Junior Ramos gathers in prayer with students at Rally Point Youth Center.
Courtesy of Junior Ramos
LIMA — The best-kept secrets are the ones waiting impatiently to be revealed. Something too often kept secret is the many men and women who work behind the scenes to care for their beloved community. People who exemplify what it means to give their life away for the sake of helping others.
Today, we are unveiling one of the unsung heroes in the city of Lima.
Junior Ramos is the lead pastor for the Gathering Place, a volunteer at Connected Hope, a Director at Rally Point Youth Center and a disciple of Christ.
This was not always the case. Ramos did in fact grow up in Ohio, but in 2010 he decided to move on. He left for Michigan in hopes of a better life. After 11 years out of state, Ramos knew it was time to come home and answer a call bigger than himself.
In October of 2021, Ramos decided to be the change he wanted to see in the city of Lima.
He answered the call from God by responding, ‘I will be the one’. As times are changing, the key to moving forward is unity, Ramos said.
“It starts with the body of Christ,” said Ramos. “If we look in history any change has really come about from the church doing its job. I think that is what we need to get back to. We don’t need to be divided in every aspect of church or religion. I think if we start uniting and putting away all those little traditional beliefs we can see a change. That is what I am willing to be involved in. I think it will be a process but with the right people involved, I think a lot of change can be done.”
Ramos helps to make the change by walking in the positions he has been given. For example, he serves at Connected Hope to help those in the city who are in need of shelter.
Connected Hope combats homelessness by connecting people with local resources to meet their needs. He recently became a leader at the Gathering Place church. He shares the Word of God to guide others on their faith journey.
In addition, Ramos leads the youth at Rally Point Youth Center.
“We have an after-school program,” said Ramos. “We utilize a database program called ‘I excel’ and it sharpens their skills in math and language arts. That funding comes from United Way. We do that for 45 minutes and this database connects to their school so the school can see their progress. Then we do games with a biblical lesson.”
Ramos believes in the importance of teaching the youth who will soon lead the next generation.
He hopes to continue to be a change agent by unifying the body of Christ and humbly doing what God asks of him.
“So often we throw around John 3:16. We know how powerful it can be, but we have kind of watered it down a little,” added Ramos. “John 15:13 is the verse I stand on: ‘Greater love no one than this that he would lay down his life for his friends’. That is my verse because my life was not given to me. It was given for God. If we all have that mindset, we can say no matter what we go through let’s do it together.”
To nominate an unsung hero, reach Precious Grundy at 567-242-0351.
