In episode 10 of People Around Me, titled “Sowing Seeds on Fertile Ground,” Bubba sits down with Brent Daniels, Executive Director of Love Inc. in Angelina County. Brent shares how Love Inc. connects churches and volunteers with real community needs, turning everyday gifts and talents into life-changing acts of service.
From offering practical help like budgeting and home repairs to providing spiritual encouragement and support, Love Inc. empowers people to plant seeds of faith and kindness in fertile ground where they can flourish. Brent also shares inspiring stories of transformation, reminding us that no matter our role, everyone can serve and make an eternal difference.
If you’ve ever wondered how your skills can bless others, this People Around Me conversation will show you how to sow seeds that truly grow.
#PersonalGrowth #Mindset #Motivation #Success
People Around Me Transcript
Well hello it’s Bubba here and we are doing another episode of the People Around Me. I am sitting here in the office of the Angelina County executive director. Brent Daniels with Love Inc and Brent, thank you so much for taking your time out to visit with us today. I think a lot of folks, if they’ve heard of Love Inc., they might not necessarily know what Love Inc. is
What they do, what they offer, Make it Happen Missions. We’re very proud to say this is our brand new partner, friend and developing a relationship with them to help out in the areas that we can. And what I like to do is just kind of turn it over to you and let you tell our friends out there who Love Inc is and how you serve the community.
As an overall ministry and national ministry, we were founded in 1976, by a gentleman named Doctor Virgil Gilker. He is still alive. He is a social worker, and in Holland, Michigan is where it was founded. He saw a need with the churches. Churches are pretty busy doing what they do, so he found a need that churches couldn’t handle, which is coordinating volunteers and being the hands and feet of Jesus through volunteer work.
So he saw that need, approached some churches in Holland, Michigan, and got quite a few on board. Fast forward a few years and Love Inc. and CIC (Christian Information Center) partnered. Their director in 1992 gave Ken Smith, our founder, a book called Help Is Just Around the Corner, written by Doctor Gilker. Ken read that book and said this is great, we need something like this to mobilize churches for volunteerism.
Love Inc. requires that you have eight churches supporting you before you launch your affiliate. When they launched, 16 churches showed up at the initial launch in 1992. We started then, not in this location, but in a back office of CIC. We hired a director, got a staff together, and started working with the churches.
Our mission hasn’t changed over the years. We want to present the gospel to people, and we do that through our work—helping the needy and disadvantaged. We partner nonprofits to handle the monetary part and churches to provide the spiritual part. If someone doesn’t have a church home, I’ll connect them to one in their area. Pastors often follow up, encourage them spiritually, and many have even joined churches through those connections.
Let me ask you something. When you approach these churches, regardless of size or members, do you give them the opportunity to say, “Hey, we’d love for you guys to come and volunteer with us”?
Yes, that’s the original Love Inc. model—to go to the churches and get volunteers from them to do things in the community. In my two years here, we first built up the call center. Not many people want to volunteer to answer phones, especially since it’s crisis work—people facing eviction, power shut-offs, no water, etc. It takes a special kind of person.
Now I’ve expanded to a “talent tithe inventory,” listing skills like mowing lawns, home repairs, or budgeting help. Budgeting is the biggest need we see. Many don’t manage money well, so we’re moving toward offering transformational ministries like budgeting classes. Others like the Mosaic Center already do this, but you can never have enough education.
Those are perfect opportunities for folks in church. Many people believe that because they don’t preach, teach, or baptize, they can’t help the kingdom. But God gave us all gifts and talents. An accountant, an electrician—they can serve too. Make It Happen Missions doesn’t ask churches to form new chapters but to use what they already have and, if needed, partner with Love Inc.
If someone wants to help, even just one person with a mower, they can call (936) 637-6637 and talk to me or our volunteer coordinator, Wayne Evans. You’ll probably get voicemail, but we’ll call back.
And yes—Scripture says pastors shepherd, but we’re all ministers, even if we don’t hold the title.
One of the scriptures we lean on is Ephesians 2:10: we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works prepared in advance for us. That means everyone has opportunities to serve.
I tell my board all the time—if I had more volunteers, I could help more people. The need is there, but I don’t have enough people. Many assume someone else will handle it. But maybe you are the one meant to step up.
How long have you been doing this?
With Love Inc., two years this December. Before that, I was on staff at Southside Baptist Church for three years, and I still serve there.
What’s your biggest takeaway from this work?
I’ll share a story. A few months after I started, a Spanish-speaking man called. My volunteer coordinator couldn’t communicate well, so she called Pastor Chino from Redland Baptist Church. He visited the man, who needed food but was also missing a foot from diabetes. He had been trying for years to get a prosthetic. We found a refurbished one in Nacogdoches, and Pastor Chino drove him to every appointment. On those trips, he shared the Gospel. After months, the man finally accepted Christ and joined Pastor Chino’s church. That’s the perfect Love Inc. story—meeting physical and spiritual needs together.
Thank you so much for sharing. Churches often have bags of “spiritual seeds”—gifts and talents—but don’t know where to plant them. Love Inc. is fertile ground. Same with Make It Happen Missions. Don’t believe the lie that you don’t matter or that you’ve “served your time.” There’s no retirement in serving God.
God didn’t just send His Son so we could miss hell. He sent Jesus so we could live out His image—serving people. That’s what Love Inc. does, what Make It Happen Missions does, and what we’re all called to do.
Brent, thanks again. Any closing thoughts?
Most people want to volunteer; they just don’t know where to go. Also, sometimes people try to take advantage. When we spot that, I alert the churches so they can make wise decisions. That’s helped tremendously, and more churches now reach out to us.
At the end of the day, resources are limited. We want them to go to the right people. So if you’re watching, reach out, get involved, and know you can still make a difference.