The Matthew Initiative

We first met C J at Kresge getting ready for the start of The Kresge Kids.  He looked at the pile of Super Hero costumes and decided to be Kid Confidence.  When the program got underway and 40 kids started coming, I remember C J sitting in the church library, dressed in his Kid Confidence costume and waiting to make an appearance during large group.  Often, he had a buddy or a girl friend with him.  He always asked me if I would like to go mud bike riding….and being from East Cobb, I thanked him, and asked him to be careful for his mother’s sake.  In many ways C J was Kid  Confidence.  The world was his playground and he walked with a very confident swagger, usually had somewhere to go and someone to be with when Kresge Kids was over. Mostly, C J had a very big heart and was really one of the kids. 

When the program outgrew the fellowship hall and we moved into the sanctuary, we needed someone to run tech.  C J stepped forward and Wednesday’s were more fun because C J was in the balcony being C J.  I will always remember looking up and watching him do his own version of Big House, and YMCA.  He was always helpful and willing to help us move whatever needed moving.  He loved to play with the kids in the great yard behind the church.  Touch football was never the same when C J was there; the big kid thing again.  

C J had an interesting school career, his mother tells me.  He knew how to strip a car in 20 minutes. His love life was interesting too, and I will not even go there.  C J was special , and not just because he had three Kidney’s! He loved coming to Kresge, and he loved his church family there…even though sometimes his church family was not quite sure what to do with him.

No one loved C J more than his mother, and one of God’s special people.  C J’s mom sat at the check in table at Kresge and welcomed the children of Cedartown each wednesday.  One of the most creative people I have ever met, this amazing mom has overcome things that would have made most of us give up and toss it in.  Not C J’s Mom….and she was determined that her boy would do the same.  The mother son thing is special to watch.  This was especially special.  

On Monday we learned that C J’s mom would face her greatest challenge; C J died in an explosion in Cedartown early monday morning that still does not make sense.  I remember hearing it on the news Monday morning, and hoped it would not be anyone from Kresge. But it was C J, and the world and his mom have lost someone very special.  

We mourn with hope and remember that what we are doing is eternal, and the people who come into our lives on this journey are gifts from God.  

Thanks C J for those moments in the balcony and for being a great Kid Confidence for the Kresge Kids.  Save a place for us at the great banquet table we have all talked about at Kresge.  In the mean time, we will be working to make a place at the table for so many others like you; big kids with a big heart who Jesus said would get to the Kingdom first.  

And to C J’s mom-  know with certainty that God with with you now, more than ever, and He has given you many, many spiritual children. They come on the Kresge and Aragon vans every wednesday night to Kresge Kids.  What a great reunion in heaven that will be …C J and all of your Kresge Kids.  

Thanks Be to God for the all too brief life of C J Wells.   

Druid Hills UMC sits on the Intersection of Ponce, Moreland and Briarcliff avenues in the beginning of the Druid Hills area of Midtown.  The church has had a rich history and the facilities tell a story of a church that has seen some crowds on that strategic corner.  The church has some young families coming back to it, but has struggled to get up past 12 children on Sunday mornings.  The DHUMP preschool is one of the best, however, with over 200 children attending.  

I met with the wonderful new children’s leader of Druid Hills early this year at the Majestic diner.  We toured the building and went upstairs to meet the DHUMP director and see the wonderful classrooms and brightly colored hallways of the preschool.   Did I mention that SPARKS elementary school is just behind the gym?  This is a church who does not need to go very far to find the children God has in mind.  

After a series of meetings with the young parents and interested members of Druid Hills, we decided to do a VBS on the third week of July.  The meeting to organize the week was a joyful one and I was surprised at how many stepped forward to volunteer for key positions.  I asked the former pastor of the church what the win would look like: he thought for a long time and said ” 15 kids would be huge”.  Registration opened online and we held our breath to see if anyone would register for VBS.  When June hit, we were busy with the other summer VBS programs I have blogged about , and did not hear from Druid Hills, at all.  The week before the VBS was to begin I sent out an e-mail to see if any children had registered, and did not think the answer would be a good one.  I was looking forward to having that week to re-group after a busy and powerful Summer.  Soon, and e-mail came back from the children’s leader: 15 children…maybe more had registered.  They were thrilled.  I was in shock.  Never, never, under estimate what God and some determined volunteers can do. It turned out to be the great surprise of our summer. 

Druid HIlls welcomed a new pastor, Dave Allen Grady and VBS got underway.  I must say that this VBS was a joyful, and wonderful experience, and did I mention a total surprise?  The church is blessed with talented lay leaders who were amazing with the children.  We had visiting children from the DHUMP preschool and community outside the church.  For three joyful days we gathered in the Fellowship Hall of the church in the Shake it Up Cafe and the program got up to 19 children.  If you count a baby that came with some young parents who just wanted to hang out and be part of what was happening….Druid Hills had 20 kids in VBS.   What a great way to end an amazing summer.  

I believe that Druid Hills UMC is poised to raise the children’s ministries banner over Midtown and can become the leader in the revitalization of the churches of Druid Hills, Midtown and East Atlanta.  I believe that Druid Hills can give hope to church in that entire area to churches who do not have hope that they too can revitalize their children’s ministries program.   We will look forward to seeing what is going to happen there this year, and we will be praying for them.  

A wonderful song was introduced to the children of the Druid Hills VBS…..and in so many ways it summarized what we experienced this summer….Give Thanks

Give Thanks to the Holy One

Give Thanks for what God has done

Give Thanks for He’s given Jesus christ for us

And now let the weak say I am Strong

Let the poor say I am Rich

He has given Jesus Christ for us….Give Thanks.  

We give thanks to Druid Hills for allowing us to lead one of the most joyful weeks of the summer and pray that you will move boldly into your great future.  We give thanks for all of you and for the sounds of children in your fellowship and all that means for your church.  

Martha Brown UMC sits on one of the most strategic corners in Atlanta: Metropolitan and Moreland Ave.  It is strategic for many reasons and always very busy.  The big red door to the historic church seems to be almost on the street in colorful east Atlanta.  The huge building facility seems to scream that this was once a thriving church with a huge attendance, and the pictures on the walls inside the church give testimony that it was once a “happening place”.  It still is; just in a different way. There are large groups of people coming into Martha Brown during the week; now they are community groups representing the various situations that life can sometimes throw at you.  There is also a wonderful and growing number of parents with young children at MB on potluck Wednesdays.  These young parents have made a commitment to being in east Atlanta and all that comes with it for their children and on potluck Wednesday’s the fellowship hall at MB is a happening and happy place.  

I met Heather Jallad, the pastor at MB almost a year ago. She called and asked if we could meet with her about their church’s children’s program and after a couple of meetings some changes were made to the Sunday morning program, and it has started to grow.  It is tough in East Atlanta and not the church crowd we are used to seeing in the suburbs.  It was at one of the pot luck suppers this spring that the idea came to us that it was time to do a VBS at Martha Brown.  I am not sure if some of the parents I talked to even knew what a VBS might be, but we set the date for the third week in June and hung a sign over the front red door off Moreland Ave. that a VBS was going to be held at MB and it was open to the children of the community.  I don’t know when the last VBS at MB was held before this year, but I think it is a very telling thing when no one can remember.   

The night we had our VBS training things got very strange.  A huge thunderstorm came up from out of no where, a tree caught on fire by a lightening strike, and then it hailed like crazy.  It made me wonder what we might be in store for.  Interesting things continued to happen at MB, and soon we were decorating the church for the start of VBS.  I am proud of the parents who volunteered for VBS at MB, and they were amazing for a church with very few children.  One wonderful couple fixed supper each evening for the children and their families and it was a great start to three memorable evenings.  

A total of 8 to 10 children attended VBS at MB.  However, here are some things that made the week so very special:  

• Scraps the Raccoon was amazing
• The children rotated as one large group and had the best time; sometime small is better.
• The leaders were amazing and not stressed out because they actually enjoyed what they were doing
• Almost all of the parents stayed and rotated through the various centers with their children. Some of the parents were visiting MB for the first time, and the kids LOVED having their parents with them.  
• The laughter and sounds of children were heard in the classrooms and hallways of MB and it was a wonderful, healing sound.  

The last center of the evening was Bible story.  One of the moments I have “freeze framed ” about the week was pastor Heather and the children remembering Pentecost, and learning the evening theme: “Celebrate God Forever”.  Martha Brown has enjoyed a glorious past, and in the transition of it’s neighborhood, has become a small church in a very large building.  However, during the third week of June, children raised their voices and promised to celebrate God forever.  This fall Martha Brown will open the doors to the children of East Atlanta on Wednesday evenings.  Child trafficking is a serious concern in East Atlanta and the corner of Moreland and Metropolitan is a closely watched area of concern.  Can you think of a better corner to “celebrate God Forever”. 

Indeed.  See you Wednesdays at Martha Brown this fall.   

When you have a big gym that has not been used in awhile, you need to do an “Extreme VBS” to get kids into it.  That is what we set out to do with Chapel Hill UMC last week in Rome, Georgia.  See the Chapel Hill blog a while back about the Easter Egg Hunt.  

We literally planned this VBS via conference call from Atlanta, sent the volunteers a list of supplies and told them that they needed to get out and invite the invisible kids of their community.  Chapel Hill UMC has a great big gym, but very few children.  Extreme VBS got underway on Monday July 11th.  This is what I reported to their congregation on Sunday July 17th at the celebration service:

The narrative of Chapel Hill UMC changed this week, and it was wonderful to witness.  Here are the stories we were all witness to:

Van Ministry - you now have a van ministry.  You went out and made relationships and the children here this morning are the biggest testament to it.  11 children rode the van to CHUMC on Friday.  You have a hurting community that needs your church needs to be a light to them.

47 children came this week and had a great time of fun and learning. 7 to 8 middle and high school kids also came and this could be the beginning of your new youth group.

The Gym - was one of the best facilities we have worked in, ever.  Basketball, baseball and volleyball was played in your gym this week. The sounds of laughter were heard in your gym and it should be looked at as an incredible gift to your community.  

Your volunteers made Chapel Hill a place of joy and hospitality to the children and youth of  Rome this week.  Thank you Rome First UMC , and Trinity UMC for your help this week.  We saw our connectional ministry at it’s best.  

Indeed God changed your story this week, and how we plan and move forward will be our response to what He did here this week.  You have an amazing opportunity to reach an entire community with the good news that they have a really big God.  

Well done Chapel Hill and we will see where this story goes next.  

Kids Camp 

Grace United Methodist Church 

In Partnership with Mt. Bethel UMC and Atlanta Action Ministries

Church partnerships are interesting things.  Sometimes they are difficult and prickly, but sometimes amazing things can happen through them.  Sometimes an ordinary day turns into something out of the ordinary and changes everything. Wednesday the 29th of June was one of those days at Grace UMC in Midtown Atlanta.  

Last Fall at the Halloween festival at Grace UMC a staff member of Atlanta Action ministries mentioned that if we ( The Matthew Initiative)  were to start a children’s program at Grace UMC, they had children who could attend.  These are not ordinary children; they would be from the homeless shelters of Midtown Atlanta.  

Also last year, Mt. Bethel UMC in Marietta began a ministry to the least, and the lost.  They have been going to get homeless individuals and treating them as their guests in their beautiful church in East Cobb.  The spirit has been stirring at Mt. Bethel and this summer they have been hosting churches from all over the country to come and help minister to the homeless population in downtown Atlanta.  Come they have to Mt. Bethel  and it has been amazing to witness.  

I met Gabe Barrett in March wandering lost through the maze of the youth department at Mt. Bethel.  I was following up on a conversation I had with Dr. Mickler about their youth helping one of our churches this summer.  Gabe was new there and was working out the summer schedule for the visiting churches, and we hatched an idea to bring the kids from Action ministries for a two day VBS at Grace UMC to see how it would go. The dates were set for June 28th and 29th and we welcomed the children from “the kids camp” at Grace UMC on a hot Tuesday morning.  The first day was awesome with a visiting group from Florida.  The kids had a great time, and went back to the shelter to tell the other kids about something special happening at Grace.  

On Wednesday morning a group from Virginia arrived and it became apparent that they were special; something was going on with their pastor Scott when he came into the historic church .  They immediately began to interact with the kids and there was an instant connection with the kids.  In the morning a trip to Krispy Kreme was followed by a trip to the Auburn Street Curb market in downtown.  As we settled into the afternoon to begin our VBS , we noticed the pastor interacting with the kids.  Some of them would sit in his lap and he would sing to them.  Some of them came over to put their heads on his shoulder, and again, he would talk and sing to them.  Mid afternoon he asked me to show him the neighborhoods around Grace; as diverse as they come. So off we went to both sides of Ponce De Leon the great divide in Atlanta.  There is great need on the south side on Ponce and he was quiet as we drove through the streets.   

The afternoon went quicky and soon it was time for the kids to go on their bus back to their temporary “home”.  The group said some emotional good-byes to this amazing group from Virginia and loaded onto the bus.  The minister of the group missed the goodbyes , but came out just as the bus was pulling away.  Watching it from the 4th floor of the church I will never forget what happened next.  The bus stopped, and all of the kids came off of the bus and into the arms of the minister with his arms outstretched.  

A giant group hug went on for awhile. It was as if Jesus was stretching out his arms to welcome those children to his house and they were His guests that day.  Then the kids returned to the bus and off they went.  

The group with some time to spare decided to do a tour of Grace church.  Grace has very few children and no youth at the present.  They were quite emotional about that.  

When we returned to the entrance to the church on the first floor I noticed some of the group sitting on the stairs praying and reflecting on their day .  The minister then called his group up to the second floor entrance to Grace where a Garden water fountain sits bubbling water most days.  The entire group ( and two Mt. Bethel interns) gathered around that fountain and I was not sure what was going to happen next; but something very powerful began to move among us and one by one the members of the Virginia group stepped forward to “reclaim their baptism”.  Both of the ministers reclaimed their baptism at that garden water fountain and remembered why they were in the ministry in the entrance to the offices at Grace church last Wednesday.  When the water was placed on everyone’s heads the minister, obviously experiencing something profound said “remember feeding the homeless under the bridge and this day” .  When it was his turn he said “ I expected to be moved by feeding the homeless under the bridge, but this day was a total surprise.” 

Surprise indeed.  It is not often we are witness to the arrival of the Holy Spirit ; it is stunning, powerful, and it will change you.  None of us will ever be the same.  

God speed to our group from Virginia.  Thanks Gabe for this amazing partnership. 

Thanks be to God for Mt. Bethel and the amazing opportunity you are giving to churches this summer.  You are changing lives on both sides of the great divide.  We will keep you posted about that program for the “Camp Kids” that needs to start somewhere in Midtown Atlanta. 

May the spirit that came in power at Grace fill every corner of your church - may none of us ever be the same.    

OK, I wrote a great narrative of this amazing “event” from last week, but the Tumblr blog ate it!  That is how it is going….but determined for all of you to know where I have been and what God has been doing in such an amazing way. I am posting the events that took place last week as I shared them with our prayer intercessors.

To God be the Glory!  If you can recommend another blog spot , please let me know!

Dear Prayer Intercessors and Friends of The Matthew Initiative:

Thanks for all of your prayers for the VBS mission trip to Pensacola ,
Florida last week in partnership with Sacred Tapestry UMC here in
Atlanta.  Again, God was so faithful and we were all blessed beyond
any of our expectations .  I want to share some of the highlights from
last week.  I will be blogging about it tonight at
TheMatthewInitiative.tumblr.com.  But, before I share with the public,
I wanted to share with you first. Richards Memorial is my home church
and sits in one of the neediest neighborhoods in Pensacola.  The
church was shut down two years ago and has been struggling to come
back as a community center.

1.  We started with a block party; when it became evident that only a
few kids ( 8 or so) were going to attend, I just felt compelled to go
out into the neighborhood to see if we could invite children to come.
It has been awhile since I did anything like this.   I saw a young
mother going into a very rough looking house and asked if there were
any children who wanted to come to our party ( I had someone with
me!). About 10 children came to the door.  Their mom said they could
come, but some of them did not have shoes.  We brought them anyway to
the party.   Later in the afternoon one of the mom’s from the house
brought her preschooler and baby to the block party.  She left them
with us and asked if we could feed them.   When we brought the kids
home, we learned that the kids were living in a crack house.  No
electricity or air conditioning, and barely any furniture.

2.  The kids were ready to come back to church the next day when we
picked them up.  They had a great time and did not want to leave when
it was time to do so.   Again, a mother brought her baby and
preschooler to the first day of VBS from the house.  We had gotten up
to 20 kids on the second day.

3.  On the second day of our three day VBS, we were met at the door by
an 18 year old holding a premature baby and in charge of a 4 year old.
 He explained that the kids could not come, but the preschooler could.
 As we were putting the preschooler in the car he came out and asked
if he could also come!  He went through the entire day with the
preschooler and ate like he was very hungry. The mom brought her
preschooler and baby back and told  ( our 18 year old friend)  to
tell her preschool son that he had to come home after VBS….he would
not want to , but he had to come home.  We think this is why the other
children did not come back. Our older friend did not want to go back , so the
group from ST just talked with him and loved on him.  Both pastors
from Richards also spent time with him.  It was hard to bring him
home, but he asked to come back the next day.  The teenagers from
Sacred Tapestry pooled their allowances and bought clothes, shoes, and
baby formula to share with the children in the house on the last day
of VBS.

4.  When we came to get our older friend on Thursday, our last day, he asked if
his 17 year old sister could come also.  She was the mother of the
premature baby.  When they got in the car they said that they had
talked to lots of their friends and family who had children who wanted
to come to VBS.  We made three trips to get kids with Devon that
morning, and when it was over , 50 children were there on the last day
of VBS!  Devon the evangelist brought them with him to VBS!
Somehow the food stretched and everyone was fed.  Then, parents
started coming in from the neighborhood with their children and stayed
with them to watch the program that just happened to be on John 3:16.
I am sure we had at least 85 people there including many parents who
were with their children.

5.  A grandfather told us that his grandson  had loved the week.
 His dad was in prison and his mother left him 3 months before.  It
was the first time he had seen him smile since his mother left.   A
beautiful child whose smile we will never forget.

6.  10 rising 6th graders showed up on the last day.  We just made
them an older elementary group and they did well with a children’s
program, just happy to be there.

7.  When VBS was over and everyone was taken home , the associate
minister was in tears.  He said he hoped that this could continue
because he believed it could change the church like nothing else
could.  Then, then there was a knock on the door and it was our older friend..
He had walked back to the church and asked if there was a GED program
he could start at the church.  Just so happened , they were starting
one in July and he enrolled in it.  The group of moms from Sacred
Tapestry brought him home again.   He had connected with the church
and found friends, and maybe a new beginning there.

8.  On Monday I talked with the District Superintendent of the
Pensacola district.  He said that this ” movement ” needed to
continue and that they would see to it that his other  churches were
given an opportunity to be part of it. He believes that what started
here could change that entire community.  I am forming a steering
committee about identifying leaders to build a sustainable children’s
program at Richards Memorial in Pensacola.  It is going to stretch us
to do this long distance, but I  think I am seeing that this is may be
the direction God is going to take The Matthew Initiative.

To God be the Glory…..and we will keep you posted.
Thank you prayer intercessors…..our next VBS will be at Martha Brown
UMC in East Atlanta.  This VBS is important for many reasons.  Please
be in prayer for this VBS in another church who has not had one in
many, many years.  Please also be in prayer for wisdom and discernment
for us as we continue to watch God unfold an amazing story in front of
us.

A year ago when we first began meeting with the team at Kresge, none of us had any idea of what we were about to embark on.  What I know one year later, is that it is Kresge that will define the mission of the Matthew Initiative.  

Last evening was our last official night at Kresge UMC in Cedartown.  I wondered what it would be like to stand back and witness what we built together, and have the volunteer team lead the program without our help.  That is indeed what happened last night.  And then just for fun, God decided to have the final word on one amazing year of ministry and transformation with the Kresge Kids.

It was strange walking into the building knowing your time and season of ministry there was over.  It is wonderful to see the program in capable hands and the volunteer team ready and prepared to take control.  That was our mission from day one. It is something else again to watch it happen.  Words can’t describe it, and it is a very humbling experience.  

The Kresge kids had no idea we were there for our last night, and the transition has been seamless.  The volunteers knew, and they were a bit more quiet than usual.  My evening started with a teary reflection meeting with pastor Rebecca.  We discussed the year, and the future of the church.  She is a different pastor than the one we met this time last year; she wants to rent a building in the downtown area that the parents of the children might actually come to.  I believe she will do this.  There is a new fire, strength and certainty to what she is about.  I celebrate that with her.   

When it was time for the program to begin, the children gathered in the sanctuary for our last large group together.  We sat in the back and took it in.  The music was great. Miss Lynn is back from her time away due to the recent destruction of her property and shared how a mom and her two kids on the van brought dinner and gifts to them recently at what was left of their home.  Two families that will never be the same since the Kresge van took off on that first wednesday evening.  

The story was beautifully told by our new ( and fabulous) large group leader.  We noticed a prayer wall board up in front of the kids.  After the story was told, the children were given an opportunity to share prayer requests.  Two new volunteers wrote them down and placed them on the prayer wall board.  And then the children were asked to spend some time as a class looking at the prayer wall before they went to small group.  One group at a time, the children came forward to the prayer wall and we watched to see what they would do.  Spontaneous worship and praise from the children began.  Some stood quietly, others knelt at the altar, some touched the wall.  One of the older boys raised his Bible up to the wall and stood there…like he wanted God to know that he was there.   This went on for awhile.  All were quiet, all were in awe of the big God that they had learned about this year.  And He was there with them.  It was a moment of reverent response, awe and worship from children that I have never experienced.  

We left before the Kresge Kids lined up to get on the van.  Our work at Kresge is done.  This Sunday we will celebrate with the greater church and declare Kresge a charter church of the Matthew Initiative.  There are many churches waiting for us to help them  begin or restart their children’s ministries program.  This summer we will be part of no less than 6 Vacation Bible School’s and hopefully starts of ongoing programs.   All of them wonder if what happened at Kresge is in store for them.   Each church will be different.  Each church will have to define and go after the children God intends to be in their churches.  But God will be with them , and He will use them to show the children we have not met yet one amazing thing:  they have a really Big God.  He will use those churches to reach children and families.  The kids will change their church and re-define their mission.  

Thank you Kresge UMC.  You will be a special part of every church we move into going forward.  We look forward to worshiping with you in that downtown store front one day soon! 

April 16th was a day that many of us will long remember.  It was the Saturday of the Easter Egg Hunt at Chapel Hill in Rome, Georgia.  Many churches held Easter Egg hunts this day, but this one was special.

 The church was down to about 60 plus active members and few children and families had been on the campus in quite awhile. In the growth phase of the church in the 90’s a state of the art gym had been built to house the church’s growing ministries.  When the pastor who led this growth phase was moved to a big Atlanta church , things began to slow down.  The membership started to decline and eventually the gym was closed and the lights were turned off.  The small membership of mostly senior adults have been paying down the debt on their empty gym. It had become for them a symbol of something other than their success.  

When we met with the wonderful members of Chapel Hill in January, they were enjoying a new relationship with a new pastor.  Ken and I worked together at Kresge UMC until he was sent to Chapel Hill to get the church back on it’s feet:  lucky Chapel Hill!  He had begun to tell them that they needed to start thinking about how God was going to bless their church and move it forward.  I found myself standing in front of them in their sanctuary, trying to figure out how they could get just one success story in the coming year.   We decided to open up the locked up gym and use it for a community outreach event; an Easter Egg Hunt . 

In the meeting the members started volunteering to organize the event.  We had most all of our volunteers at the end of the meeting that day. You just have to love people who are willing to take a risk and work hard to bring their church back.  Later the group organized a garage sale and raised over $1200.00 to pay for the event.  Their was an energy and focus the church had not seen in awhile.  They sent flyers out everywhere in Rome…day care centers, places of business, and grocery stores.   Soon it was the Friday before the big event and we found ourselves on the way to Rome to set up for the Easter Egg Hunt.  We told Chapel Hill to start praising God for what He was going to do, and secretly hoped that prayer would be answered.   

That Friday, Rome experienced one of the worst storms in several years.  The ground looked like snow covered in hail and the power was out in the newly opened gym where the activities were to be held.   The rain and wind were especially fun.  

On Saturday morning when we arrived, there was still no power in the gym.  The volunteers were there in their matching t-shirts for the morning and ready to go, but no power in the gym.  For some reason my daughter walked over to the light switch, flipped it on and THE POWER CAME ON IN THE GYM!  Now, the thing that is so amazing about that, is the gym is the only building on the campus that had power.  Even the traffic light on the main highway was out, but the power was in the gym.  A buzz started among the volunteers…maybe God was real at Chapel Hill.  

We gathered for prayer and asked God to be with the children and families getting ready to come to the Easter Egg Hunt.  And then we held our breath, and waited.  

The first families started arriving at 10:40 for an 11:00 start.  I worried that the volunteers would be a bit too excited when the families were welcomed, but welcome these families they did. At the end of the morning Chapel Hill welcomed over 47 families and 81 children! The parking lot was full for the first time in many years, and people were emotional about it.  Over 7 children signed up for a VBS to be held in July: Extreme Sports VBS….what else! Not sure when a VBS was last held at Chapel Hill, but there will be one this year.  

Of all the things I will remember about that great day, it will be the way the church experienced God.  He was indeed with them, and blessed their work and planning.  People were back on the campus, even if it was only for two hours.  They began to believe in themselves again.  More importantly, they knew that God had not forgotten them in the stormy days of the church’s past.  He was there in the sun light of a new day at Chapel Hill blessing their efforts.  And…the power was in the gym.   

As we move forward with the volunteers , we can’t wait to see what God has in store for the days ahead.   

The Chapel Hill VBS will be July 11-14th in the gym.  

Thanks Be to God!  

The Bridge 

Cartersville, Georgia  

A little under a year ago, we tried to imagine what our first charter church would look like when our work was done and the new children’s program was in the hands of the ones who who take over from us.  On Sunday May 1st it happened; The Bridge in Cartersville Georgia ” flew the plane solo” and we are about to hand over the controls.   

The Bridge is the church plant who re-did the Hooka Bar in the shopping center off I75.  What has happened since then is amazing;  

The children’s program re-launched in late January with a pajama party.  Over 69 kids and volunteers were in attendance.  

Visitors have been coming steadily since they moved into their new space.  They now have a preschool room, a nursery room and a growing elementary aged room.   

Some of the children attending have never been in any church before. It is amazing to watch them respond to the stories we are familiar with, for the first time.  Is there a theme here?  

The volunteers have started showing up, finally.  

Earlier this year two amazing mothers stepped forward to lead the program.  They got in, organized and decorated the space and have made Bridge Kids a place of joy and hospitality for the children.  We have loved watching them grow into their new leadership roles. The stories of how the children are responding are nothing short of  amazing.    

Sunday they did all of the planning, volunteer communications and execution of the Bridge Kids program.  There were portions of it that were actually better than what we could have planned!  

It was a moment we hoped would come, but did finally come…our first successful ministry model church.  It has been a year of hard slogging, but so wonderful to witness.  

So, we now turn over the controls to our wonderful leaders and will be back to check in on them this month.  We will celebrate what God has done at the Bridge on Memorial day Sunday.  

The Bridge church in Cartersville, Georgia will always be our first Charter church.  

We expect them to take over that entire shopping center off I 75 before this time next year.  They probably already need it for their growing elementary program.  

Well done Bridge Church….you already are inspiring many other new churches.  You will always be a special part of our story .   

Lynn Self has been the coordinator for the Kresge Kids , almost since the first Maundy Thursday meeting.  She has never been sure why she was at that meeting, but I am glad she was.  Her husband Charlie has been coordinating the Van for the Kresge Kids for awhile now.   The Kresge Kids love them both and so do all of their volunteers who come each week to work under their direction.   

Lynn and Charlie lived in a beautiful home that has been in Lynn’s family for years.  It sits on the meandering creek between Cave Springs and Cedartown.  I have been in that home many times working out issues with The Kresge Kids and their many problems and triggers.  After an especially rough Wednesday , we gathered at their home by the creek to ponder, reflect and work things out.  Their home is a place of peace and hospitality, much like Kresge has become.  

The Wednesday program this week was cancelled because of impending bad weather.  I talked with Lynn on Wednesday afternoon and agreed it was not a night to be out picking up children on the van.  When we heard the storm cells were close to the Kresge Kids area of Cedartown,  we prayed for their protection.  Wednesday night a tornado near Cave Springs completely destroyed Lynn and Charlie’s home.  

When I talked with Lynn Thursday morning, she was in shock.  They were in the home when the Tornado hit, and were in an interior bedroom.  They went out into the living room when they heard glass shattering, but it was gone!  Lynn did not say much about what happened next, but it took the search and rescue people an hour and a half to pull them out of what was left of their home.  By the grace of God, neither of them had a single scratch.  Lynn told me that all of their beautiful trees were totally gone, and some chickens had landed in their yard.  

Our prayers go out to all who have experienced such great loss this week. They will live in a camper home until their own home can be rebuilt.  Please keep Lynn and Charlie in your prayers .  When I talked with her this afternoon, she said that the Kresge Kids needed to continue this coming Wednesday, and that if the storm disaster people get to her house by then, most likely, she and Charlie would be back at Kresge.

God has promised to be with us in the shadow of the valley of death.  He was with Lynn, Charlie and surely all of the victims of this week’s storms.  We give thanks to God for sparing Lynn and Charlie, and commit to His care those who were not.  God was also with them in that valley.

 See you Wednesday Lynn and Charlie.