Jesus is REAL
Kids Club 2006
part “1”
 Thanks
for being our friends. I say that because loving us means you
know and can picture all that is going on with us these two
weeks of Kids Club … the kids, the work crew, the struggles
against the odds, the hoped for victories … and the readiness
for another week. Thanks for loving us enough to stand with us
in prayer. Just today, a brother told me, I pray for you
all twice a day. “So, how’s it going in Kids Club
land?” you might be asking.
-
I try to picture
sometimes, the unseen. The raging battle that must be going
on behind the scenes, as the evil one tries to take back
what God is redeeming and calling his own. In my 6th
grade class are some “old timers”. These are kids club
kids, all grown up (in their twenties) who are now “giving
back”. They come during the day time, and are small group
leaders for a group of kids who look up to them. You can
often hear them say, “When I was in kids club … “or “Kit,
tell them how old I was when I started coming to church” …
stuff like that. There are seven of them
this year. Their lives were filled with the worst of
the neighborhood; they actually have beaten all the odds to
still be alive. Two have been in prison since they did
their last kids club, a childhood so long ago, that even I
forget exactly how they looked when they were simpler.
Since I am imagining the unseen, since I can’t see it, I
imagine that the reason our evap cooler in our house broke
this week (the first time ever) after my
car broke last Sunday … after thefts and terrible relational
conflict … trouble on the left and right … are the visible
effects of the battle. Things we can see that reveal
the hidden from us rage, for Jesus is rescuing lives from
hopelessness, and I am watching them walk into kids club
each day. (A little cliff hanger, but I am expecting a
larger report for you by the end of the week.) Will you
pray for these on the verge of redemption, the reclaiming of
a life thought to be lost? I spoke to an “OG” (old
gangster) this morning right after church, who didn’t grow
up in kids club and has community hours to do as part of his
probation. I told him that God was doing something good in
bringing him to church, that he might be on the verge of
knowing Jesus. He said, “I think He has been looking for me
for awhile now, trying to find me”. That’s true, I said.
“But”, he hesitated. “I am a really big sinner”, as if
somehow that meant there would be a problem with him being
found. “Well, recognizing you are a sinner is a good
thing. It means you know you need a Savior”. “Hey, that’s
true! I never thought of it that way”, he smiled. This
young man is the brother in law of one of the “old timers”
in my class. Will you pray for the first and second
generation kids clubbers who Jesus has been searching for,
in some cases for years, that THIS kids club they surrender
all, to follow him.
-
 In
addition to making a complicated program happen
for 650 people
everyday, we have had a video crew filming, putting together
a piece telling the story of Neighborhood Ministries. Also
on Friday, a political candidate came by to listen to
the stories of immigrants, a completely overwhelming moment
all on its own. We have said to any and all of our
visitors, there is something unique in our ministry world
that happens during these two weeks, this is a powerful time
for a visit. Pray for the outcomes of these and many
other visits. Pray for this video, that Jesus would be
lifted up!
-
How would you tell
a group of kids, who come from really tough homes and lives
that Jesus
is Real?
That’s what this kids
club is attempting
to do … with great Bible stories,
with really
amazing days filled with adventure and fun and especially,
most especially with unconditional love, that the Real Jesus
has poured into our hearts for these children. Will you
continue to pray for every effort we make this next week to
describe the real Jesus, using our imperfect selves, as we
try to be “Jesus with skin on”!
What an amazing
opportunity!
|
