal as it leads part of The Gathering July 13-17, this is a long standing NAB Service Event (every 3 years). Pray for other ways SoCal can identify to serve the region together.  
  • Pray for Magnolia Baptist and JMh as they proceed through the signing and development of a Ground Lease Agreement that will solidify JMh being based at Magnolia Baptist on a portion of the property. Pray for God’s clear leading and provisions for both the church and JMh.  
  • Pray for JMh as they move from offices on the campus of Magnolia Baptist to the ground lease property that needs significant work and development. Pray for a $1M grant that JMh will be applying for in June to begin to plan for the development and creation of a base of operations for JMh for the next few decades.
  • Pray for JMh as they have set a goal to raise $60,000 for a second Choice Market Truck to serve seniors and families across Anaheim.
  • Pray for JMh and Love Anaheim as the organizations are unique in their mission of “Building Relationships and Bridges to Spread Goodness and to Meet Needs.” JMh works with many Churches providing them opportunities to connect with, love and serve the City of Anaheim. JMh also works with City and School District Leaders and hopes to show the Love of God to them clearly as they are served. 

Just like the servants in the parable, Katherine, Nathan, Magnolia Baptist, JMh, and their many partners across Anaheim and the Southern California Association of NAB Churches have been faithful with little and are now being entrusted with much. We are delighted to partner with JMh, Love Anaheim, and the many ways they serve their community with God’s love!