October 2007

Reaching Out to Youth Through the Ministries of Bethel Temple

Community Spirit

Usually when I hear a siren from a fire truck it causes me anxiety. Selfishly, I am hoping that siren never makes it to my front door. House fires are so common in these neighborhoods and it is terrifying to imagine it happening to me or my neighbors.

But on September 2, a fire truck showed up on our block and I ran to get Justis and Alecia so they could see the firemen at work—not putting out a fire, but cleaning our block!

They started out spraying down an abandoned corner property that had been full of dumped trash (see picture). Several residents of our block bagged the trash that morning and the firemen proceeded to wash it down.

Then, as they usually do, the firemen received a “real” call and had to be on their way before they finished the whole block. Men from our block completed the job.

All this was done to prepare for our Labor Day Block Party. These block parties are pretty common throughout the city, but it had been a long time since our block had a successful one.

Nes initiated the closing of the block a couple of weeks before and knocked door-to-door to encourage people to be involved and contribute food.

The result was amazing, and most of the block participated. There was lots of food, games for kids, a DJ and live music.

We did not aim for this to be a “Christian” event. However, at the end of the day, Nes and another Christian reminded our neighbors of our intention. We initiated the block party because we want them to know that we care about them and our neighborhood, and that Jesus Christ was the source of our love.

Since this event, neighbors are supporting Nes to be the new block captain with our next-door-neighbor as the co-captain. Please pray for our continued involvement in our community—that we would be able to show Christ’s love by working for a better neighborhood to live in.

Alecia Goes to School

Who’s more anxious about your child’s first day of school? The parent or the child? It is hard to say. But it was a feat to try to cover up my anxiety so that it wouldn’t worsen Alecia’s.

Alecia started preschool on September 5th. She is attending a headstart program run by an Hispanic community organization. She is learning both Spanish and English on alternating days. Alecia’s favorite friend is Luis and she also has friends named Jada, Diomani and Atabei.

Also, I have gotten involved in the Parent Committee which is just getting started. Please pray for relationships with other parents and for Alecia’s continued adjustment.

Meet You at the Pole

Praise God for bold teenagers! Jonelli was recently sitting at our kitchen table sharing her excitement about the “meet you at the pole” prayer for kids at her high school. “It was decent!” she said, describing how she shared bible passages and told other kids to come talk to her if they want to know more about being a Christian. Jonelli told us how they started with just a few, and soon a crowd gathered to pray together!

Pictured are Nes (on his birthday) with Alecia and Justis. Bryant is sharing his love for Nes, and Jonelli is next to Alecia.

SWEET NORTH PHILLY HARVEST

Garden is Flourishing

Would you believe that a vacant house collapsed onto this spot just 3 years ago. We have definitely seen transformation and it is exciting. Watch our garden grow and stay tuned for the harvest!

Neighborhood Transformation

Trash--that 's what I walk on when I step down out of my front door...chip bags, grocery bags, school papers, juice bottles, cigars, drug paraphernalia, gum... Why clean up? No one else cares... But I care. Last month I found out that a few more care when we had a block meeting with Maria Quinones Sanchez who was running for city council. She said, "We can be poor, but we don't have to be dirty." She got my vote.

As we disciple youth and teach them what it means to follow Jesus and transform their lives, we also want to teach them to see hope in the transformation of their neighborhood. Part of that is making it look nicer--even if others don't seem to care. It is setting an example and giving people a new way to look at things. That is why Nes took four teenagers to pick up a load full of compost as you see above. This is our third summer planting a garden in an empty lot across the street from our house. We are rookies at gardening, but we are trying.

Stay tuned...for the garden's status.

March 2007 News


REACHING OUT TO YOUTH THROUGH THE MINISTRIES OF BETHEL TEMPLE





INCARNATIONAL MINISTRY

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).” Jesus was God incarnate and we seek to follow His example to live among the people we are trying to reach with the gospel. Incarnational ministry is sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ by having relationships and living our daily lives with people in North Philly/ West Kensington.

I am realizing more and more that there is no other hope we can offer than the hope of the gospel—not just the hope of the gospel message, but the way God’s people (the church) live it out in the world. If Christians are to share the message of the hope, then we have a great responsibility. For example we are to meet the physical needs of the community, and show how a child of God lives and makes decisions. Too often people in the city rarely see Christians fearing God. We are called to live in this community and be a living testimony to our neighbors.

I had an encounter on my way to the auto shop around the corner from my house. I saw a childhood friend of mine named Fernando sitting on the steps of Santos’ cheese-steak place. He knows a little about the Lord and we began a conversation about it. First he started to say that the church is full of hypocrites. He may be right, but I told him that he was focusing on the wrong thing. We all fail and we all need to get back up in the power of Christ. Then he changed the topic and said, “Nes, you know that I was talking about you the other day—how your God has given you a house, two cars, a family, and you also work at church.” Fernando began to explain that he was trying to prove to a friend that God does exist. This is amazing how someone that doesn't hold on to Christ as their own Lord and Savior would defend the faith.

This incident with Fernando on the street was a moment of purpose for why we are here in the city. This is a place that I have invested the hope of Christ. The hope of the world is Christ and we as His vessels need to share that hope to this world. Let our hope from the righteousness of Christ flow through us in our daily living for the world to see and through that they will see Christ.

Verses to meditate on:
Pr 2:7 He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless.
Pr 2:8 ...for he guards the course of the just and protects the ways of the faithful ones.






YOUTH MAKE FAITH PUBLIC THROUGH BAPTISM

Bryant was led to the Lord in November of 2005 at our annual camp Men-O-Lan retreat. He is 15 years old and a sophomore in High School. He also plays football for his school and our Timoteo league (he an Eagle). Bryant lives on our block and so we have many opportunities to talk about what it means to live for Christ. He asks lots of pointed questions. I have known Bryant since he was a baby. He lives with his Dad and brother, Montrez just four doors down from us. Pray for the continual growth of Bryant and the salvation of the rest of his family. At his baptism his mom and aunt, whom6 we had never met before, attended.

Angel has been a part of the ministry for about 6 years. Angel is a very confident and respectful young adult that likes to serve. He is a senior in high school. He is a junior leader for the middle school ministry that meets every Thursday night. He is 17 years old and lives with his Mom and step-dad and younger brother. Pray for the direction of his future and the continual growth of his faith. He is also a “Raider” in the Timoteo Flag Football League.

Victor (pictured above) is a freshman at Community College of Philadelphia. He is 18 years old and has been with the youth ministry for about 3 years. He also helps with the middle school ministry as an adult leader. He started as a junior leader and now has stepped up. This year he is transitioning from the Raiders to Eagles to become my assistant coach. He has a desire to grow in his leadership skills. Pray for the continual growth in his faith and his connection with the adults of the church.

These guys are also among those involved in our weekly discipleship group. They desire to grow deeper in their faith with Christ. Pray for their futures and their daily decisions as Christians. Pray for me as their teacher and shepherd.

Youth Hike

Urban Hike

Is hiking a grueling trail in the nation's fifth largest city an oxymoron? That's what our kids thought when Nes told them he was going to take the senior high discipleship group on a hike in Philly. "We thought you were going to take us to Hunting Park," remarked one of the teenagers about a neighborhood park where dogs take walks, kids play basketball and street hockey and drug users shoot up. Little did they know that just 15 minutes from their neighborhood they would find a challenge and delight without leaving the city.

Nes began a new type of "youth group" for the senior high last fall. We found that we had a core group of kids who needed to grow deeper in their relationships with Christ. So we changed the format of youth group to be that of a discipleship group. It includes deeper studies into how Christ wants us to live. We also want to instill a sense of love for our city and community and a desire to transform it. The kids will be involved in service projects like cleaning the church, making repairs, and working on a garden lot.