As another school year begins, and I prepare for another year of mentoring at Wayne Elementary School, I take some time to reflect on our efforts from the last school year. We were able to establish some pretty good relationships with the staff and the students of Wayne Elementary, as well as with the residents surrounding the school. We were able to provide lunch for the entire school staff during teachers appreciation week. We had about 17 boys in our after school mentoring program and were able to pour into their lives. During the summer, we put on a soccer tournament which drew a pretty good response from the community. The event which touched my heart the most, was the back to school back pack give away we had in August. We gave away 270 brand new back packs with school supplies and even had to turn a few people away because we ran out. I was overcome with joy when I saw how the community responded. While passing out fliers for the event, I had a number of residents approach me about helping in anyway that they could. The adult residents were so appreciative of our labor of love. I had the privilege of meeting and talking with quite a few long time residents and with some community workers. These are folks who love their neighborhood and are especially concerned for the children of that neighborhood. We talked about some of the problems facing the community and about things we could do to help solve these problems.
[coll_text max_font_size=”30″ min_font_size=”25″]Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” – Matthew 9:37-38[/coll_text]
I am deeply encouraged by our experiences with the community around Wayne Elementary. I feel that this community is ripe for the kind of community church I desire to plant there. The people are hungry for something good, positive and uplifting. Nothing can meet the needs of this community the way that the right kind of church can. Every day I dream about bringing that right kind of church to this community. A church which preaches a life transforming message of redemption through Jesus Christ. A church where the members reflect the love of God by sacrificing their own comforts in order to meet the needs of others. A church where the members view themselves as being on mission, a mission to see God’s redeeming power bring radical transformation to the entire community. Over the past year I’ve begin to really bond with this neighborhood in the 48224 zip code. My prayer is that God would inspire many more to come on board with me and help bring this dream to pass. I’m looking for other big dreamers, who believe with me that God can redeem and transform this community. I’m looking for people who are ready and willing to be the hands and the mouth piece for God to show His love and proclaim His gospel to a ripe community. (Matthew 9:37-38)