In Provo, Utah, appearances can be deceiving. “This is a beautiful community,” says David Gaskins. “Our nickname is Happy Valley. But the wild thing is, that’s a sarcastic nickname because nobody is happy here.”
David and Sara Gaskins are church planting missionaries who several years ago planted Mosaic Church in Provo, a town David describes as “the heartbeat and hub of the Mormon church.” Mormonism, David says, “is essentially legalism on steroids. Their system of belief is, ‘you must be perfect to earn God’s love.’”
In a city where only 0.5% of the population is evangelical Christian, Mosaic Church started small and slow. “We just met people and displayed the fruit of the Spirit,” says David. “And that was incredibly attractive to this community because all they’d ever seen was fake.” That’s how Mosaic Church grew to be a congregation that’s now made up of many young people who made the costly decision to leave the Mormon church. “When someone does that here, it’s a really big deal,” David says. “We’ve had people get cut off from their family, their jobs, their school—this church is now all many of these young people have.”
Perhaps that’s why he and Sara say Mosaic’s Sunday morning worship feels different than anywhere else they’ve ever been. “Every Sunday when I hear them sing, I cry,” Sara says. “There’s such a hunger and a desire to know and worship the real Jesus.”
When you give to the FUGE Camps Missions Offering, you’re helping missionaries like the Gaskins start new churches like Mosaic in unreached places. You’re helping provide Bibles, chairs, microphones, financial support, and much more for these families to get their new churches up and running. Pray that David and Sara will have everything they need to share the real Jesus with people in Provo. Giving to this project will go a long way towards making that happen.
To learn exactly what your dollars can do in cities like Provo and how missionaries all over the U.S. and Canada are starting new churches everywhere for everyone, go to namb.net/lifeway-camps.
