Ministry Outreach

Please note that this is a local church here Jacksonville that is doing outreach to a community. I have blocked out names of the people in the community but please be in prayer over what is being done. I worked with Sam last year and I know that God is at work and I wanted to share what He is doing in the lives of this community. I hope it sets fire to what God is wanting to do in you and with you.


Saturday update time!

I want to start this week with some excerpts from a book called Soul Obsession by Nicky Cruz (it’s a great book if anyone needs a recommendation). I feel like these excerpts fully encompass what we’re praying for, hoping for, and experiencing on Saturdays (and every other day of our lives!):

He does so much more than save us; he restores us. Whatever Satan has stolen, God gives back. Whatever time we’ve lost to sin, he reclaims through love. The wounds inflicted upon us by the world are healed by his wonderful grace. This is the Jesus we worship—the Savior who died so that we can live! This is the message we bring to a world still bound by sin. This is the only testimony worth telling—the only thing that really matters! How can we not shout from the rooftops? How can we ever slip into moments of apathy after all that God has done for us? How can we not live with uninhibited passion and zeal, knowing what we know? Understanding what we understand about Satan and his lies? After experiencing the unconditional forgiveness that Jesus brings? How can any man stay silent?

…What will it take for God to finally grab hold and bring about the transformation we need—the transformation we pray for? When will we finally rise up and make a serious dent in Satan’s foothold on the world? The answer is so simple it feels strange to have to say it: we must trust in God for great miracles!

…If there is one thing we have learned through our ministry—through facing the Enemy on his own turf time and time again, day after day, week after week—it is that Satan is a coward. He is a sniveling worm who picks on the most defenseless among us, the most helpless and desperate. Like a playground bully who runs for cover as soon as a kid his size shows up, Satan retreats at the first sign of real power…Do we truly understand the power we have at our fingertips? Do we grasp the significance of the message that we bring to a lost world? Do we comprehend how easily evil can be beaten and revoked by simply opening ourselves up to the moving of the Holy Spirit among us? Do we know what God is capable of doing among us?

God is moving on McDuff Ave., and it’s in large part b/c of all of your prayers and support. Lives are being molded; lives are being changed. ________ came out with us this week (Valentine’s Day) and wrote a few things that stuck out in her mind about the day:

· As I drove up at 7 oclock, two regulars, ____ and ____ were already filling up their bags... we had sooo many sweets, bread and fruit, but it was all gone later in the morning, despite the rain!

· This morning, I was physically uncomfortable. I (along with everybody else, I guess) was wet and cold! If I hadn’t been standing out on McDuff, I would have been in bed asleep with my heated blanket. God really opened my eyes to the suffering that people in Jacksonville endure. And the fact that he is with them in all of it. Sam was telling me about the people that live in the purple house and the fact that they don’t have power… even when its freezing.

· I also saw the brokenness. There were so many smiles, so many "thank yous" and "God bless yous" but through that, I could see through to the brokenness. In the few conversations I had and introductions from Tanys, I found out things about people's lives that were shocking and sometimes heartbreaking. Some people lingered around the table after they had gathered their bags and I had a feeling it was because of the love that they were being shown. I was somewhat nervous about this because I’m not the most outgoing person in the world, but God really filled in the gaps (why do I doubt?). It was easy to love people and talk to people and welcome them and just offer them a smile and handshake and call them by name.

· A dad and his son came up near the end and got some bags of food/ fruit. The dad lived out of town and the son lived in the neighborhood. They used to live on the Southside and the son still goes to elementary school over there. He takes two city buses every morning by himself to get to school! The dad said he was going to come to church and bring the son so he can have a church to walk to on Sunday. I felt like today a lot of people were asking about the church and excited to hear that we were so close. How exciting if more people from the community start coming. Something to pray for.

· ______ giving out Valentines cards and candy to everyone who stopped at the table was another highlight. Some of the people's eyes lit up when they were handed their personalized valentine from ______. What a great way to show God's love.

Great job, _____!


As far as other details, here you go:

It was cold and wet—heavy rains on and off all morning. No fun! We decided to set up (we had so much stuff this week that we had to bring THREE cars!) under the pavilion at the little corner store (where I first set up shop months ago). It took us a good 30 minutes to get everything out and unpacked. Just then, the owner of the shop pulled up and told us to leave!! I wasn’t thrilled (that was a major understatement), but bit my tongue and began moving all our stuff up a block to the ________ house in the pouring rain. ______ kept the baked goods and care packages in her car, and we set the bread under the table covered with a tarp. The fruit stayed out and got washed the old fashioned way! Anyway, thank God that ______ showed up and saw our predicament—and went home and brought back a big tent to set over the table! It truly saved the day—we jerry-rigged the tarp to hang over 1 side of the tent to keep the rain out. By this time lots of people had showed up and had been helping us move the food from the original location, etc. It was awesome to see everyone helping! We heard a lot of people say “I didn’t think you all would be out here today!” and “You all are out here THIS week? In the rain?!?” Ha—it was classic.

To make my usual long-story-short, it was a very powerful day. We had more food than we’ve ever had, and gave every last bit away. I thought it was going to be a slow day, but it turned out (as usual!) to be exactly the right amount of food we needed.

Here are a few highlights:

--Valentine’s Day presents—we received a lot of V-tine’s Day donations and ______ spent a lot of time buying and putting together goody bags—chocolates, V-tine’s cards, etc. Every person that walked up to the table had to go wait by her car as she asked them their names (spelling isn’t easy in the ‘hood!) and filled out individual Valentine cards for everyone. It had to be the highlight of the day—people LOVED the cards/goodies—even the men! I think that it really touched a lot of people’s hearts, and ______ was awesome out there. What an awesome idea—great job, babe! The 3 little kids that always show up were especially blown away (side note: the smallest kid—his name sounds like ____ but spelled like _____. Go figure!). ______ gave out 60 individual cards to people—more people stopped by the table, but they were either too quick to leave or we had run out of cards. What a treat! J

--A coworker’s husband contacted me this week—he works for a big chips manufacturer and every week they have 2-3 big boxes of full-sized bags of chips/popcorn/pretzels, etc. It was great—people really liked getting a bag of chips with their sweets! He thinks they’ll be able to donate the chips every week from here on out. Score!

--Baked goods—once again, the homemade baked goods ruled. ______ drove by to drop off 60 fresh-baked cookies: chocolate dipped snickerdoodle, “Cowboy Cookies” (don’t ask), etc. Someone also made cupcakes with little candy V-tine hearts on them, _____ brought brownies, and _____ and ______ dropped off some brownies and chocolate-covered popcorn balls. Is your mouth watering yet? Seriously, these folks really made a lot of people’s days out there with their treats!! Talk about a spread! Thank you who baked/donated $ for this week!! Even in the rain, the crowds flocked around the table!!!

--My buddy _____ (tear-drop tattoo guy) and his girlfriend stopped by—this kid is so awesome! He looks like the roughest kid you could imagine, but when he comes up to the table he is all smiles and so soft-spoken. He told us that he had won that basketball tournament I dropped him off at last week (it must have been those last-second tips I gave him J ). Cool! They stayed and talked for awhile. I really like _______—something about the way the softest heart shines through the toughest exterior. Our God reigns!

--____ (teenage kid who lives at _______ house—his mom is in jail, remember?) came by and stayed the majority of the morning. He is such nice kid and is so hungry for the love given to him at the table—you can tell how appealing it is to him. Anyway, we picked up him and David again for church the next day (David was really sick, but wanted to come anyway). They came to the first service and really loved the worship. The service was especially powerful Sunday, and both boys came down to receive prayer. _______ had to take them home after the 1st service (I was playing in the band so couldn’t). When they got home, ______ asked if he could come back for the 2nd service!! Awesome! He came up to me right before we started playing and said, “I just had to hear you play again. There’s something powerful going on here today.” He sat alone in the balcony directly above the band to our left. Several times I looked up and saw him with eyes closed, hands stretched out before him worshipping. Statements that _______ later made on Sunday:

“Today was so powerful. I knew that the Lord was here.”
“I love this church.”
“I think I’m going to start sitting by myself during worship…I liked it better b/c I didn’t have to worry about others looking at me if I raised my hands.”
God is working on this kid’s heart, people!

--_______ has also been coming to church the past 2 weeks and seems to really like it (especially the Starbucks coffee!).

--the ______ (the family in the purple house)—bad news: mom has been sick for months and months and it got so bad this week she had to be lifted to Gainesville (over an hour away from here). One of the ladies who used to live with her called me to tell me that they think it’s lung cancer. The kids are staying at their dad’s house and (from what I understand) visiting mom when they can. The prognosis is grave for her. It’s terrible, but here’s what I know: Our God is an awesome God, and He is the Great Physician. He is able to laugh at death b/c He’s already conquered it. Lord, you are so good—even when things look bad, we know that you are good. We ask in boldness that you intervene with ______—interrupt her health status and bring your healing!!! You are above ALL things, and tell that cancer to leave her body in the Name of Jesus—it has no place there. We also ask that this would be her impetus and the earth-rattling event that gets her attention—and focus it on YOU.

Ministry Needs:

--Food (especially homemade baked goods). We’ve got the Publix; we’ve got the fruit donations; but EVERY week it’s the homemade stuff that has saved us and given us EXACTLY the right amount of food! Please contact us if you feel led to bake!

-- Care package items—we need everything right now—toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouthwash, deodorant (men’s and women’s), laundry detergent, soap, hand sanitizer, razors, lotion, shampoo/conditioner, etc—if you think a family can use it, they probably can! IF YOU CAN DONATE IT, WE’LL TAKE IT.

--Bottled water—we’re down to a few cases. I think Walgreens has 24 packs on sale for $3 this week…

--BIKE WEEK—we’re having “Bike Week” on Saturday—if you have ANYTHING bike-related to donate, we will take it (tubes, chains, lube, WHOLE BIKES!, etc.). So far we have somewhere between 7-9 bikes to give away to those who need them, and a few guys volunteering time to work on people’s bikes as they arrive. It’s going to be a HUGE day—lots of people have been asking about Bike Day and are telling their friends to bring their bikes. Also, if you have any know-how with bike repair, we’d LOVE to have you come out to help. Please contact A.D. Simone (alan@owenservices.com) or Danny Domingo (emandmad@vzw.blackberry.net) before Saturday so they have an idea who is coming or what parts are being donated. They are spearheading this shindig and are the guys to talk shop to about bikes.

--Prayer—again, saving the most important for last. Again to quote from that book from the beginning of this email (I hope I don’t get sued for plagiarism!), here’s a prayer that I am pleading over McDuff—please join with me:

Lord, you know the death and bondage that are so evident in those neighborhoods—the total disregard for life, the addictions, the numbness and lifelessness, and the slavery that Satan has yoked those people with... “and we will no longer tolerate it. In the name of Jesus, we bind Satan here and now. We demand that Satan have no more power in this neighborhood…and no more influence in this community. We will no longer tolerate evil in this neighborhood!” We don’t want to get into an argument with the Enemy; we want you to DRIVE HIM OUT with his tail between his legs!

Colossians 2:10:

“…you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.”

Philippians 2:10-11:

“…that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.”

There is a battle being fought before our very eyes. Pray for the victory!

Sam