When Sandy Outlar, community relations representative for Lancaster County Christian School (LCCS), needed a speaker for the annual breakfast celebrating tuition aid, Jeff Rutt, president of Keystone Custom Homes and chair of HOPE International, immediately sprang to his mind. "I knew Jeff, and I knew of his genuine love for the Lord and his giftedness in building homes and his giftedness in overseeing a ministry that touches thousands," recalled Outlar. "I couldn't think of anyone who could do a better job."

Rutt will speak at the breakfast to be held in the new LCCS Student Life Center on Wednesday, Nov. 15, from 7 until 8:15 a.m.

The title of Rutt's talk is "Building a Business While Building a Ministry," but Rutt noted that the subtitle is "Embrace the Valleys." Rutt has faced a number of valleys in his lifetime, which he reports began on a Lancaster County dairy farm, which he bought from his family at the age of 20. Ten years later, Rutt was wondering what God had for him next. In the early 1990s, Rutt went into home building, although he had no background in the area. "God blessed it," he recalled, but in 2008, Rutt was told by a banker that all his loans must be paid in 60 days. "It was a big challenge," he noted. "That was a valley." He entered another valley in 2015, when his wife of more than 40 years, Sue, was diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer. Sue is now cancer free and a "living miracle" today, said Rutt.

Not long after beginning Keystone Custom Homes, Rutt led a group from his church to Ukraine with containers of supplies. "We had good intentions, but we were inadvertently causing a cycle of entitlement and dependency," said Rutt, who noted that a pastor in Ukraine told him, "Your helping is hurting." "That comment shifted our entire approach," said Rutt, who turned to microfinance instead of handouts. "We started sending small loans ... as low as $20," Rutt recalled. "That shift empowered the families we were serving spiritually, physically, personally, and socially with dignity to become pillars in their own communities," noted Rutt. "God prepared the soil, and the seeds of HOPE International were planted in 1997."

Outlar believes Rutt's life and ministry lines up with the mission of LCCS. "There are a lot of storms in life, but (Rutt) is saved by his Savior, and he has risen to a level of humble respectability," said Outlar. "He's not looking for notoriety. He just wants to put his head to the ground and do the work and the ministry."

Rutt's preference is to talk about individuals who have utilized loans from HOPE, and he pointed out that Nadia, "our very first client we gave a loan to in Ukraine," now owns a clothing store. "When (she) paid her last payment, she said, 'I won't be needing any more loans because I am not poor anymore,'" reported Rutt. He also discussed two Muslim women in Rwanda who received loans for their sneaker business and have since come to Christ, as well as Anastasia in Burundi who used a $20 loan to fund a wedding rental business. "When I heard from Nadia, I realized this was God's answer to prayer 17 years earlier," said Rutt.

Some of LCCS' 500 students will share their talents and testimony at the event. Outlar noted that the breakfast is designed to thank business donors but that other members of the community are invited to attend. To register, email ddissmore@lccs.cc or call 717-556-0711 by Wednesday, Nov. 8.