God is so great! He deserves all the glory! When God called us to minister at Gold Avenue Church we really didn't know what he had in store for us and what ministries would be started. After much prayer and searching for where God was leading, it became apparent that there was one group of kids in the neighborhood who really didn't have anything going on for them - middle schoolers. They are at a critical time when they are forming views and opinions that will affect how they live the rest of their lives, yet no local organizations had a specific ministry for them. We felt like God was really leading us to focus on them for our newest ministry.
First we were able to partner with The Bridge Street House Of Prayer to host an arts camp at our church. This was specifically for middle school youth since many of the other VBS programs of the summer were only for elementary kids.
We started with a group teaching, speaking about how God created each one of us with a purpose, with unique gifts, talents, and abilities.
Then we broke into smaller groups - the most sought after one was cooking.
There was also an "Art Around the World" class, where we got to learn about other culture's art and make some of it.
One day we made Ukrainian dyed eggs. It was a fun process and it was neat to see how these are made, especially because we found them in Romania each year around Easter.
Another project was painting Henna, an art form from India.
There was a dance class too where they got to learn multiple types of dancing. Arts Camp was really fun and we hope to do it again next year. We are praying that more youth will come as it is a great entry point into other ministries.
Two weeks ago we had the privilege to start a middle school youth group. Our first meeting we had 13 kids and last week we had 16, with more potentially signing up in the weeks leading up to school starting. With a great team of volunteers we planned what it would look like to really focus in on creating a safe place for the kids to grow in their relationships with Jesus.
We first pick the kids up from around the neighborhood. Only a small number of them go to our church, some others have been referred to us by The Other Way Ministries or BSHOP, and a few others from Arts Camp.
We play some games, then transition to worship. After that we have dinner and then the lesson. After the lesson we split up into small groups to discuss the lesson and share prayer requests.
We are so blessed to be able to minister to these kids at such a critical time for in their lives. Many of them come from broken homes and live in situations that are hard to imagine. Some of them shared about the racism that they face on a daily basis. They are being bombarded with messages everyday that tell them to live for themselves and that God doesn't exist. We are inviting our Lord Jesus to come and intervene in their lives, to heal their hurts and to be their comforter. We can't do any of that on our own, but we can point them to the one who can.
In order for this ministry to be successful we need a lot of prayer. We would like to form a prayer team that covers the youth, their families, the volunteers, and this neighborhood in prayer. If you are feeling a tug to do this on a regular basis please let us know. We appreciate your prayers and your support and are excited about how God will work in this ministry!
