John Rushemeza (’22) & Nick Songster (’22)

‘We’re Here with the Water When People Are Thirsty’

On the surface, it may seem as though John Rushemeza (’22) and Nick Songster (’22) don’t have much in common. But God has intertwined their hearts for ministry in more ways than one.

Both on the Life Coach staff at Water Street Mission, a ministry since 1905 committed to join with Christ’s mission to walk with neighbors who are experiencing marginalization and poverty, John and Nick are chair-to-chair, face-to-face, trusting God, as Water Street aims to “transform lives and restore hope.”

After his May 2022 graduation with a Pastoral Ministry degree, Nick worked at a summer camp for refugee children in the state of Georgia. As an Assistant Life Coach in Water Street’s day shelter, much of his day is spent one-on-one with Water Street guests, “doing life with them and hearing their stories.” This personal interaction allows Nick to discover individual needs, help people take the next steps on their journey and, ultimately, introduce them to Jesus.

On the Water Street staff for nearly eight years, John has served as Water Street’s Life Coach Supervisor for the past three years. He remembers exactly what it was like sitting across from someone like Nick.

John was once a Water Street guest himself.

In 2015, John moved out as a guest of Water Street with one initial goal in mind—to work for the ministry that had changed his life.

“The rescue mission rescued me,” John said. “God rescued me using the rescue mission.”

Once he became a Water Street employee—first as an overnight Life Coach and eventually as a Senior Life Coach on the men’s floor—John learned about Lancaster Bible College through then-director of Water Street’s Life Recovery program, Jon Shacklett, now an Assistant Professor in LBC | Capital’s Counseling & Social Work Department.

John began his degree at LBC in 2017, some in class and some online, graduating several months after Nick in December 2022. Today, John handles a caseload of up to 18 men in Water Street’s long-term program.

Their backgrounds may be different, their educational paths varied, but John and Nick both realize that the beginnings of a solution to complicated problems and complex societal issues boil down to one simple answer.

“The world will tell you what our physical needs are, but from the Christian perspective, we see that the deep need is the gospel,” Nick said. “By walking alongside people and caring for them, we can easily make the connection to the gospel.”

Though the connection may be simple, the acceptance may be a more difficult road. John acknowledges that both rewards and frustrations coexist in his Water Street role.

“A lot of times, you see some of the same faces, year in and year out, stuck in the same cycle,” he said. “You know some of them could benefit from other services, but they are not interested. We can’t really want it for them—they have to want it for themselves.”

But other times, there’s a breakthrough conversation about Jesus, a decision to receive help, a concerted effort to take the next small step.

Both Nick and John, as well as the rest of the Water Street staff and volunteers, must operate with the knowledge that they are serving broken people. “The little things are really rewarding,” Nick said, “because the big things are so challenging and so far down the road.”

Over the years, John admits he has “evolved” regarding what he considers the rewarding parts of the job.

“Just the fact that we’re here as the hands and feet of Jesus Christ,” he said, “we’re here to bring Him glory and shine a light. We’re here with the water when people are thirsty and come for it. We can say, ‘I did my part, and God did the rest.’”