84

Jesus pushed us to Kids For Christ! My gas gauge on our van has flip-flopped and now does not work at all. Unexpectedly- we ran out of gas on the way to KFC. Most of the students in the van did not even know that we were coasting until I pulled off the highway and down the access road to the gas station! We were able to get within about two feet of the actual gas pump before we lost our forward motion (3/4 of a mile). It was an amazing feeling!

84! Last night we were on a mission! It was our last official night to register our Roseland Homes kids for our Kids For Christ ministry. You might be wondering why we don't just register them when they arrive with their parents?! That is not how we have set up our ministry. We go to them, and use our time registering our teens and kids to build bridges with their parents and "guardians." We also play host to a multitude of our kids who want to help us; hold the route books, knock on doors (yelling, "Kids for Christ!!!" as loud as they can.), find apts. with kids, get free back rides, play around, and show off their new "friends- and Uncles." We have now signed up 84 teens and kids that will be ministered to through our KFC and TFC ministries. What excites me the most is sharing about our ministry with single parents who have an apt. full of young kids who has never heard! I love it!

Kids For Christ
Ministry Leaders and Teams
...and those who are very interested

We are planning on having our KFC Leader Meeting on the 25th of this month. In comparison to previous years we are about a month behind schedule. However, if you have heard what we are planning on doing this year- once we "officially" start you would understand the "hold up."

Last Ministry Year was a big step for all of us. We successfully lead our KFC Ministry through the much-appreciated help of four Ministry Teams who volunteered once a month. This was the first year for us to organize our ministry that way. We were also able to nearly double our total number of families who received sponsored Thanksgiving Turkeys and gift baskets. Our December Crosspoint Mission Team also double in number from 11-12 in 2005 to 24+ (local team members from the year before who came to help) in 2006. We were also able to raise over $3000 to send 35 teens and kids to Camp Joy, OK (the 36th spot and his/her back ups could not go :()! Wow!

So what about this year?! What is this year's KFC Ministry Master Plan? Here it is:
We are making plans (phone calls, meetings, policies, networking, surveying, recruiting) to start two new Kids For Christ ministries this year! How are we going to be able to do that?> God has not only opened doors to certain apartment communities, but He has also brought to us new churches (Ministry Leaders and Teams), adult helpers, interested kids and teens, and also local churches that are willing to work together with us to minister to their communities. God has opened the doors now we need to walk through them...together.

So what do I need to do to help get this Ministry Year Started? We have already started registering families for our Roseland Homes KFC and TFC with our newly approved forms (includes photo release). Last week ended up being Meet the teacher night at the local Elementary School. We changed our plans and attended the packed out assembly. I introduced the volunteers that were with me to JW Ray's principle, staff, ad faculty. Afteward, we were able to sign up 16 new kids just in the back corner of the Blue Route! PTL! You are all invited to come help us with the registration process at Roseland Homes if you are able. We have already surveyed the majority of the Rosemont Apt. Community (our #2 KFC Ministry Site- starting in Oct.) this summer so we know where the teens and kids are. However, we will be needing extra help to register those teens and kids starting either this Thursday evening or next. The #3 KFC and TFC Ministry will start in December with the help of the Crosspoint STAR Mission Team. I will provide you will more information on those plans when we get closer to December.

Mark on your calendars Tuesday Evening, Sept. 25 as the tentative date for our first KFC Leader Meeting. We will be talking through our Ministry Master Plan in more detail, 07-08 Ministry Year Calendar (Thanksgiving Baskets, December (Christmas) Mission Trip, Outings, STAR OKlahoma Mission Trip (We might be doing a dual Teen Camp and Mission trip that week), Camp Joy KFC Camp (renting the camp and having kids from all three of our KFC Ministries come to the camp that we would staff completely), and discussing ways for us to serve more effectively together as a KFC Ministry Team made up of over 12 (pending on actual commitments) churches. Make sure your leadership team is present at the Meeting.

Our Kids For Christ and Teens For Christ Ministries are planned to start at Roseland Homes on October 9th, Rosemont Oct 11th, and Eban Village Dec. 17th(at the latest)!

Current Prayer Requests:

1- Obviously for God's continued hand to be upon our family ministry (family is our #1 ministry).- Jacey is just over 6 months old, and we are loving every moment that we have with her!

2- Since returning from this Summer's adventures I have been able to refocus and rekindle my passion for "our" kids and "our" teens that we serve through our AMF ministries. Please pray that I will, as always, try to put that passion/motivation into words/actions that our new churches and communities would understand.

3- Symbiotic Balance. We are not only starting two new "full-blown (Kids, Teens, families, Senior Adults, working in the schools, community events, discipleship/mentoring, church assimilation processes, etc...)" KFC ministries, but we are also starting an afterschool Bible Club with the local Boys and Girl's Club in East Dallas (hopefully this month), and possibly another ministry at the YMCA in West Dallas. All of our AMF Ministries work together and sharpen each other- as we accomplish the same goal- reach the unchurched for Jesus Christ!

4- AMF Regional Conference- October 1-5- Carson Springs, TN. We will be flying up early with Jacey to visit with our friends, Pastor Mark and Jane Abernathy Sept. 30. Please pray for us as we attend the Conference and meet with our fellow AMF Missionaries who we work with throughout the year and especially the summer. We will be evaluating the Summer Missionary Internships in New Orleans, LA, Tampa and Miami, FL, and our KFC camps at Camp Joy, OK. We are setting out to accomplish much- walking in the footsteps of William Carey..."Expect Great Things of God- Attempt Great Things For God!"

STAR DALLAS...

We had never dreamed of being able to reach our Dallas Area as soon and/or as effective as we did this past summer. Again, we understood that the only way that we would be successful- in God’s Eyes, was for God to ultimately come through for Himself (His glory) and for us(our sanity). What we thought would be another summer for development God changed into a summer of exhilarating ministry.

Last year we had directed our STAR DALLAS Mission Trip as a forerunner/trail blazer for 2007. When 2007 came around we thought we would do something similar. However in early Spring Mission Leaders (church pastors and lay leaders) started calling and meeting with me in order to commit to serving through STAR DALLAS. We soon realized that God was turning STAR DALLAS into a great tool in building His Kingdom here in Dallas. I began setting up ministries and training sessions for STAR D. I could not go on long enough in sharing with you how God opened up “door” after “door.” I worked very closely with our STAR D. Mission Leaders in the prep process. At one point we were able to set up 16 Bible Clubs that would take place every morning of STAR D.. I followed reference after reference, contacts, “drive-byes,” and other means to set these Bible Clubs up. I boast that God used this time of prep to complete years worth of surveying and initiating meaningful ministry partnerships.

We assigned the Mission Teams into four teams; North, South, East, and West. Their morning Bible Clubs were located in their assigned area of Dallas. Our local partnering churches hosted the afternoon training sessions that focused on sharing your testimony. Each evening the North and West Mission Teams served at the Dallas Life Foundation through feeding, cleaning, setting up, directing a KFC club for the homeless children, and leading the worship during the chapel on Thursday. The South and West M-Teams served with Cornerstone Baptist Church in South Dallas. We were able to help CBC with surveying and signing up their community for their upcoming VBS, landscaping, sorting clothes, outreach, and many other significant tasks.

STAR DALLAS 07 kicked off our exhilarating summer in so many ways. We want to personally thank everyone of you for partnering with us to make these ministries happen. You won’t know your impact fully until you reach the other side of eternity. Here are some important facts from STAR DALLAS:

Total Adult and Student Mission Team Members: 75-80 (some individuals had to leave early and others came late)

Actual Morning KFC Bible Clubs: 6 (We regrouped in order to focus on the locations that were very interested in hosting a KFC ministry throughout the year)

KFC/TFC Ministries being started as a result of STAR DALLAS: 3 (Eban Village, Rosemont, and the Boys and Girls Club in East Dallas- we are also praying about what God has for us in West Dallas-through the Lake West YMCA)

Total people reached: Only God Knows- I can only guess…500-600+