[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
The Four Most Important Things...
My time in New York was amazing. I spent a week with Metro Ministries serving
them and seeing different aspects of their ministry. We lived in the middle of
the ghetto. I was a minority all week and it was absolutely wonderful to be
surrounded by Blacks, Dominicans and Hispanics!!!
I was blessed to see what God had planned for me being there. I met many people
that I will keep in contact with and I had an opportunity to share my vision
with Bill Wilson, who started this ministry in New York and he was excited about
my vision and wanted to help in whatever way he could.
Okay. My days were full. By 8:30 in the morning I was off to wrapping presents,
packing food, and things of that sort. At noon we would break for lunch and 1pm
we would meet again to go with the street ministry programs. In the time we were
there (one week) over 12,000 kids were ministered to... (this includes giving
them each a stocking and a gift - which explains the wrapping presents *grin*)
But in every week every child that comes to the sidewalk sunday school (which I
will explain in a minute) is also visited in their homes. The children from the
ghetto need a lot of love and affection because many do not get it at home. The
ministry has been operating long enough that several of the staff are actually
kids who grew up in the ghetto and in this ministry. I was amazed to see the
love that flowed from the 'hard' people. Some with scars from knife wounds down
their faces, the ones you 'expected' to be hard and mean, were the ones who were
the kindest of all.
So at 1pm every weekday several trucks go to different areas of New York -
equipped with a stage, sound system, everything needed to have church. And the
pull into a park, parking lot, anything that has room (with permits) and lay 2
tarps on the ground - one for the boys and one for the girls. And the children
begin piling in for 'Yogi Bear Sunday School'. A service is full of prayer,
memory verse, songs, games, message and story... There are simple rules and the
'Four Most Important Things' (the foundation for everything they talk about)
which are as follows:
1. God Loves Me
2. I have Sinned
3. Jesus Died for Me
4. I Need to Decide to Live for God
Anyway, the saturday I was there we had 6 services 'inside' the actual church
there. The same basic program. Tuesday there was the youth church split into
12-14 and 16-18 and both services were packed full. Sunday church was the same
there were 3 services as well as a seperate church in the Bronxs... every single
one of them were packed.
I was encouraged because you were able to see the results of what was happening
in the ministry. In the service I went to on Sunday I was amazed to see easily
over 50 people come up and give their lives to Jesus... one of them had brought
her children to the sunday school and had gone to the sunday school herself
since she was 8... Sometimes the seeds you plant take years to manifest.
I was blessed as I saw the 'hard' kids and how easy it actually was to minister
to them. It made me excited about what God has for me in ministering to the
street children of Romania.
Well I suppose I will end for now. I am sorry for the group email for those who
wrote me personally. The personal ones are coming!
In His Grip,
Amy Tompkins
---------------
Unsubscribe by going to http://www.actwin.com/MediaNation/OtR/