About

Our mission

  • 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 Mark 10:45 “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 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. For further details on our beliefs read our statement of faith or learn more about the story.

  • 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 will 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’re started in our community and we also 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.

  • 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. 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 Living the Unexpected Life and open to speaking opportunities.

Board Members

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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

  • Evan Alsdorf

    Evan was born and raised in Conneaut Lake PA. He lived in a strong Christian household with loving parents and 2 younger brothers. Evan is a Onelife first and second year graduate and is continuing his education at Kairos University to get his Bachelor’s and Master’s in the Arts of Leadership. He’s excited to continue his journey alongside Jesus and Productive Live’s as their Group Host and Street Outreach Coordinator.

  • Olivia Gundrum

    As a baby, Oliva was adopted from China, where she then grew up in Bethlehem, PA, always having Christ at the center of her life.  After high school, she attended a nine-month Christian Gap Year Program from 2023-2024, during which she was introduced to Productive Lives. In the summer of 2024, she did a two-month internship with them, which truly changed her life.  At the end of the Summer, Olivia had the opportunity to pronounce her faith by getting baptized by Dr. Cameron Garven and Pastor Andy.  She is pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Education while working with Productive Lives as their Communication and Children’s Coordinator.  

  • Paige Watson

    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.