Turning their backs on American suburbia in 2008, Jay and Beth Loecken picked up their family and sold their home just north of Atlanta to fulfill their goal of traveling across the nation with
However, their mission isn’t to relax and enjoy the good life; it’s to help the needy and encourage others to live out God’s destiny. Jay is encouraged by what he’s seen.
“God is calling out a remnant of people who are serious about their faith and are no longer OK with just going to church, hearing a message and going home,” says the former mortgage broker. “I see pockets of people everywhere we go who are saying, ‘We want more.’”
The Loeckens’ life-changing decision followed a missions trip to Kenya, where they helped build a commercial-size chicken coop and enjoyed forming close relationships.
Afterward, they sensed God calling them to take similar action in America. The Loeckens and their four children have done everything from feeding the homeless in Atlanta to working with the Orange County Rescue Mission in Irvine, Calif.
“I always had a dream to own my own business,” Jay says of their ministry, Passion to Action (also the title of their new book). “It’s the culmination of a dream for me to see this turn into that.”
How to Vacation Like the Loeckens
- Hand out homeless care packages
- Read a story at a local children’s shelter
- Volunteer at a tutoring center
- Distribute food at a homeless shelter
- Volunteer to help at a battered women’s home
- Feed residents in motels during the holidays
- Do a service project at a distressed apartment complex
- Help clean up after storm damage
- Volunteer for a suicide hotline
- Help with a painting project
