About
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People Serving People
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Productive Lives is a Training Organization. Our vision is to motivate people to improve their lives and the lives of others through Servant Living and Leadership.
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Compassion for people who need God’s love
Courage to tell people about God’s love
Collaboration with people who share God’s love
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Principles
Jesus is our model.
Loving people our objective.
Service projects our means.
Have fun but get it done is our attitude.
Meeting people at their level of spiritual interest is our aim.
Training emerging and existing leaders is our investment.
Managing projects and caring for people is our structure.
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We are a Christian faith-based organization. We believe the Bible is true and that it guides our mission.
We believe that Jesus Christ is the ultimate servant as stated in the Bible. In Mark 10:45, it says “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” We believe that Jesus cared about our physical needs, but ultimately our spiritual needs.
We believe the big three questions of life can be best answered from a Christian perspective. Where do we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? We believe that human beings were created in the image of God and therefore have value. We are here to serve Him and to serve humanity. We believe that God wants a relationship with us through His son Jesus as stated in the Bible in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” We are either going to spend an eternity with God or separated from God.
We are a group of like-minded people trying to do good in our community. The good we do is in the name of Jesus because we believe that having God, specifically Jesus, ultimately makes our lives productive. Even though we are not part of the Evangelical Free Church Dr. Garven was ordained in it and we would agree with their statement. So for further details on our beliefs read this statement of faithor to learn more about our worldview watch the video called the story.
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We train, coach and mentor people in Servant Living and Leadership. We believe in experiential learning — that is we learn best by doing. We believe that happens doing service projects.
In Philadelphia, we have opportunities for rehabbing homes, food distribution to those in need, and outreaches to the neighborhood. Our hope is to bring in teams that would like to serve people in need. We’ve started in our community and go beyond our borders.
We have service projects in the Dominican Republic and a sports outreach in Montenegro in Europe.
We’re started in Philadelphia where Frank Hinson and Joe Darrow started Productive Lives. This is also where two of our board members, Joe and Andy have been pastors for over 30 years. The sections of the city that we’re serving are Kensington, South Philly and Northeast.
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Goals: What we want to achieve
1. Meet the physical and spiritual needs of the communities we serve.
2. Increase serving participation by providing impactful service opportunities for groups.
3. Have a healthy partnership with donors and partners, those who give and those who are given to.
Priorities: Who we want to achieve this with
1. Families specifically children and youth
2. Schools specifically Elementary and Higher Education.
3. Street outreach specifically with the homeless and addicted
Strategies: How to achieve our goals
1. Partnerships: With like-minded local and international organizations
2. Projects: Philadelphia and beyond
3. People: Develop a staff and team of volunteers with existing and emerging leaders
4. Profit: To have enough financial resources to develop our team and expand the organization. This is accomplished with two sources of revenue, donations and group fees.
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There are so many ways to get involved with Productive Lives. We have lots of opportunities for individuals or groups to volunteer their time and efforts. You can also donate to our projects and trips. But what we need most of all is your prayer. Would you consider helping in one of these areas?
Pray for us
Lead a group project
Tell your personal story to a group
Offer your expertise at our Center: Construction, painting walls, murals, etc.
Serve weekly at Cornerstone Church with their Kids or Teen Clubs
Work at Cornerstone Church food distribution each Thursday 9:00-11:30
Mentor a Willard School elementary student or a high School student at International Christian High School.
Serve with Snyder Avenue Church in South Philly with refugees at their food distribution Saturdays 9:00-12:00
Teach a bible study
Teach ESL English as a second language to immigrants
Street outreach to homeless and addicted
Want to get involved in one of these areas? Or have another idea of how you can help? Contact Productive Lives and we can get you connected with our partners.
President
Dr. Cameron Garven
Cam is currently the president of Productive Lives, Author of the best-selling book “Serving Changes Everything…Lead the Way-the ripple effect of leadership”, and Host of The Productive Lives Podcast. He was previously a campus pastor at Princeton University and has served as a pastor and in Christian leadership positions for over 30 years. He attends Living Hope Church in Langhorne, PA. He has been on over 40 short-term missions trips on 5 continents. He holds a Bachelors degree in biblical studies, a Masters in Christian education and a Doctorate in leadership and spiritual formation. Cam wants people to have a passion for God and compassion for others. More importantly he is a husband and father of four grown children and lives with his wife, Mary in Newtown, Pennsylvania. Recently spoke at Riverstone Church on The Fruit of the Spirit and open to speaking opportunities.
Board Members
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Joe Darrow
Joe is a missionary with InFaith and pastor at Cornerstone Community Church who has been working in Kensington since 1988. Joe has five children and wife Janie. He has worked in all phases of the ministry here from children and teens to preaching and teaching. He oversees small group studies and classes at the Church. He has been on multiple missions trips. Joe is also Co-Founder of Productive Lives.
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Tom Hurst
Tom is a business owner and married to his high school sweetheart Robin. They live in Yardley and have 3 girls and a boy. Tom graduated from the university of Maryland in 1991 and attends Riverstone Church in Yardley. He had been on over 16 short term mission trips in places like Honduras, Guatemala the Dominican Republic he loves to work with his hands and spend time with his kids.
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Andy Schultz
Andy first volunteered as Kids Club leaders while attending Philadelphia College of Bible. Several years later, after planning to serve as a missionary overseas, he returned to Kensington in 1994 for a two year internship and has felt lead of the Lord to remain here ever since. Andy is one of the pastors at Cornerstone Community Church and oversees much of the ministry to youth including Preteen and Teen club.
Staff
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Isaac Watson - Director of Community Initiative | Co-director of Converge Gap Year Program
Isaac was born and raised in Baltimore, MD. He was homeschooled along with his three younger brothers. He truly accepted Christ in middle school at a church retreat. After high school Isaac attended Onelife Institute, a Christian gap year program in West Virginia and South Carolina. Through this time he was exposed to the work that Productive Lives is doing in Kensington and developed a love for the people and the work that God is doing here. Isaac is now serving with Productive Lives as the Director of the Community Initiative.
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Paige Watson - Group & Education Coordinator | Co-director of Converge Gap Year Program
Paige was born and raised in a Christian home in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. After high school, Paige attended a christian gap year program called One Life, from 2022-2024. It was during these two years that she felt the Lord leading her to ministry. Through One Life, she went on a mission trip to Kensington and God put a passion on Paige’s heart that led her back there for a summer internship in 2024. Paige decided to follow God’s lead to move back to Kensington, and she is currently on staff with Productive lives as the Program and Education Coordinator. Paige loves to interact with the people that live in Kensington and through that, she is further discovering and understanding the heart of Christ.
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Ryan Garven - Chief Operating Officer
Ryan is from outside of Philadelphia and handles the operations for Productive Lives. He has had the opportunity to join his Father on continual missions trips both domestic and international. He grew up serving in Kensington along side Cornerstone Community Church. After graduating from Cairn University, Ryan went on to teaching in urban schools both in Northeast Philly and Trenton, NJ. From there his heart for others and leadership opportunities attributed to where he is today with Productive Lives. Currently he is living in Wilmington, NC with his wife Chelsea.
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Darick Murray - Coordinator of Street Outreach
Darick serves as the Coordinator of Street Outreach, a role he stepped into after finding his own life-changing faith in Jesus at Kensington's Cornerstone Community Church. Once skeptical of faith, he experienced a radical change of heart after witnessing the genuine love of Christ through the church community. Darick’s eyes were opened to his calling as an evangelist when he saw Productive Lives teams serving in his own neighborhood. Today, he is passionate about serving the streets of Kensington to share that same transformative love and compassion with those struggling with addiction. Darick lives in the community with his wife, Rut, who also serves faithfully with local youth.
Converge Interns
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Adam Spronk
Adam has stepped into the Converge Program as a summer intern, living and serving directly in Kensington alongside local partners. Adam was born and raised in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, and is a recent graduate of Pennsbury High School. He first connected with Productive Lives during a week-long service trip two years ago, where seeing the physical and spiritual needs in Kensington sparked a deep desire to be a light in the community. Adam's ministry is rooted in Mark 10:45, which serves as a constant reminder to maintain a servant's heart and follow Christ’s example of humility and service.
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Bella Manning
Bella grew up splitting her time between Newport News, Virginia, and Hidden Springs, Arizona, and is a graduate of Calvary Christian Academy. She joined Productive Lives as an intern to deepen her faith, build meaningful connections, and grow both personally and spiritually through the program. Bella is excited to immerse herself in the local community and share Christ's love with the people she meets. Her journey is guided by Joshua 1:9, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go," which gives her the courage to step boldly into this new season of ministry.
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Reohnna Reed
Reohnna was born and raised in Gap, Arizona, and is a graduate of Tuba City High School. Seeking a meaningful opportunity to step out of her comfort zone, grow in her faith, and share the word of God, she made the move to serve as an intern with Productive Lives. Reohnna views this season as a pivotal time to seek the Lord's direction for her future career and education. Her ministry and journey are anchored in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," which reminds her to rely on His strength as she branches out into urban missions.
Isaac & Paige