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 :)