Saturday, September 25, 2010
After School Kids...LOVE THEM!!
On Thursday afternoon we drove out to the Dream Center. (I think I might have explained what the dream center is before but just in case I never did... The Dream Center is a community center in the most criminalized area of Tulsa. Since Pastors Billy Joe and Sharon opened the dream center the criminal statistics have lowered significantly in that area, PRAISE GOD! The center is a food bank, after school program, attorney assistance, and many other different types of outreaches for this area.) This particular day we helped in the after school program. We tutored the kids and assisted in any homework that they needed to do. This outreach was awesome! One of my favorites so far. I sat down with two second graders, Jazmine and Demeaco. It was so fun helping and getting to know them. I was able to help out with their math homework. And yes I was secretly praising God for the math because if it had been history or science they probably would have needed to help me instead. ;) I can't wait to go back and see the both of them again. This ministry is great way to be mentors to these kids who so desperately need positive influences in their lives!!
Monday, September 13, 2010
Bus Ministry!
Saturday was a big day for us. We had Bus Ministry until 2 or 3 and then we had our Block Party outreach in our apartment complex at 4.
We were asked last week if we would commit to Bus Ministry. This ministry sends out buses every Saturday morning and buses in approximately 350-400 inner-city kids ages 3-12 to bring them to their own church service. To give an explanation of how much of an impact that this ministry is would never do it justice. In fact, when I was asked to commit to it I said no. My IMT team is apart of so many other outreaches I didn't want to over do it. Well...
We showed up Saturday morning at 7:30 am ready to go out to pick up the kids. When I got on the bus and met the bus captain and he began to tell me what it is like to pick the kids up every week and take them to service and then take them home. It just started to capture my heart. Even before I saw one child God began to give me His heart of compassion. I never have felt so mandated to serve a generation ever. Of course, once the kids started filing in. With each child, with each smile, with each frown, with each child filled with fear, and with each child filled with happiness, my heart just completely broke. It took about 1 minute to know that I was DEFINITELY commiting to this ministry.
These kids are from very broken homes... homes of drug abuse, alcohol abuse, physical abuse, and every other kind of abuse you can think of. Their role models are in jail, or on their way there. Most of these kids haven't got a clue what it is like to be loved or to love.
Pastor Rod says it like this, "Children won't just come to church...we must "GO" get them!"
So...we do just that. We go get them. The service is awesome for these kids. They receive the word of God play games and interact with people that love them. The bus ride itself is a HUGE ministry opportunity. These kids want love, they want respect, they are dying for the feeling of significance. Most of them beg to help you in anyway possible, they beg to sit in your lap, and they beg to be appreciated. It's hard. Many of them behave horribly so it's hard to give them respect and significance that they are crying out for. So many times you think to yell at them or get angry with them. One thing I figured out. They will not respond to anger. Why would they? That is the way they are treated all day. They will respond to love. NOTHING but love! So I just began praying that God would give me his heart of compassion and love for them. That I would see with the eyes of Christ. God loves ABSOLUTELY LOVES those kids. He doesn't yell at them or snap at them. He loves them. I will be the love of Christ to those kids.
I did commit to this ministry and I will be able to stay on the same bus so that God can do a new thing in those kids with his love through me!
Well that concludes today's entry. I ran out of time sorry this blog is kind of all over the place. Also, I'm having some issues uploading pictures but I have a few from the Bus Ministry on my facebook. You can check them out there!
Jenna :)
We were asked last week if we would commit to Bus Ministry. This ministry sends out buses every Saturday morning and buses in approximately 350-400 inner-city kids ages 3-12 to bring them to their own church service. To give an explanation of how much of an impact that this ministry is would never do it justice. In fact, when I was asked to commit to it I said no. My IMT team is apart of so many other outreaches I didn't want to over do it. Well...
We showed up Saturday morning at 7:30 am ready to go out to pick up the kids. When I got on the bus and met the bus captain and he began to tell me what it is like to pick the kids up every week and take them to service and then take them home. It just started to capture my heart. Even before I saw one child God began to give me His heart of compassion. I never have felt so mandated to serve a generation ever. Of course, once the kids started filing in. With each child, with each smile, with each frown, with each child filled with fear, and with each child filled with happiness, my heart just completely broke. It took about 1 minute to know that I was DEFINITELY commiting to this ministry.
These kids are from very broken homes... homes of drug abuse, alcohol abuse, physical abuse, and every other kind of abuse you can think of. Their role models are in jail, or on their way there. Most of these kids haven't got a clue what it is like to be loved or to love.
Pastor Rod says it like this, "Children won't just come to church...we must "GO" get them!"
So...we do just that. We go get them. The service is awesome for these kids. They receive the word of God play games and interact with people that love them. The bus ride itself is a HUGE ministry opportunity. These kids want love, they want respect, they are dying for the feeling of significance. Most of them beg to help you in anyway possible, they beg to sit in your lap, and they beg to be appreciated. It's hard. Many of them behave horribly so it's hard to give them respect and significance that they are crying out for. So many times you think to yell at them or get angry with them. One thing I figured out. They will not respond to anger. Why would they? That is the way they are treated all day. They will respond to love. NOTHING but love! So I just began praying that God would give me his heart of compassion and love for them. That I would see with the eyes of Christ. God loves ABSOLUTELY LOVES those kids. He doesn't yell at them or snap at them. He loves them. I will be the love of Christ to those kids.
I did commit to this ministry and I will be able to stay on the same bus so that God can do a new thing in those kids with his love through me!
Well that concludes today's entry. I ran out of time sorry this blog is kind of all over the place. Also, I'm having some issues uploading pictures but I have a few from the Bus Ministry on my facebook. You can check them out there!
Jenna :)
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Feeding the Hungry. :)
Today was absolutely amazing! It was our first day of outreach. We packed up the mobile foodbank truck and brought it out to some of the Governmental Housing in Tulsa. Then we gave food to many of the families and the director of IMT, Kevin preached the gospel and then we were able to pray and minister to anyone who was willing to receive. I was able to talk and just love on a few different ladies. The love of God is so sweet. It was so awesome to be able to spend time and just minister to the lives of these women.
After we left Kevin took us by the Dream Center. It is an outreach center in the most criminalized area of Tulsa. It is a community center made to be a blessing in the community, to preach the gospel, meet the needs of the people and share the love of God. Joel is a man that works there and wanted to bless all the IMT's (That's my ministry team) with food. We were so happy and excited to get food. We are all on a tight budget at this moment so free food is received with much excitement. We got bread, eggs, milk, cakes, grapes, bananas. OH my gosh! It was so much food... such a HUGE BLESSING. We were having a food party later. Haha!
As we were walking away from the dream center we were all so happy! One of the guys on the team mentioned that we were living out the reality of Malachi 3:10- "Bring all the tithes (the whole tenth of your income) into the storehouse that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now by it, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." This was so true. We really were living out this scripture. We just finished stocking the kingdom of God with food and next it was God stocking us with more food than we could have asked for. It was incredible. Our first day reaching out and God blessed us tremendously.
This day actually happened a few days ago. I am just now finding the time to finish the blog and post it but even since this all happened we have been blessed even more. Praise God for He is our Provider!
Until next time...
;)
After we left Kevin took us by the Dream Center. It is an outreach center in the most criminalized area of Tulsa. It is a community center made to be a blessing in the community, to preach the gospel, meet the needs of the people and share the love of God. Joel is a man that works there and wanted to bless all the IMT's (That's my ministry team) with food. We were so happy and excited to get food. We are all on a tight budget at this moment so free food is received with much excitement. We got bread, eggs, milk, cakes, grapes, bananas. OH my gosh! It was so much food... such a HUGE BLESSING. We were having a food party later. Haha!
As we were walking away from the dream center we were all so happy! One of the guys on the team mentioned that we were living out the reality of Malachi 3:10- "Bring all the tithes (the whole tenth of your income) into the storehouse that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now by it, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." This was so true. We really were living out this scripture. We just finished stocking the kingdom of God with food and next it was God stocking us with more food than we could have asked for. It was incredible. Our first day reaching out and God blessed us tremendously.
This day actually happened a few days ago. I am just now finding the time to finish the blog and post it but even since this all happened we have been blessed even more. Praise God for He is our Provider!
Until next time...
;)
Thursday, September 2, 2010
TULSA!!
Hi There!!
Here I am finally updating my blog. As some of you know and some of you don't know I am in bible school in Tulsa, Oklahoma instead of Cleveland, TN. I arrived in Tennessee as planned and decided that the school there just wasn't for me. Spiritually it is just not what I'm looking for. I spoke with Pastor to discuss the situation with him and he suggested I look at bible schools in tulsa. I was already thinking about tulsa as well so I headed there the next day. I looked into few bible schools and absolutely fell in love with Victory! They have bible classes as well as a specialty or major. I was so excited to know that they have a worship major and of course am doing that. Also, I am doing what's called IMT- In Ministry Training. It is a full time ministry internship. The IMT team is made up of 24 young people ages 18-28 and we do ministry outreaches after classes monday through friday and on the weekends. We travel around central USA on the weekends ministering and we will go on 2 mission trips between now and next may. It is an awesome and incredible opportunity. I am so excited to be apart of IMT this year and I can't wait to see what God does through the team!!!!
Ok now that I explained that... OH MY GOSH!! I LOVE IT HERE!! SOOOOOO MUCH!!! IMT has been SO incredible. We have a super awesome team. We've only been doing team training so far. We finish training on Sunday.
ANNND... This week is only the first week of classes and I've learned so much! God has been moving in my life so much. I am so thankful that he sent me here!!
That's all for today! Love ya.
Jenna <3
Here I am finally updating my blog. As some of you know and some of you don't know I am in bible school in Tulsa, Oklahoma instead of Cleveland, TN. I arrived in Tennessee as planned and decided that the school there just wasn't for me. Spiritually it is just not what I'm looking for. I spoke with Pastor to discuss the situation with him and he suggested I look at bible schools in tulsa. I was already thinking about tulsa as well so I headed there the next day. I looked into few bible schools and absolutely fell in love with Victory! They have bible classes as well as a specialty or major. I was so excited to know that they have a worship major and of course am doing that. Also, I am doing what's called IMT- In Ministry Training. It is a full time ministry internship. The IMT team is made up of 24 young people ages 18-28 and we do ministry outreaches after classes monday through friday and on the weekends. We travel around central USA on the weekends ministering and we will go on 2 mission trips between now and next may. It is an awesome and incredible opportunity. I am so excited to be apart of IMT this year and I can't wait to see what God does through the team!!!!
Ok now that I explained that... OH MY GOSH!! I LOVE IT HERE!! SOOOOOO MUCH!!! IMT has been SO incredible. We have a super awesome team. We've only been doing team training so far. We finish training on Sunday.
ANNND... This week is only the first week of classes and I've learned so much! God has been moving in my life so much. I am so thankful that he sent me here!!
That's all for today! Love ya.
Jenna <3
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