light to a dark area, to bring hope to a place
that’s a little low on it?”
While Bouchard was still at Cedarville
and working at Grace Baptist Church, he
sought families that were living in rougher
places. “Those were the families I wanted to
connect with,” he offered. “It’s always been
a part of me, and it will always be a part
of me.”
Bouchard’s move to the trailer park
helped church families realize the trailer
park isn’t an alien world, but a place filled
with people God loves. And they should
love them, too.
“We have quite a few church families
who’ve decided to adopt park families
through finances or service projects,” he
said. “We’ve had a couple people help our
trailer park parents put together résumés so
they can look for jobs or take them to a local
restaurant and show them how to use the
Wi-Fi and Internet. Parents, teens, and even
young kids tutor the park kids in reading
and math. This connection has helped our
church families live on mission together.”
In addition to these connections,
Kensington puts on an Easter egg hunt —
including a Gospel presentation — that
draws 150 parents and children, shoots
family photos during the holidays, and
offers a vacation Bible school program.
In the summer, Bouchard pairs church
and Orion Lakes kids to “serve together,
eat together, play together, do Bible study
together, and create personal mission
strategies together,” he said. “And they keep
each other accountable all school year.”
Supporting Other
Service
Ministry to the trailer park has also had
a flow-over effect to Kensington’s ministry
to Pontiac schools. “All kids in the park go
to Pontiac schools,” he noted. “The schools
trust us more as a church because they see
we’re not just people connecting during
school but outside of school, too. There’s
round-the-clock ministry going on. We’re
willing to connect all the time, not just
when it’s convenient.”
That’s opened doors for Pontiac sixth-
graders to visit Kensington’s Lake Orion
campus for an annual career day. “They
get bussed to our church to hear about goal
setting and talk with professionals about
their work,” he said. “And they let the kids
hear a Bible story, too. That’s pretty cool.”
The upside of all this connecting has
been tremendous for families in the Orion
Lakes Mobile Home Community. “Kids in
the park are getting all these relationships
with other kids and families that have amore
solid foundation,” Bouchard explained.
“They’re hearing the Gospel in Bible
studies but also seeing it lived out. They’re
seeing parents and kids working together
in a healthy way and being around kids
living for Jesus. Their parents love them,
but they’re seeing a different kind of love.
They’re getting to see what unconditional
love looks like.”
Crediting Mentors
Bouchard credits Barb (Morris)
Hunt ’81, an Adjunct Professor of Biblical
and Ministry Studies at Cedarville, as a
major influence in his life. “She showed us
the importance of children’s ministry and
connecting with families,” he said. “You can
be involved in changing entire families, no
matter who you are or where you’re at.”
And what does the future hold? “I’m
staying here as long as God wants me here,”
Bouchard said. “Every year I sign the lease
on my land, I do it with open hands, one
year at a time.”
“I’m not in this alone,” he added. “This
couldn’t happen without my church’s
support, without all my friends, or without
the [trailer park] families. My faith comes
alive as I watch them take ahold of their
faith. Every need has been met, for my
neighbors, and for me. My life has been
changed by them.”
Clem Boyd
is the Managing Editor of
Cedarville Magazine
and Communications
Specialist in Marketing.
