The Main Street Church of Christ in Milan, TN recently had a really special event for the people of their community. We were encouraged, inspired and just had to share it with you. Love seeing what God can do with people who just want to reflect Him . . .

-Tell us about how the give-away event came to be.

We had gone to the giving stuff away class during GO! CAMP, (taught by Joseph Thomas from Savannah, TN) and during one of the nightly small groups, our group decided we wanted to try "to give some stuff away." When we got back I discussed the idea with the elders and the outreach minister, Taft Ayers. We worked some dates out and spread the word. Within a couple of months we had gone from an idea to a building full of "stuff to give away" and people.

-How did the youth group at Milan get involved?

The youth group was not only the spark behind "Give Away Day," they also helped work the event. It became of a congregational event due to its size but if weren't for a couple of teens willing to go to GO! CAMP the event would have never happened.

-What was it like the day of the event?

A couple months before the event we started sending out letters about we needed. And the Thursday before we set up drop-off times. That gave us 3 days to fill a gym up of GOOD STUFF. Our motto that weekend was "NO JUNK FOR JESUS!" In those 3 days with the help of the congregation, the community and prayer we completely filled the entire gym and by the end on Sunday we had little left and nearly 400 people had been through.

- What do you think doing an event like this reflects to the community about the church? What does it say about God and his people?

We have to let the community know that we care. A lot of these people grew up believing in God but through different circumstances have fallen away. One the saddest parts about this is that many of these times its Christians who have pushed other Christians away. We have to remind them 1 That God loves them & 2 That God's people love them! The community seeing random acts of kindness for no other reason than we love Jesus makes an IMPACT on people! This was a great encouragement to them, to us and most importantly to God!

-What advice would you give to any young people wanting to make this happen with their church family? What not to do ?

DO IT! It won't be easy. But most things that are worth it aren't. Young people have to quit not voicing their ideas and letting them die. If you are going to make a difference, if you are going to change the world then you have to start implementing great ideas!

-Are there any specific stories from the day that stand out to you?

pt1 One my favorite part of the day was at 5PM we stopped for worship anybody in still in line or that decided to stay was invited to worship with us. We had over a 100 families stay! We completely filled our Christian Activity Center. The worship service was designed around family! I know every time we get to worship God but as looked around this one was something spectacular! pt2 one of the ladies who we helped attended church with us Wednesday night. At the invitation she came up in her wheel chair and was baptized into Christ. I don't do these events for numbers or in hope of responses or for the sole purpose of baptizing. I do them because I'm told to love people more than I love myself. The rest is up to them and God. It's an incredible thing to see when someone falling in love with God for the first time!

The above photo was taken at the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, TN last week. Chalk board asks you to answer "What do freedom and leadership mean to you?" A few GO! staffers took it as an opportunity to write: Love God. Love your neighbor. Change the world!

A fitting response and nicely timed. On Sunday people from all over the world came together on our Nation's Capital to dedicate the National Mall's newest monument - the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. As part of the tribute, President Obama spoke these words: 

"First and foremost, let us remember that change has never been quick," the president said. "Change has never been simple or without controversy. Change depends on persistence. Change requires determination."

We are trying to be lights and to reflect God's glory in our local communities (and in our larger global community). We believe that we are called to love our neighbor. We believe that our GOD is a GOD who changes things. We know he changes lives. We know he transforms people. It is important to remember that it won't always be easy, it won't always be clear - yet God will always be there working - loving.

Keep going.

Love God. Love your neighbor. Change the world.

 

You may recall us sharing with you about a prison ministry that a few GO! staffers are getting involved with. We asked for donations of Bibles (and we've been receiving them!) Here's a few words from Katelyn on what happened during their first visit:

"We went to Tennessee’s Prison for Women. Josh and Whitney got to meet Aunt Helen and Uncle Harold, who are affectionately called Momma and Poppa Cox to the prisoners. We spent a good while talking before we went in. I’m not exactly sure what to say I expected. Whatever it was, today blew it out of the water. The women were loving, friendly, and huggable. They talked to us, hugged us, and welcomed us warmly. Josh lead the singing while a man named Thomas Snow did the sermon. The sermon was on Ezekiel 37. He described how even when we have “dry bones,” the Lord still has a plan for us. Even when things look hopeless, our hope is in the Lord. We worshiped with them there and an annex across the street.

I learned something from those women. Firstly I learned that stereotypes can and should be left at the door that God opens. Those women were kind, generous, and loving souls who wanted to be there to praise their God. The second thing I learned was in watching. They praise with no restrictions and without holding back. No one fell asleep and no one was distracted. Those women were there because they had a need to be in their souls. How often we take for granted the ability to worship. This weekend definitely tops my favorite weekends since coming to Freed. There are plans in the works to make this a periodical trip, that would branch out farther. God gave me an open door, and with some incredible friends, we’ve been running through open passageways. God has planted ideas in our heads and our hearts and is now making those ideas possible. Thank you warmly to all of you who prayed for us and gave us encouragement. However, it definitely does not stop here. We’re trying to collect Bibles to donate to the prisons, as well as finding people willing to volunteer. If you want to know more or get involved, please send a message our way!

God does wonderful things."

To read more from Katelyn check out her blog: here.

Many 17 year olds cannot even entertain the idea of doing something that will change the world or starting an organization that spreads the Gospel of Christ to people all over the world, but this is exactly what Jake Schrimsher and Michael Clarke have done. These two teens from Southaven, MS are the co-founders of “Lessons From a Park Bench”, a Bible based web-show run on Facebook that reaches out and spreads the Gospel to teens.

Michael and Jake decided that they would use something that teens use everyday to help connect them with Christ. Facebook. It started with just Michael and his computer and it quickly grew into the two of them working side-by-side putting together these lessons for over 500 group members. Jake said that the hardest part of the project was being patient. “Immediately you want your program to help a lot of people, but patience was a hard part in maintaining it.”

Jake had this to say to all of you out there who are looking to change the world:

“The one thing that I would say to those trying to start something is, keep your mind where it needs to be, on heaven! God deserves our all when we are teaching others. Study your heart out and learn as much as you can. The Bible never gets boring and there is always something to teach. Every time you open up your Bible you should learn something new. Lastly, when you're teaching others be serious and above all be Biblical, leaving nothing out.”

If you would like to check out “Lessons From a Park Bench” join the group on Facebook: here

We love keeping up with what God is doing through his people on the other side of the country and all over the world. Andy Frizzell is the youth minister at the Woodward Park Church of Christ in Fresno, CA. We've been encouraged by what's happening at their church and were super excited when they planned their recent youth rally around the heart of what led us to start GO! Camp. Check out this awesome recap of their GO! Fresno event!

Here's what happened - in Andy's words:

Creativity has never been a particular strong point for me but I feel like I can appreciate when someone is doing something that should be promoted or copied. With that being said we used our Teen/College Workshop to spin off of a camp that happened at FHU this summer. GO! Camp which was the brainchild of Brad Montague is a camp that was created to empower teens to find sustainable service opportunities in their areas and giving them the tools and motivation to get started.We invited many of the Central Valley churches to inspire valley teens to do the same.

It was a great day for us! We had over 100 students and volunteers working with Poverello House, Pyle Elementary School, and Westcare Rehabilitation Facility, We selected projects that could be sustainable for our group and worked to develop relationships that can be continued on a weekly/ monthly basis.

Poverello House:
We sent 30 students to Poverello House Fresno to serve on the lunch line, food preparation, sack lunch production, warehouse projects, and sorting clothing for giveaways. The Poverello House is one of the biggest organizations in Fresno working with and for the homeless of our city. Our students came back with ideas for how to better serve this organization and the homeless of Fresno. It was a great experience for us because many of our students have never seen that side of Fresno or knew that these needs existed in our own city.

Pyle Elementary School:
Cherie Walters is the principal at Pyle Elementary School in the Fresno Unified School District and she had expressed the need to me for school supplies, kleenex, and hand sanitizer for her class rooms. We were surprised that over a month into the school year this was still a need so we asked for donations from all of the teens that came to GO! Fresno. We took in $500 toward shopping for these supplies! We sent 35+ students and volunteers out to purchase supplies for the students and faculty at Pyle. This is a relationship that we will be able to continue throughout the year. Working with Cherie we will continue to provide lawn care and maintenance, school supplies, underwear/ socks, and anything else that may be needed.

Westcare Rehabilitation Facility:
We have partnered with the Westcare facility of Fresno to do a monthly clothing, toiletry drive plus BBQs and children's events. We sent out 40 students and volunteers to purchase and put together toiletry bags that will go to families living at Westcare. We were able to purchase $200 worth of toiletries from the 99cent store which added up to toiletries for 10-12 families for the next several months. This will be the first of many toiletry drop offs we will make at the westcare complex. The relationships we will build through this with the families will be the lasting legacy.

In the afternoon Eli Hooper, from Grass Valley, talked to our teens about the call to go into our community and show our neighbors that God's people are here. We ended with small groups allowing the teens time to react to the opportunities of the day.

Special thanks to the GO! FHU team and to all here in Fresno that made GO! Fresno a success.

 

Do you know Catlyn Watkins and Addison Pointer? These two ladies are the founders and brains behind "Handy Lunches" in Florence, AL. Last year one of our first GO! visits was to see these two girls in action. Here's a little glimpse at what these two girls are about:

This past summer the two led a session at GO! Camp and also served as counselors. We love these two and were excited to get to catch up with them and see what they're up to now!

First of all, how do you and Addison know each other?

I actually met Addison in Girl Scouts when we were kids, but it wasn’t until she transferred to Mars Hill Bible School our sophomore year that we got to know each other. We’ve pretty much been best friends since then.

What is Handy Lunches?

Handy Lunches is a free meal program that we host the second Saturday of every month at the Handy Recreational Center. We arrange it there because the rec center is within walking distance of Florence’s government housing.

What inspired the two of you to start Handy Lunches?

Addison and I were doing a canned food drive our senior year of high school. When we took the boxes of food to people in the community, we were struck by how great a need there was, so we decided to do something on a bigger scale.

Would you say Handy Lunches has been successful?

Absolutely! The first Handy Lunches we served around 40 people, which was fantastic. Now we’re serving over 200. We’ve also been blessed to where we can provide more than just food. We would love to see Handy Lunches grow as big as possible. We love this.

What sorts of things have you been doing other than serving food?

We have had canned food giveaways a few times, which have been great because that benefits more than just that day. Our coat drive has been another big and needed one. We did goody bags for Easter, valentines in February, stockings of toys for the kids at Christmas. We’ve had festivals with puppet shows and candy, and we’ve done bible classes.

Are there other people that help you and Addison out each month?

Our churches both contribute food each month, and members help us organize and serve. We even had a local basketball team who made valentines in February, which was incredible. It was touching to see others outside Killen and Pleasant Valley churches of Christ wanting to get involved.

What else makes Handy Lunches possible?

First, keeping God first will always be a priority. None of this could have happened without Him. In addition to the volunteers, I could absolutely not do this without Addison. We work together so well. If we don't see something the same way, we compromise, work together, and figure it out. She's one of my best friends, and I don't think she will ever know how much it means to me that she did this with me and didn't look at me like I was crazy when we started. I would be lost without her.

Have any good stories from your experiences with Handy Lunches?

Handy Lunches was submitted to a pay-it-forward contest, and we were on the local news for that. Someone in Huntsville just saw us, heard the story, and sent a check to my church for Handy Lunches to use however needed. I literally cried. That someone who has no clue who we are was so generous and trusted us to use the money for the benefit of Handy Lunches meant so much to me. God is in this, and I truly see that He has blessed it beyond belief. Without Him we would have failed.

What can people do to help?

The way others can help is sending canned food, school supplies, coats, shoes: those kinds of things can always be used. We always love to hand out cards and goodies with Bible verses, and I know how much the visitors love it. Of course, cash donations are always nice. If someone is local, cooking one month would be great. But most of all we need prayers and encouragement. Just knowing someone out there is praying for Handy Lunches means so much to us.