Monday's Ministry Moments

This weekend was amazing, we listening to a missionary from Romanian share about the work they are doing, held a Nehemiah Project with Chi Alpha of UCA to decorate the inside of the Hope Community Center, held the World Banquet and a Community Lunch.  That was a whole lot to type.  :)

On Friday we got the room set up for the World Banquet.  During the set up for the World Banquet I personally learned how important it is to work together.  There was a song released years ago called "I need you to survive" by Hezekiah Walker this truth was made real in my heart as my sister in Christ.   Daspri took a huge load off my shoulders by carrying a huge load for this event.  She took the day off work to help me.  While I do know that her service to me was really her service to the Lord but we see Christ through one another.  I saw Christ in her this weekend.  I want to say thank you to her for all the hard work.  I would also fall short if I did not thank all the hands and feet that were there on Friday for set up and Saturday for breakdown.  The many staff, volunteers, friends, and family that just offered a helping hand in whatever means necessary.  THANK YOU!

Later that night we listened to a Romanian Missionary share his story and what they are doing there.  It was crazy as Phil and I sat and listened to him.  It was as if I were listening to Phil or myself speak about the City of Hope Outreach.  That time with him confirmed our mission here in Conway. The spirit of the Lord is with us and is doing this type of work in the earth.  We are apart of Kingdom expansion and I am so very grateful!

Saturday came very quickly after the late night on Friday.  Men and women woke up and hit the ground running to serve the community.  We painted the inside of the Hope Community Center (HCC).  We also painted the trim on the outside, put pictures up and on the wall, and organized the office.  It now looks amazing.  Since the upgrade we are better able to serve the community.  This will just help us to function a lot smoother.  A huge thank you goes to Chi Alpha for the work they put in on this project.  Also, Cory Nelson the Nehemiah Project coordinator for CoHO. 

Later that afternoon was the massive labor to bring awareness about the poor in our city and our world.  The World Banquet was a success from my viewpoint.  I believe men and women to include those working for the event were enlightened.  It was a blessing for both Phil and I to share this event with others.  A huge thank you to everyone who made this evening possible.  Special Thanks to Jennifer Mouser for laboring from 6am - 9pm in service to City of Hope Outreach.  You are an amazing woman!

We wrapped this weekend up with a Community Lunch with the Church at Oakwood.  We enjoyed a wonderful day of fellowship, food and fun.  Thank you to Christ Church Conway for supplying the meal and fellowshiping with us.

Thank you to everyone...

It is my prayer that your labor this weekend will prove to serve the King of Kings.  I pray that each one of you will see in each other the what God sees in you.  It is our goal to educate and mobilize believers towards true religion (caring for the poor, orphaned and widow), helping them to focus on their Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth.

What's Happening Now

Okay so seriously I have not had time to breathe!  I know that doesn't sound like a good thing but let me tell it is.  As far a ministry is concerned God is jumpin off some huge events!  We have been working for sometime now to establish a trailer in the community.  It would serve as the community center were tutoring, counseling, bible study, meetings and feedings would be held.  Well, that mobile home was moved into the park on Wednesday.  It is so wonderful.  We still have a lot of work to do inside the mobile home.  We need your help to do it.  We are scheduled for a renovation project on September 11, 2010.  In order to accomplish that work we need $2,000.00.  I know without a shadow of a doubt that we can raise those funds in a matter of days.  Why am I so confident?  Well, only because of the God I serve.  He has been consistent in meeting our needs.  He does own everything!  Remember.  It would be awesome if you would like to donate through our website www.cityhopeoutreach.com in order to help us accomplish the goal of having a facility in the community that can be used for the glory of God and the joy of people.  Friends we are apart of building the Kingdom for God!  It is an amazing opportunity.  Join us in this effort.  You can also purchase a Home Depot Gift Card in any amount and that will be used towards the renovation of the community center in Oakwood Village Mobile Home Park. 

Next...

The Lord laid on my husband's heart to establish a shelter.  This Hope Shelter would serve as immediate shelter for our community.  At this point there isn't an immediate emergency shelter.  So with lots of prayers and believing God for provision and direction we shared that vision at our Appreciation Banquet in July.  We the God we serve is abundant is blessing and clear with His plans.  One week ago today we were offered 1.33 acres of land and a 20,000 sq. ft facility to serve as the Hope Shelter.  By offered I mean donated without charge as long as the Gospel will be proclaimed and the work of the Lord will continue.  So, uh YES!  That is what we are about.  We currently have two grants in for renovations of that facility.  We will also be raising funds and partnering with businesses and people to make that vision come to full fruition.  So when you pray please pray for that effort in every way that you can think of.  We are blessed but need your prayers. 

So....

That is just the half.  I will give more updates soon.  Here is a look at the upcoming events calendar.

September 11, 2010 Nehemiah Project Community Center Renovations  (get involved by donating finances, time, materials and labor)

September 18, 2010 God, Gospel and Poverty Seminar

September 24-26, 2010 Immersion  (40 Hours of Intense Immersion in Poverty)

September 26, 2010 Community Lunch with First Baptist Church in Conway

October 30, 2010 World Banquet (tickets on sale September 15, 2010 see website for more details)

November 21, 2010 Thanksgiving Banquet

December 6-10, 2010 Christmas Store

These are current major events.  Reply to this post, FB, email or check out the website for more details on any one of these events.  Thanks

Money Matching this Ministry Monday!

We Need Your Help


We have been blessed to purchase a mobile home trailer that will serve as the main center for the Oakwood Community. This trailer will be the primary location for 3R’s Tutoring, counseling, King’s Club and other activities to serve the Oakwood Community.

We were blessed to receive a donation of $3,500 for the purchase of the trailer and we will need to match these funds. How can you help?

We are looking for 100 people to donate $35 towards this facility. I am personally asking that you would be a part of this endeavor as we continue to bring hope to our city of Conway and specifically here in Oakwood. You can donate securely online through our website at www.cityhopeoutreach.com You can also mail in your donation to:

The City of Hope Outreach, P.O. Box 11474 Conway, Ar. 72034
In the memo section please specify, “Trailer”

All donations are 100% tax deductible. The City of Hope Outreach is a 501(C)3 faith-based nonprofit ministry incorporated in Arkansas.

Thank you sincerely for your donation and time.
Nicolle
The City of Hope Outreach

Ministry Monday! Your Family is your FIRST ministry!

This Ministry Monday is very interesting.  There are a lot of AWESOME events on the horizon. I will share them all with you.  But first I have to talk about my most important ministry.  That is my husband and children.  Some of you may have read my "being his crown" post or even the "wednesday in the word" post last week.  Both of those post at the very heart of them were about my family.  So, I thought I give an update on that.  We are doing well!  My husband is all over it in every way.  For that I am thankful.  My kids are being redirected and I am blessed at what I see in them.  The evidence of grace is all our lives is abundant!  It is my heart that we truly keep a healthy balance between ministry inside and outside the home.  Our lives are a witness of Christ all the time everyday, not just my family but yours too.  It is neccessary that our first disciples (children) not be neglected while making disciples of others.  I think we should all be doing both.  Making disciples of our children and others.  This is just a reminder to me that I must wash my children in the word as we go about each and everyday.  We must seek out teachable moments with our children "by the way, as we go about our day."  The same thing goes for making disciples of others.  As we are in the marketplace (Kroger), the mall, at the library....make disciples.  You don't have to go overseas to make disciples.  You can and should start in your home and then with the neighbor etc. etc.  This is a warning to all (myself included).  Don't neglect your family to reach the neighbor across the seas.  That is actually failure and speaks ill of the gospel.  I am not indicating that your family should be perfect before doing anything outside.  I am however pointing out our need to look deeper into the needs of the disciples that God has automatically given us.  For the husband, you have automatic disciples...wife and children.  For the wife...you have automatic disciples...children and holding the husband accountable.  You are his accountablity partner in all things.  Then from there we make disciples of all men (peoples).  

So, I just wanted to give an update on our purposeful, clear direction within our family as we serve first one another, then the many men and women that God places in our path.  

Okay , so now what is happening with the City of Hope Outreach?

1. Continuing to build relationships in and around this city!

2. June 19, 2010 is the next God, Gospel and Poverty Seminar  this is an awesome way to learn about the needs of the poor in your city and how to be a blessing and not another welfare agency.

3. June 21-25, 2010 we are partnered the United Way to help with there Day of Action.  We will assist with and have created service project around the city of Conway for men and women to volunteer with.  We will have people all over downtown Conway holding signs with stats about poverty in our city.  We are super excited about this.

4. I am heading up a group of ladies to attend the True Woman's Conference in Fort Worth Texas in October.  We still have openings so if you would like to come along with us, contact me.  This is an invitation to all women.

5. Community Lunch This Sunday in Oakwood.  Those are always fun to be apart of.  We will gather for worship as usual at 1:00pm and then break bread during the message for an awesome time of biblical fellowship.  Come and join us if you can.

6. King's Club will be meeting twice per week (tues. and thurs.)  beginning in June until early August.  

7. We have CoHO vehicle stickers for sale.  They are $5 each. They look just like the picture at the top of this blog post.  They are all white and super cool.  

If you are interested in participating in any of these activities and need more detail please leave a comment or email me directly at nfletcher9705@gmail.com 

Thanks

Nicolle

Ministry Monday!

This Ministry Monday is all about ministry with children. You know I have three children. My oldest Nicollus is 11, then Najee’ who is 9 and finally Nichelle at 8. They are truly a handful on every level. I think mostly because as I speak with them, it is like I am talking to myself or my husband. They are truly mini we’s!  Today I shared with a MOPS group, practical ways to incorporate your children in ministry. I will begin by saying children are often left out of most parent’s ministry efforts. Somehow I don’t see that as I view scripture. In Deuteronomy the scripture tell us to teach our children by the way, and as we go. That simply put, as you live out the gospel teach your children what you are doing, why you are doing and then give them responsibility so they will do the same.


How have our children learned to serve in this ministry alongside us? I will be the first to note the contribution my children make every single day is huge! There thoughts are often towards the needs of others in a big way. While we still need to work on not fighting for who gets to hold the cell phone or be the first player on the wii, they are miles ahead when it comes to the true need of people at their core.

We have spent and still do spend a lot of time in family devotions. Phil took the whole family through a Greek class, a study through the book of Acts, Saturday Morning discipleship classes, dinner devotions, breakfast devotions, around the fireplace devotions and discussions. We talk about the scriptures often. We look for ways to apply God’s word to our daily lives. Ministry is not something you do when you arrive at a certain place on Sunday or whatever day of the week. It is a lifestyle! It is the air you breath, because of the God we serve!

Ministry in Oakwood…

In the beginning it was Phillip, me, Nicollus, Najee’ and Nichelle. Every Sunday morning beginning in September 2007 our children would wake up and help load my van with speakers and about 20 folding chairs. Then they would unload all the chairs and help set up and organize the space. Nicollus would help Phil with the sound system. And after we worshipped we would do it all over again! What a task for such little people. Once we arrived in the park the kids would pair up with a parent and knock on doors. Nichelle has always been the boldest one! She would often knock on doors like she was the po po (that was hood for police). They all spoke boldly for Christ. It was awesome to see. They would lead songs and see about peoples needs it was great. They were concerned for the children living in the different conditions we allowed them to be exposed to. Nicollus had a boy in his class who lived in the park. The boy’s glasses were broken. It was all my son could do to make sure that kid had a new pair of glasses. My kids would save their clothes. They would pick out cool toys they had and or no longer used and gave them away... often! We spent a lot of time talking about the types of things you give to people. Our rule is if you would be offended that someone gave that you…don’t give it to someone else! We don’t give away trash to anyone! That really made sense to them and they will get on to people if they bring something to us for donation that is trashy.

Nicollus my oldest has lead groups of people through the park to witness. There was a team of college students who had a heart to serve. We take people in groups. We needed someone to lead a group and my son said, “I’ll take them!” So, Phil agreed to let him take the group around. At the end of the day the group came back and said, “Your son did all the work. He talked to people and guided us through conversations.” I was experienced this with my son also. We were talking to some new residents. The conversation ended with Nicollus taking over and telling the older gentleman about the hope of Christ. Again I was blown away! Yet, very thankful.

We had a Sunday early on, and the weather was off and on with rain and thunderstorm. It would rain and thunder then the sun would break forth. So we had a family meeting to vote on whether or not we would meet in the park. Oh, let me add a few details. We meet outside in a trailer park. Okay so now we are voting, I’ll be honest and say I was feelin’ the whole stay at home thing. But, Nichelle said “We need to go because people need to hear the Gospel!” Really?! Who could argue with that? So we went and the day was beautiful for the entire time we were there. Then as soon as we packed up and were all in the car it burst into rain and thunderstorms. God is amazing!

Najee’ was reluctant. She was always asking when are we going back to normal church (she would make the hand motion of a roof while she spoke) with a roof! I think her biggest concern was all the work she had to put in before and after we gathered to worship. Now she is all over it! Her gifts are acts of service. She wants to bake and babysit for people all the time. She is thoughtful in deed. I’d say she has the wannabe momma ministry! 

I have watched my children grow in ways unimaginable for people their age. They have an awareness of things that I have wondered, is that okay? But in the end that awareness is used for the Glory of Christ and the Joy of People. They are disciples.

Today they love to attend tutoring. Nicollus will be representing CoHO at the Universities in the fall. He is seeking to become a tutor as well. He helps to lead with King’s Club and loves to really get to work on the Nehemiah Projects. Najee’ wants to feed the world. She will see someone and wants to feed them or buy them lunch or bake something. She is usually in charge of helping in food serving. She will make sure everyone is feed. While Nichelle fully enjoys participating with the children. She has the heart that will make kids feel loved and welcomed. She attends tutoring just be around the kids. My kids are open and very real with us as parents. They are quick to let us know if they are feeling neglected due to serving others. They are also quick to say, “It is important that you do this or that.” I really love my children. Phil and I tell them all the time how thankful to God we are for them. They are a blessing in our lives and they bring the balance we need in ministry.

Okay and the very last thing that we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to do is Ding, Dong Bless! We may purchase groceries, clothes, a cooked dinner, toys or something we know the other person has been longing for and we place it at their door, ring the door bell and run away as fast as they can while I’m in the car ready to drive away. It is the most fun ever! You should try it with your kids sometime. But be sure to plan your escape route first! ;)

I could tell fun stories all day. The bottom line is that your kids need to be as important in your ministry as the people you serve and those adults who serve alongside you. Their thoughts need to be considered and you have to give them some responsibility. Finally live a life of real Christ Centered Gospel before them!

Ministry Monday

The article below was published yesterday Sunday April 11, 2010 in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.  Please read and enjoy!

RIVER VALLEY and OZARK AREA — The first time Gary Harrison, a white man, saw Phillip Fletcher, a black preacher, in the mobile home park in Conway where Harrison lives, a drunk Harrison screamed and cursed at him to leave.

When Fletcher left Harrison’s mobile home after a visit on a recent afternoon, Harrison hugged him, slapping him affectionately on the back - even gave him a quick kiss on the side of his face.

“You’re my brother, man,” Harrison said. “I love you, but don’t tell nobody.”
Fletcher laughed and walked slowly through the trailer park, wearing a backpack and looking like a college student instead of a 37-year-old who made Oakwood Village mobile home park, at 475 E. Robins St., his mission and started City of Hope Outreach.

“Gary and I - that’s after three years,” Fletcher explained. “You can’t do this type of thing looking for immediate results. I come out with a lot of grace looking for God to do something.”

That something has been more than telling people about the Bible. It’s grown into a mission that helps people with food and utility bills, cleans up the park and tutors the children who live there with the help of community, church and college volunteers.

Fletcher got there by taking a wrong turn.

He was working at the Pulaski County Clerk’s Office in Little Rock and fulfilling his final requirements to be an Army chaplain.  One day after work in 2007, he turned right off Harkrider Street instead of left to go home.  “I had this impression on my heart to make a right onto Robins. ... I said, ‘This is where I’m supposed to preach the Gospel,’” he recalled.  “This is a community, Chateau Ghetto, affectionately, if you will,” Fletcher said.

His wife, Nicolle, was a little skeptical when he told her.  “I was like, ‘No, that’s not what we’re doing. That doesn’t make sense to me.’ I thought he’d lost it,” Nicolle Fletcher recalled.

Fletcher kept his paying job - at first.  Fletcher said that as he started the ministry in the mobile home park, Nicolle’s father was retiring and closing his church and had chairs and a sound system for them.  “We got all the stuff we needed and went out there, and nobody showed up,” Fletcher recalled with a chuckle.  “We just set up the stuff, sang some songs - I play the guitar - opened up the Bible and said the message. So we kept coming every Sunday,” he said.  Fletcher’s wife and their three children, ages 11, 9 and 8, participate in the ministry with him.

“We started knocking on doors, ... and people thought it was a strange thing,” he said, but people began to wander to the grassy spot where Fletcher was holding church; some just slowed down in their vehicles with the windows rolled down to listen.  Now as many as 50 people gather at 1 p.m. on Sundays, a combination of Oakwood residents and people from outside the park.  “It’s organized chaos,” Fletcher said, describing the scene. But however he can get the message across - that God loves them and that there’s hope - he’s willing to do it.

It wasn’t just about singing a few hymns and reading out of the Bible, though.  “Over time, what I realized was, we’re out here preaching the Gospel, teaching about the love of Jesus Christ, but seeing all these needs people have in the community. We’re saying this, but you have to demonstrate the love of God as well,” he said.  “For people outside in local churches, we started giving them an awareness of this community. Oakwood is like a city within a city, and you have good and bad parts of a city. One street, ... people own their trailers, keep them clean; the other part has problems: some crime, abuse, mental illness is present there.”

Fletcher said he was in Korea with the Army before he went to Iraq.  “The fear of being in places that don’t look safe, I don’t have that,” he said.

He knocked on Gary Harrison’s trailer door one afternoon, reporter and photographer in tow.  Fletcher said Harrison didn’t like him at first, mainly because he’s black.  “He struggles with some things,” Fletcher said.
Harrison answered the door and told his daughter, whom he was talking to on the phone, he had to go because “my preacher is here.”  Harrison apologized for being drunk.  “Hey, I’ve got some money for you,” he told Fletcher, and Harrison went a couple of steps away into the tiny bedroom and came back with a big Bible.  He opened it and handed Fletcher two $20 bills tucked inside the pages.  “If you’re my friend, you’ll take it,” Harrison said when Fletcher hesitated. Fletcher had “helped him out” with rent.  “I’ve lived a stupid life and I’ve met some stupid people,” Harrison, 59, said. “I’m an ex-criminal. Ex. That was 30, 40 years ago.”  Harrison said he was in prison for 12 years for stealing a car in Michigan.  Harrison said the only reason he agreed to talk to a reporter was because of Fletcher.  “I trust him implicitly,” said Harrison, sitting on a twin bed in the living room, holding a cigarette in one hand, a bottle of whiskey in the other.

Fletcher won Harrison overslowly but surely. One day Harrison requested a song - “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” he recalled - at a church service, and Fletcher kept talking to Harrison.  “I’ve been racist. He (Fletcher) is a true person. He is a true person, and he has showed me myself, and he has showed me God.
“He has been there for me. I ain’t been busted in a long time.” Harrison said Fletcher has made a difference in the atmosphere in the park.

One woman who lives behind him and used to hate him now speaks to Harrison.  “She comes by and says hello and says, ‘I love you,’” Harrison said.  Harrison said he enjoys coming to Fletcher’s Sunday services, “when I’m not hung over.” “I’ve got a reputation to uphold,” he said. “This is Chateau Ghetto.” Fletcher points out other people he’s gotten to know in the park - this guy is a good handyman and helps with the ministry; the man’s wife knitted caps for people at Christmas.  “People have started to take ownership and are trying to contribute in whatever way they can,” he said.

The turning point came in 2008, he said, when he spent the night in the park in a tent.  “I said, ‘For these people to trust me, I have to spend the night out there.’ During that time, kids came out and they would sit and we would just talk about whatever. Then somebody would say, ‘Hey, are you hungry? We’ll give you a bologna sandwich to eat; that’s all we got,’” Fletcher recalled.  Another resident offered to let Fletcher use his bathroom.  “One guy, Robert, said, “OK, preacher - I hope you make it through the night!’ That was the turning point, because the next morning, it was Sunday, and Robert said, ‘Well, I see you made it through. It wasn’t that bad, was it?’” Fletcher said, “Typically, Christian organizations will go into neighborhoods that are notthe best, and we go in, we do our thing and we leave. God coming into the world, he became one of us, and that’s what I wanted to show them: I want to get to know you; I want to gain your trust. A lot of them, their trust has been violated again and again and again. They become survivors, too.” Fletcher also befriended a couple living near the mobile home park, Emilio and Nancy Marcial. They were raising their granddaughter because the girl’s mother is in prison.  The Department of Human Services took the 10-year-old from the home because of multiple problems, Fletcher said.  There were roaches, for one thing.

Fletcher and the City of Hope Outreach formed the Nehemiah Project, which “is just the project we have about community renewal and improvement in the area - having people clean up their homes, beautify the area around where they live. Like with Emilio and Nancy, getting them into a better living situation.” Students from Central Baptist College, New Life Church and the University of Central Arkansas spent a day moving the couple from the home to an apartment across town and cleaned the home to satisfy the rental requirement.

Emilio, a diabetic, had his legs amputated after an infection.  Fletcher was able to get him an electric wheelchair.  “They gave me a choice - cut ’em off or die in the next two months. I told them I wanted to live for my granddaughter,” Emilio said, looking tearful.  Nancy said, “She is our life.  We’re just waiting for her to come home.” Nancy, who said she struggles with bipolar disorder, told Fletcher that at a court hearing the day before, their grandchild was put into a mental-health facility.  “They’re not telling me how long” she could be in the facility, Nancy said. “She has issues because of her mom and dad, but she’s not mentally ill,” Nancy maintained.  “The courts were pleased with us,” she added.  Fletcher asked the couple what the girl needed and promised to visit her.  Nancy said the City of Hope Outreach made a difference in their lives.  “Oh, Lord, they’ve done everything - moved us out of an old, cold, drafty house and moved us into this beautiful apartment.” She pointed out a photo of the large group of volunteers who helped them move and signed good wishes on the mat in the frame.  Nancy said City of Hope Outreach and Fletcher “basically raised the [quality of] living there, ... and the church, it’s growing. There’s an awareness of God there.” She showed off her granddaughter’s bedroom down the hall, which was decorated in purple and turquoise and Hannah Montana posters.  “She’s going to love it when she comes home,” Nancy said.  There’s another court date in two months.  “Yeah, I still have hope,” Nancy said.

Fletcher quit his full-time job in December to devote himself to the mission.  Will he do it forever?  “For right now, this is where I am,” he said. “I don’t look that far down the road. This is my second family. All of them are.  As long as the Lord wants me to be here, I’m going to give my heart and soul to it.” - tkeith@ arkansasonline.com

This article was published today at 6:53 a.m.
River Valley Ozark, Pages 139 on 04/11/2010

More On Ministry Monday!

This was another article written this past Sunday April 11, 2010 in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette
Ministry offers more than preaching

By Tammy Keith

RIVER VALLEY and OZARK AREA — It’s not just about the preaching.

City of Hope Outreach, which started in 2007 when Phillip Fletcher felt called to minister to Oakwood Village mobile home park in Conway, has evolved into a partnership with local churches and colleges to have cleanups, community meals and tutoring for the children, who attend Marguerite Vann Elementary School.

The soft-spoken founder, who left his Army chaplain track to start the outreach, said the idea is for people to “take ownership, improve and break this stereotype of what Conway thinks Oakwood is.  “Regardless if you believe in Jesus or not, it’s getting them together and saying, ‘How can we improve this community ?'”

Students from Central Baptist College and the University of Central Arkansas in Conway volunteer to tutor children from 4-6 p.m. weekdays, except Thursdays.

Gage Jordan, 22, a graduate of CBC, is a member of the City of Hope Outreach pastoral team. He came Tuesday to set up the table and chairs for the tutoring. Jordan said a Conway police officer told him the department receives “about 600 calls a month” about the park.

Public Information Officer Chris Harris said, “I don’t know the numbers, but I know we get a lot of calls. In that area, it could be disturbances, domestics, just all kinds of calls. We’ve had shots-fired calls. You name it; we’ve had it.”

He said any program that “helps cleanup the community and helps introduce them to their neighbors” is helpful.  “If you take a more personal interest in where you live, it’ll always help you,” Harris said.  Fletcher said he wants to help “restore people, so we don’t continue to foster the welfare mentality.”

UCA student J.J. Holland of Cabot, who tutors in the park twice a week, said she wants to become a counselor.  “I really just enjoy it - I like kids a lot,” she said.  Holland said that in addition to helping the children learn, “it’s more of an empowerment thing [for them] - ‘I really can learn this; I really can be more than people think I am.’ They’re very eager to learn, very eager to be praised.”  Jessiah Nelson, 8, a secondgrader who lives in the park, ran up to her.  “Teacher, teacher! Can I get the snacks out?” he asked.

Before the tutoring starts, the students get snacks local churches have donated.  Jessiah, who was all about the snacks, said Holland “helps me read - she listens to me read. She helps me do my math cards.”  Hailey Gibson, also 8, came up full of energy after a day at school.  She said the tutors help her with math, which is her hardest subject.  Jenn Tong, 19, a freshman education major at UCA, worked with Hailey on math problems.  Hailey, a second-grader at Marguerite Vann Elementary School, said she wants to be an author and a teacher when she grows up.  Noting that she appreciates her teacher Lisa Wimberly, Hailey said she loves to read. She rummaged in the plastic tub of books and supplies that are kept in a storage shed in the park and found her favorite, Monday with a Mad Genius.  “I love it - love it, love it, love it,” she said.

Dallas Whittaker, 11, rode up on his bicycle after the tutoring started. He has been getting help with math.
He said he heard about the tutoring through King’s Club, another City of Hope Outreach program. Nicolle Fletcher told Dallas he should try the tutoring. 

King’s Club is held for an hour every other Saturday for the children in the park, Nicolle said.  “We do a short Bible story, play games with the kids, give them a snack,” she said.

She said the mobile home park residents, which she estimated at 300, have welcomed the City of Hope Outreach.  “Once they realized we were serious and really cared about them and weren’t looking at them as a project, the doors opened up,” Nicolle said.  She added, “Christ stepped into human history and became like us on Earth. That’s why we go into their environment. It’s a mission field all its own.” The Fletchers are close to receiving nonprofit status for the organization, Phillip said, and more information about the ministry and ways to volunteer or donate can be found at http://www.cityhopeoutreach.com/.

Several churches in Conway have partnered with City Hope Outreach, including Peace Lutheran, Celebration Church and New Life Church’s college age youth group, Elevation.  David Revis of Conway, an Elevation member and a UCA sophomore, led a Thanksgiving project to give out turkeys in the park. “It was really cool to talk these different people,” Revis said. “They were way more appreciative than anybody would have ever guessed.” Going into the trailers was an eye-opening experience, too.  “I’ve been in one that was almost brand-spanking new on the inside; I’ve also been in one I think there were five holes the kitchen, with cats jumping and out. He didn’t have his gas electricity on,” Revis recalled.

Chi Alpha, a Christian ministry at UCA, has 50-75 students involved in the City of Hope Outreach each month.  Jennifer Shiefer, a Chi Alpha staff member, said it’s “an amaz ing opportunity” for students.  “I think City of Hope needsthe manpower our students provide,” Shiefer said, “and I think our students need the connection the City of Hope provides.  “We invest a lot of time and really try to teach our students to walk out their Christianity and not have it be a once-a-week kind of thing, but have it transform deep inside who they are.”

Nicolle Fletcher said the ministry has had an effect on her family, too, which includes three children.  “From the very beginning, it was just a transformation for all of us,” Nicolle said.  She said she enjoys looking at the scene on Sundays of white, black, Hispanic, all coming together.  “At the end of the day, it boils down to we’re pretty much the same,” she said.

- tkeith@ arkansasonline.com
This article was published today at 6:52 a.m.
River Valley Ozark, Pages 139 on 04/11/2010

Coming this Month!

I forget to let you know about all the upcoming activities!

This week!

Monday-Wednesday and Friday 3R's Tutoring in the Park from 4pm-6pm

Saturday April 10, 2010
Nehemiah Project/ Not so Extreme Home Makeover with
Chi Alpha in the Park beginning at 10am

Saturday April 10, 2010
King's Club in the Park from 1:00pm-2:30pm

Saturday April 17, 2010

God, Gospel and Poverty Seminar from 9:00am -12:30pm at the United Way Building in Conway Arkansas.

God, Gospel and Poverty is a three hour intensive class desgined to serve local churches and those who serve among the poor and homeless.

In this class, participants will learn about the biblical perspective of poverty, how the Gospel impacts poverty and how to develop appropriate poverty alleviation methods.

This class is conducted in an interactive and lecture format as participants learn from both the teacher and one another. Participation is free and the class is offered four times during the year.

Leave a comment if you have any questions!

I'm Back Once Again!

I think it is so important to take breaks. It allows for new perspective and fresh insight. So we are back to Ministry Monday's, Titus Twosday's, Women in the Word Wednesday's, and Friday Homemaker Moments (Being His Crown) blog posting. Although I am a day behind! I think I still need a break. :)


It's Monday and lots of ministry has taken place, as well as on the horizon. One ministry in particular stands out to me. My cousin past away while I was on a blog break. It certainly came as a shock but the biggest shock of all was at the funeral. It was then that the whole family gathered to remember and consider our current standing in life, that I realized how important family is. My cousin was not unlike the men and women we minister to in the Oakwood community. He struggled with drugs and alcohol. He lost his mother at a young age and his father never received him. I think that had something to do with his downward spiral. But here is the thing people. While Tony's biological family gathered on one side of the room, there were four to five individuals who stood to speak of my late cousin. There words were unmatched by anything anyone in the family could have uttered. One of them said, "I prayed with Tony almost every other day for the past two years." Then another stood and said, "My name is Pastor Somebody. I am representing (church name) where Tony was in fellowship. Tony was a great man who loved the Lord! He always had a smile on his face and was very encouraging to others. We at (church name) loved Tony and will greatly miss him."

Okay so what just happened? My cousin Tony was a member of a local church, he had prayer partners? Who was this guy they were talking about? Then as my Uncle began to preach I felt sick to my stomach. Realizing he is preaching about a family member that no one really knew in the present. Yes we have memories from the past but his very recent past no one in the family could account for. This led me to two conclusions.

The first being Thankfulness! I am thankful to God that He has people in specific places to reach specific people. When no one in our family could or would reach out to Tony God had a plan for him! So for that I am thankful. I could see how the Lord would use me in ministry the same way He used those men who spoke of my cousin at the funeral. They shared Christ with him. Now I don't know that he was a believer but that is not my place to judge a man's salvation. I can only speak to the fruit and verbal confessions. Since, I have neither of those things to go on I simply don't know. For me that is okay, I fully trust the sovereign will and hand of God.

The second conclusion is we need to redeem the time. Earthly family is important and as much as it depends on us we should seek to love, have relationship with and tell of the goodness of Christ in our lives. It is strange to me how we can almost evangelize the whole world and ignore the ones we see everyday or purpose not to see among our own family. I currently live in the same state with a large portion of my relatives and honestly I don't know a large number of them. At the funeral I was guessing at the names of family, based upon who they looked like. Now for the most part I was right but that was really ridiculous. Family is important! I am speaking specifically of extended family. As you consider ministry this Monday I would challenge you as I have been challenging myself to get to know a family member. Take time to minister to your family if you are able. Call them on the phone or go visit for an hour. Take the time to learn intimate details and share them. Pray with someone in your family that you would not have otherwise thought to.

This Ministry Monday is all about how we can minister the love of Christ to those in our own families. The list of ways to do this is endless. But start with a phone call, dinner, a card game or prayer. Love those you have while they are there, it is not guarantee they or you will take the next breath!

This Week in Ministry for the City of Hope Outreach:

Launched Monday March 29, 2010. Tutoring will take place in the Oakwood Village Mobile Park Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 4p-6p. Volunteers are welcome just send me an email or comment and we can get you connected!

Get Out & Smoothie is this Thursday April 1, 2010 at Tropical Smoothie from 5:00pm-9:00pm. This is a fundraiser event for the trailer that is to be built or purchased and placed in the trailer park. 10% of all purchases between 5p-9p will be donated to the City of Hope Outreach. Please come out and enjoy a smoothie or a healthy dinner sandwich with us.

Please keep us in your prayers.

Ministry Monday

click to find out more about Nehemiah Projects

This is where they began!

This is the beginning of the NEW!

This is the Group of HANDS that made it all POSSIBLE!

Saturday was the big day for Emilio and Nancy!  I have shared parts of their story for the past few weeks on the Monday Ministry post. They were moved from their previous living conditions to the new apartment in order that they may begin a new life and have their granddaughter restored to their custody!  There were a large number of people who worked together to make this happen so I will begin my long list of thanks now....

Chi Alpha Campus Ministries (UCA)

Conway Regional Rehabilitation Center

Conway Celebration Church

Due Amiche's Resturant

Faulkner County Council on Developmental Disabilities

NLC Elevation

NU:U Day Spa & Salon

The Church in Oakwood

The City of Hope Outreach

XII Ministry

Ye Ol' Daisy Flower Shop

We

Thank You

Thank You

Thank You!

As we were gathered before heading to work Phillip admonished the group with these words from the book of Isaiah 58.....Fast not by seeking your own pleasure but by sharing your bread with the hungry. Fast by covering the naked. Fast this day by serving this family with Joy and the Love of Christ! 

Again, A BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYONE!

Upcoming Events:

KING'S CLUB  Saturday February 27, 2010 @ 12:30PM Oakwood Trailer Park

Redemption Story

The Lord is really showing me how He redeems! So this is another of those post that if you read you must respond! I simply seek to be encouraged and bring Glory to Christ by reading your story.

What story in scripture (OT &/or NT) speaks loudest to you about the redemptive work of Christ?

How are you amazed by God's plan of redemption for you?

How are you walking in this redemption and sharing or showing Christ to others?

Excited to hear from you! Share your story that Christ may be Glorified!

MAMA BEAR CLAWS!

There was a small incident in the moblie home park on Sunday. A young girl stole money from my daughters wallet that was inside my van. The amount of money was very little ($6), yet it was the principle that mattered more to me. Then a young boy threw a cookie at my daughter (cookies that my children and I made together for the people of Oakwood). While working for the Lord my daughters were abused and taken advantage of. Hummmmmmmm what do we say about these things?

My first instinct was to unleash the claws! I have had a few times of wanting to unleash my momma wrath, but the Lord held me appropriately. So I prayed and the Lord gave me insight. I drove to the mobile home park to find the mother. She wasn't there so the Lord gave me an opportunity to minister to another lady. Who said "the Lord knew I needed to talk to you". She felt encouraged and was given insight on her situation. Then the mother of the children pulled up. So I told her what took place and how that affected my children.

On Sunday this mother was upset at another child because he was throwing a frisbee and it hit her car. She went wild and profaned the child and told the mother she needed to do something with her child (implying the child was out of control and needed discipline).

I reminded her of that statement and informed her to apply that same expression with her own two children. Titus came to mind....older women teach the younger to love (philio= delight in, friendship, relational love) their husbands and children. So I proceeded to explain that her children need her to delight in them. More than anything this world can offer, they need her and ultimately Christ. They need her to care and be interested in them. So the conversation went really well.

I praise God that He allowed this opportunity so I could further build relationships and address the day to day lives of these women. The Lord allowed me to instruct younger women in righteousness (only found in Christ) and help my children to see how truly blessed they are to have parents who love and care for them. But more importantly their Heavenly Father is abundant in blessings, love, and righteousness. The $6 can be replaced and the cookie was soft! But they saw their mother address sin in a loving, caring way. So I pray that the next time the mama bear claws show, that Christ would again show Himself stronger and greater!

Update! Doula or Midwife

I posted a while back about me become a doula or a midwife. Well after some time and prayer I have deceided to begin the training to become a doula which will lead to me becoming a midwife. I am excited because it is just another opportunity for the Lord to use my gifts for His glory. I think it is important that a woman feel as comfortable as possible during one of the most life changing events she will ever experience. So as a doula I will be able to mother the mother in the hospital as well as at a home birth. Many women simply don't understand the fact that God created the human body and in His timing, (not the doctor or nurse who needs to get this one out so they can go to the next one) He will bring life from the womb. Bascially your body will do what God created it to do in its own timing. I digress. I am just excited to be on this new adventure with the Lord. So if you are pregnant or looking to plan a pregnancy and you are in Little Rock, or Conway. Give me a call and I can be your doula :)!

Braving Bullets

The following is the story of Eric Reese who is doing mission work in the urban areas of Rio. His story has been a real source of encouragement as the Lord has called us to do similar work here in Conway. I pray that you are encouraged as well.