Christian Life Center Newsletter
June 6, 2008

 

Braving the Heat!

The summer season is upon us and we have great teams signed up to volunteer and brave the hot summer heat!  We are super excited about the ministry that will take place this summer as a number of youth groups will be helping us with sports camps and VBS programs.  Pastor Dave, from our church plant, is coordinating these different ministries for the volunteer groups.  

Time and time again the community communicates to us how grateful they are for the volunteers and the impact they have on the community.  This week we built a play set at a local community park.  The youth groups from Lilburn Alliance and First Alliance in Toccoa, Georgia did the construction. What a great bunch of kids! To celebrate we threw a big party with water slides and tons of food. The Mayor of Waveland helped us out by manning the BBQ and bringing his family to join in the fun. Check out the link below to see some great pics.

http://albums.phanfare.com/isolated/2bgkJ6k4/4535280/2046315

Christian Life Church Update:

One of the best ways to connect with someone is over a cup of coffee. Believing this to be true, our church has a weekly Coffee House on Wednesday night where all we do is serve folks from the community and connect with them over a cup of coffee.  Our goal is to create a safe space where folks from the community can connect to each other and to God.  One of the blessings that have come out of the Coffee House is an increase in the number of youths that are now showing up every week to drink coffee and hang out.  These kids are un-churched in every way imaginable and are choosing to hang out at church!  Awesome!

Now that we see God actively at work in this area, we want to join Him!  We are presently seeking God for a youth pastor who has a passion for lost kids and is sensing a call to ministry in this way.  Youth Ministry in Waveland is closer to an urban, un-churched context than a suburban churched context. Our desire is to develop a youth ministry for the deeply broken and hurting youth of this community.  If you know someone who might be interested in ministering in Waveland as a Youth Minister please have them call or write the Center as soon as possible. (contact info below)

 

Reconstruction Update:

We continue to take applications and rebuild homes.  To date this year we have assisted 54 families in the completion of their homes.  We presently have 210 applicants that still need our assistance.  Experts have noted that the reconstruction of homes on the Gulf Coast is expected to last an additional 6 years.  It is our desire to be a part of that process as long as the Lord gives us a team locally and volunteers nationally to get the job done.    

 

Thrift Store Update:

Wow! Where do I start? The Thrift Store has been such a tremendous blessing and point of connection to the community.  We have hundreds of local folks coming to the Center every week to shop.  We are able to talk with them, hear their stories and, many times, connect through prayer.  

The most recent blessing of this fabulous outreach is that we are now seeing local folks volunteering to help us out!  A huge answer to prayer!  And as if that weren’t great enough, we have just started an Addiction Recovery program for interested patrons.  The first group is already at capacity!  What an incredible work God is doing through this little hut! 

Please be praying for the Thrift Store’s outreach opportunities, the Addiction program and an increase in local volunteers.  Each element is a crucial part of reaching out to those who feel hopeless.  Feel free to visit our Photo Link to check out pictures of the Thrift Store and the work that God is doing there.

http://albums.phanfare.com/isolated/A19L3RP1/4535280/2048942

Stories: “The Fingers of God in the Little Things”:

The Thrift Store has become a tremendous vehicle for seeing the fingers of God at work every day in the heart’s of people.  Recently we had a pair of 6XL shorts donated to the Store.  Dave Bartelt, our Thrift Store manager, set the shorts aside and called a customer to let him know that some shorts had come in that may fit him.  The man came in, and after trying them on, had tears in his eyes because he only owned two pairs of paints, both of which had holes.  He could not afford to buy new shorts at a big and tall store.  Not only did this assist him financially, but he was blown away emotionally in that he had been remembered and made a priority.   He was deeply impacted and moved by Dave’s thoughtfulness and follow through.  This is the Love of God working in the hearts of lost ones.

Also, we recently had a couple that Dave Bartelt discovered was sleeping outside their home on mattresses.  For varying reasons they cannot sleep in their home so they are compelled to sleep outside.  When Dave went to their home and saw their situation, he went immediately to Wal-Mart and bought them a tent. Dave told me that after seeing the situation he simply could not “do nothing”.  I have thought a lot about what Dave said to me.  How often do the most broken ones among us go unnoticed? How often do we, in our busyness, “do nothing”?

 

Long Term Opportunities to Serve:

(A)Youth Pastor

Please email us at info@clcgulfcoast.com if you have any interest in this missional opportunity!

 

Conclusion:

As the work continues, we thank God each day for volunteers and all they do to keep the ministry running.  Please continue to pray for us – we covet your intercession for us!

As always, we look forward to the next time you are in town!

Blessings,

 

Mark D Young

Director

719-659-4638

mark@clcgulfcoast.com