50 years of Ministry

FEED the HUNGER

50 years of ministry

Table of Contents 4. A Word from the CEO 5. 50 Years of Ministry 6. 1960s - Laying the Groundwork 8. 1970s - Singing Group Heyday 10. 1980s - A Decade of Transition 12. 1990s - Full Focus Overseas 14. 2000s - Passing the Torch 16. 2010s - A New Era 18. 50 Years and Beyond

A Word from the CEO Dear Friends and Partners, It’s hard to believe that God has allowed this ministry to reach 50 years old! Besides my mother, I have been on staff the longest (since 1995), and yet I haven’t even been full-time for half of its existence.

What started as a mission trip to Mexico led by my parents in 1968 quickly morphed into an interracial singing group and later to a cross-cultural ministry, which continues to this day. While the methods of outreach have changed over the years, the mission has not. “To know God and make Him known” was a favorite saying of my father’s. And that is what we have tried to do, whether down the street or around the world.

In the following pages, you will get just a taste of the memories and milestones of the last five decades, and what we believe God may have in store for the future. To get a more comprehensive understanding, though, we hope you will visit the new Legacy Room at our headquarters. It is full of these pictures and more, including memorabilia, artifacts, and media that tell a more complete story.

Over the years, we have sought to feed the spiritual and physical hunger in as many people as possible. We give the Lord full and sole credit for whatever was accomplished that positively affected eternity. And we are so grateful that He moved in your heart to join us on this incredible journey. May that partnership continue in the years ahead as the Lord so leads us!

Serving with you,

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Joseph Williams

50 Years of Ministry Milestones. 50 years of ministry. When J.L. and I started out in August of 1968, we were 26 and 25. We never imagined the God-sized journey we were embarking on that has far exceeded anything we had envisioned way back then.

We had worked with teenagers at the Burlington YMCA all through that school year.

At the end of the summer, we took many of them to Mexico to excite them about global missions. The teenagers, who were now energized by their mission experience, wanted to stay together as a group. So, it was on the bus ride home that they decided to call themselves The New Directions. And the rest is history.

Interracial, interdenominational, and contemporary—traveling every weekend and all through the summers. By the 1980s, J.L. felt like the Lord was redirecting him to overseas missions in the Third World. So he gradually turned the leadership over to the gifted leaders within the group. Our transition to overseas partners was made easier because the basic principles applied: encourage, equip, and empower the indigenous young men and women to reach their own people.

Although J.L. is gone, I rejoice to see how the vision has been carried on through our son Joseph and Feed the Hunger. While the method may have changed, the message has never changed: meet the spiritual and physical needs of a lost world for Jesus Christ.

Truly, “The Lord has done this and it is marvelous in our eyes.”

Patt

Psalm 118:23

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Asbury graduation, May 1964 J.L. leading devotions for teenagers

On the bus in Mexico

First Logo

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First mission team to Mexico

Second mission team to Jamaica, 1969

Laying the Groundwork

1960s

J.L. and Patt Williams met at Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky, graduating together in May of 1964. Both took short-term mission trips: Patt to Ecuador and J.L. to Asia.

After their wedding in December of that year, they stayed committed to going overseas as missionaries after J.L. finished seminary.

In the spring of 1968, J.L.’s brother, Ed, asked him to take over the teenage programs at the local Y in Burlington, NC, putting an emphasis on the C in the name, YMCA. In June, J.L. graduated with a Masters of Divinity degree from Duke Divinity School in Durham, NC. Bible studies and various activities engaged the Y teens through their vacation months while J.L. and Patt continued toward overseas missions, specifically to the Philippines.

The summer ended with a mission trip throughout the southeastern US, Texas, and into Mexico on August 9–26. The group was called the Y Teen Caravan and included 29 of the teenagers and seven chaperones.

On the bus ride home, the interdenominational group decided they wanted to share with their local church youth programs what they had learned about God and the world through their summer experiences, including the music they had enjoyed during their devotional times together. On that same bus ride, they changed their name to New Directions, with the tagline: “An Action Experience in Christian Love.”

By the end of the 1960s, the original goal of overseas missions had not settled yet, so work with the Y teens continued. J.L. and Patt’s family began in 1969 with the birth of Trish, who joined the New Directions on her first mission trip—to Jamaica.

First singing group

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1970s

Singing Group Heyday

When God closed the door to full-time overseas missions, it became evident that the ministry needed a separate identity from the YMCA. In November 1970, it moved to the Trinity Building on LaVista Drive in Burlington and New Directions was officially incorporated on March 18, 1971. The ministry later changed its name to New Directions Evangelistic Association.

It was the singing ministry’s heyday. Besides the large group, a smaller group called Damascus Road was formed to meet the growing demand for performances. Both groups were “interracial, contemporary, and interdenominational,” and they boldly spread the Gospel wherever and whenever asked.

Concerts, tours, albums, TV shows on CBN, and exposure to a variety of people and events filled these years. They performed at crusades with well-known preachers and evangelists such as Billy Graham, Leighton Ford, and Nicky Cruz. Among other events, they sang at the Soul Liberation Festival in Minneapolis, MN; Explo ’72 in Dallas, TX; and the World 600 stock car race in Charlotte, NC. End-of-summer mission trips also continued to Jamaica, Grand Cayman Islands, and Haiti. Haiti became one of the primary countries for outreach, as it still is today. During these years, three more children were added to J.L. and Patt’s family: April (1970), Joseph (1972), and Jonathan (1975).

Near the end of the decade, New Directions moved to its permanent home at 323 West Harden Street in Graham, NC, a move made possible because of the generosity of the Byrd families—friends from the YMCA days. The new facility was renovated to include office space, a TV studio, and a 400-seat auditorium. It has remained the ministry headquarters ever since.

By the end of the 1970s, 1,338 concerts had been performed in 28 states and five countries. Nine albums had been released and 71 revivals, seminars, and conferences had been held. Dozens of the 350 alumni of New Directions went into full-time Christian ministry and much praise was lifted to the Lord for His abundant blessings!

The Trinity Building

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New Directions on the road

The first Damascus Road

Recording a show for CBN

Billy Graham Crusade

The Williams Family

Early trip to Haiti

Ministry headquarters J.L. preparing to record a message

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Zimbabwe, 1983

Dr. Bill Wilson

Biblical Principles for Living

First church building in Asia

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First church building in Africa

A Decade of Transition

1980s

J.L. completed his Doctor of Ministry degree from Luther Rice Seminary in May of 1980. The New Directions and Damascus Road continued to be very active, holding concerts at churches, festivals, malls, and open-air outreaches. They also continued to minister to the drunken masses of college students who descended on Myrtle Beach, SC, during spring break.

J.L.’s teaching and mission endeavors began to take the majority of his time. He made his first trip to Africa in 1983 and to Asia in 1986. He also attended Amsterdam ’83 and ’86—worldwide gatherings of itinerant evangelists and leaders hosted by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

J.L. and others made many hours of audio and video recordings to edify and train followers of Christ both here and abroad. He also began a series of books and study guides for discipleship called Biblical Principles for Living. In addition, Dr. Bill Wilson established a Christian counseling center at the New Directions headquarters called the Institute for Christian Growth.

New Directions became a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability in 1985, and shortened its name from the New Directions Evangelistic Association to New Directions Ministries. The full singing group wound down in 1986, and Damascus Road by the end of the decade. J.L. fully transitioned from discipling young leaders here in America to equipping and empowering leaders in Third World countries.

The ministry became involved in overseas leadership conferences, started funding construction of rural church buildings, and began its first sponsorship program, feeding needy children in the Kibera slums of Nairobi, Kenya.

Agricultural projects using drip irrigation technology also took center stage through a partnership with Dutch-American entrepreneurs Aart and Cora Van Wingerden, whom J.L. and Patt had met in Haiti. The focus was teaching pastors and farmers how to grow food for their families and have enough left over to sell in local markets.

First children’s program

Teaching drip irrigation

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1990s

Full Focus Overseas

New Directions fully transitioned into a global missions ministry involved with multiple partners in 20+ countries at any given time. The goal was to “reach the unreached through partnership.” Beyond funding 225 church buildings as well as numerous leadership conferences, the ministry helped reach some of the least-reached people groups by supporting ministry partners and providing them homes, transportation, and self-support initiatives.

J.L.’s activity exploded in Asian countries like India and Nepal as the churches there experienced Acts-like growth. A multitude of mission teams and resources were deployed so the Gospel could expand into Hindu and Buddhist strongholds. Children’s outreach expanded beyond Kenya, with the first sponsored children’s home being built in Chennai, India, in memory of J.L.’s parents. Many other homes, along with feeding programs and funding for schooling, followed in multiple countries.

J.L. and Patt’s oldest son, Joseph, joined the staff in 1995 after graduating from Appalachian State University with a degree in Communications (Broadcasting). He spent the next five years traveling with J.L., documenting on video all that God was doing.

Many supporters traveled overseas on “Kingdom Adventures” to be a part of the amazing outpouring of the Holy Spirit among indigenous pastors and Christian leaders. J.L. took these mission travelers because of their expertise in many areas: leadership training, medicine, agriculture, construction, and more. A favorite destination was among the Samburu tribe in the bush of Kenya.

Annual youth work teams went to Haiti, as did building teams led by Coy Tillett, from the Outer Banks of NC. These teams were called the “Manteo Miracle Men” because they built complete church buildings in just one week! Meanwhile, many local businessmen and women were involved in raising funds for the mission work through the Barnabas and Dorcas Fellowships.

The ministry’s name was modified from New Directions Ministries to New Directions International. The word “ministry” was a deterrent for partners whose countries were closed to the Gospel.

Agape Home construction

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Bicycles for pastors and evangelists

Explosive growth in India

First children’s home

Reaching the unreached in Nepal

Youth work team in Haiti

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Filling school backpacks

Flooding in Haiti After the tsunami in Sri Lanka

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Cyclone relief in Myanmar

Passing the Torch

2000s

While New Directions continued its various mission efforts, the staff began to share the load of ministry by leading teams overseas and sharing the ministry’s vision both here and abroad. Joseph transitioned to overseeing international partnerships. One of the ministry’s fruitful activities was the distribution of thousands of backpacks full of school supplies for needy kids in partnership with Edu-Pack.

This decade also greatly increased New Directions’ involvement in post-disaster aid.

This began with providing relief and Christian outreach in the southeastern US after major hurricanes, in Haiti after tropical storms, in India and Sri Lanka after the historic Asian tsunami, and in Myanmar after a cyclone.

A partnership with Promise Keepers culminated in 2004 by joining forces with Haitian Christian leaders to do a nationwide TV outreach in Haiti on the country’s 200th anniversary. Christian leaders renounced their voodoo roots and rededicated the country to Christ. J.L. would look back on this as one of the greatest privileges and highlights of his life and ministry.

God allowed the ministry to take several overseas partners to the next level of fruitfulness for His glory. In addition, the first-ever Partnership Summits were held in India for the Asian partners and in Ethiopia for the African partners.

J.L. and Joseph published books on a variety of timely subjects. And after turning 65 at the end of 2006, J.L. stepped down as CEO and Joseph began that role in 2007.

However, J.L. did not slow down! During the next three years, he increased his traveling, preaching, writing, and the mentoring of the dear national partners whom he loved like his own family.

Asian Partners Summit, India African Partners Summit, Ethiopia

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2010s

A New Era

In 2010, J.L. “retired” to focus wholeheartedly on overseas travel and ministry. New Directions built the Church Planters Training Center in his honor in Coimbatore, India.

He established JL, Patt & Friends as the umbrella under which he would minister until his heaven-going on December 28, 2016. At the time of his death, J.L. had more than 40 beloved partners in 35 countries. Patt rejoined the ministry team in 2018.

This decade also began with the Haiti earthquake. This horrific event sparked the volunteer-driven outreach that became known as the “Feed the Hunger Packathon.” Not since the singing-group days did the ministry have a mobile way to engage Americans where they lived, giving them an opportunity to pack nutritious meals for thousands of needy people overseas—especially children.

For a few years, the staff offices were moved to another location and a church leased the headquarters property. However, due to the growth of the food-packing ministry, warehouse space was needed. The West Harden Street property was completely gutted and used for that very purpose. The staff offices were relocated to the rear outbuilding.

The ministry’s name was changed to Feed the Hunger in 2013 with a mission to feed the spiritual and physical hunger in the needy. Distribution of Bibles in a variety of languages and formats became a priority. The ministry also produced a series of devotionals, as well as video-based teachings useful for small groups and personal Bible study.

In that same year, Feed the Hunger began to help the hungry in America, especially locally and in southeastern Kentucky through a network of Christian food pantries and weekend food programs for poor students.

By decade’s end, well over 25 million meals will have been packed and distributed in the US and overseas. Humanitarian aid was ongoing, including helping victims of ISIS in Iraq, Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, and those suffering from natural disasters.

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Church Planters Training Center

The first Packathon

The Haitian earthquake

Joseph in Kentucky

ISIS victims

Rohingyas receiving food

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50 Years and Beyond The ministry is celebrating its golden anniversary in August 2018. That is 50 years to the day since that pioneer mission trip to Mexico. A special Packathon will be held as well as an Open House to debut the Legacy Room, a space in the headquarters to celebrate God’s five-decade-long journey of this ministry. Fifty years of God’s faithfulness: To God be the glory, great things He has done!

Going forward, Feed the Hunger is committed even more to meeting the two most basic hungers within every person: spiritual hunger and physical hunger. Specifically, this means distributing food and Bibles wherever God opens a door of opportunity.

In the next 10–15 years, the global cause of Christ will reach a significant milestone: it will be 2,000 years since Jesus finished His earthly ministry and returned to heaven.

Feed the Hunger goes beyond this 50th anniversary with the conviction that the Great Commission could be fulfilled in the near future and Jesus will come back.

As Scripture is translated into every known language and brave believers reach the remaining unreached people groups with the Gospel, the ministry will strive to do its part to complete this God-given task. This can only happen with the help of its worldwide network of dedicated ministry partners with the support and participation of followers of Christ here in America.

“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28:19–20

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P.O. Box 2347 Burlington, NC 27216-2347 feedthehunger.org | 888.772.9634 @FeedtheHungerInc @feedthehungerinc @FeedtheHunger