LAS VEGAS, NV from www.covchurch.org – Lisa Holmlund looked up and saw the bright lights of Caesar’s Palace. Millions of people do it every year, but she had a view seen from a perspective few others know is possible.

She was peering up through a street manhole that allowed the brilliant lights to shine down into the drainage tunnels that are home to hundreds of homeless people.

Holmlund, director of student ministries, and four other young adults from Montecito Covenant Church in Santa Barbara, California, traveled during spring break so they could minister to people above ground and beneath the gutters.

Estimates of the number of people who live in the tunnels range from roughly 400 to 2,000. The complex maze of tunnels run beneath some of the glitziest hotels. They are part of the city’s underground storm system built to protect the desert adult playground from occasional heavy rains.

“It is pitch black in the tunnels,” Holmlund says. “It had rained a few times this past month, so it was also damp. We definitely had to walk through gross water in these tunnels filled with garbage, broken bottles, old sheets, random everything. I’ll be honest – there were times I got really nervous while in the tunnels.”

The team was led to the tunnels by Strip Church, which draws its name from the famous stretch of Vegas real estate. The church is connected with XXXChurch and Fireproof Ministries, which reach out to people working and living on the strip as well as other places that many people fear or feel too uncomfortable to visit.

One of the women on the Montecito team had been eager to go with Holmlund when the pastor invited her to participate. Holmlund did not know the woman’s past and was surprised by her response, “That’s where I was homeless and on drugs.”

“Jesus has obviously made a huge transformation in her life,” Holmlund says. “It was so interesting to have her share with us about the lives of these individuals who are willing to do anything to make a living, specifically if you are a single mother. We learned later that more than 90 percent of the women who are dancers or strippers in Vegas are single moms.”

During part of the trip, the group traveled on the Strip Church bus (pictured) boldly painted with the message “Jesus Loves Sin City” and a picture of Jesus emblazoned on the side. “We drove all around the city in it, including up and down the strip,” Holmlund says. “People stared at us, some took pictures of the bus, some cursed at the bus and turned their head away thinking we were sinful ourselves. Some laughed. It was crazy.”

The five-member team ministered to prostitutes, addicts, homeless, and employees of adult bookstores, Holmlund says. The team also made balloon animals for people at a local swap meet while sharing the gospel, also serving meals at several sites.

Additionally, the team helped Amistad Covenant Church host a dinner for people who are not part of the congregation. Amistad is the first Evangelical Covenant Church plant in the city, having formally launched earlier this month. Arturo and Sandra Sales, who are planting the church, assisted Holmlund in planning the trip.

Holmlund said she initiated the trip because “I wanted to look at compassion, mercy, and justice in uncomfortable places.” The five now have an expanded vision of what that means.