CityKidz' Stories - Episode 1!

That's right, Citychurch kicked off it's children's outreach program for the spring semester last night with the introduction of "CityKidz' Stories".  This "show" offers a wellspring of creative thinking to reach into the child's mind and heart giving them a fresh look at God, Jesus and how we should live our lives for Him.

After the kids arrived at the church from the van ride, they entered the cafe where they ate hand-battered fried chicken, green beans, corn, mashed potatoes and rolls, almost a Thanksgiving spread!  During dinner the kids had a surprise visit from Mr. O.T. Hinklee, the Weelz shop owner from the "show".

When they had there fill of food, they made their way into the main church auditorium, which had been transformed into a street corner.  It has an alley, a store front called "Weelz" where Mr. O.T. Hinklee works as a repair man, and of course The Bass Monster and his tamer.  The Bass Monster is the watchdog for the Weelz shop, but also the spring of truth, ready to spout scripture and words of wisdom straight from the Bible.

While Mr. O.T. Hinklee and The Bass Monster were the good guys on the corner, the van was base to a group of wannabe thugs, Rantz the dog, Edward Peabody aka "Skinnie D-Wayne", Hector the ape, and Chaquita the chicken.  These thugs made their appearance in a chopped VW van, complete with rims, custom green paint and flames.  The kids know this group as the Green Van Villain Gang.

The show will run through the spring semester every Wednesday evening, the food is served at 5:00pm, and the show starts at 5:30pm.

I look back this morning, and think about why we go to such lengths for these kids.  Then I see them come bouncing in, eyes and mouths open in wonder at the show that is performed just for them.  These kids spend most of their young lives in having gifts given to them, then taken or stolen from a cousin or dad needing money.  We try to battle that by gearing everything we do towards them, they need to know and feel like Wednesday night is there because of how IMPORTANT they are as a little kid.

This is an important tool God has allowed us to use to reach their hearts.  Everywhere else they are beat down, stolen from, or forgotten about, but at church they are important, not just to us but to God.  They hear about God's love for them and how the can have a relationship with God through Jesus.  We encourage them to do the right thing in life by writing stories that deliberately mock the world in their neighborhood and make heroes out of those who choose to follow God and his directives.

At the end of last night, we had served over 40 kids food and the message of forgiveness from a God who loves them.  As those who wanted to make a choice to follow God left the room for counseling, I looked across the room to see that well over half of the audience had left...to be counseled.

God sees to it that His work is complete.  He loves these kids down here and wants them to know He loves them.  Citychurch is here at the frontlines, ready to move on that purpose alone, using whatever we have at our disposal to see the mission complete.

-Jeremy

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Pain's Progeny

prog·e·ny    [proj-uh-nee] –noun,

1. a descendant or offspring, as a child, plant, or animal.

2. such descendants or offspring collectively.

3. something that originates or results from something else; outcome; issue.

This week we have witnessed the return of a young man to his single mother. This young man will either be the spark that gives the hope to his family that God can change their circumstances or he will be the source of inescapable heartbreak.

He is eight years old and returning from a week-end spent in a psychiatric hospital where he was tested for every conceivable explanation for his destructive behavior. He suffers from whatever condition would cause you to tear apart your schoolroom and then urinate on yourself in the hall-way.

His tendencies are that of someone that has experienced hurt far beyond his years. Perhaps it was his mother's drug use during pregnancy or the incarcerated father he has never known that hardened his heart. Or, maybe it was the abusive boyfriend that waited in the closet with a butcher knife; ready to attack when he and his mother came back to their apartment. He's never known safety...or peace.

He's not a monster. To most, he looks like a real little boy. He helped me make food to serve at a special dinner at the church. He was proud to have something good to tell his mother when she came to check in on him. He felt decent.

Now he is anesthetized with a three-part cocktail of benadryl and two other drugs given to "slow him down". He's slow now. The behavior is tame. The hurt is compounded now by his inability to express it. If he can bottle up his rage for a couple of days he'll no doubt be paraded in front of everyone he tried to reach out to unsuccessfully so we can affirm him.

He still sleeps on the floor. He still has no father. He can't read and will no doubt be held back in school next year. His mother loves him and tried to help. He'll be picked up and brought to Citychurch Sunday morning.

There's a lot of ambitious wonder in our conversation these days. Our great aspirations must sound so silly from God's perspective when the only way we can win the hearts of our little boys is to drug them into submission.

The good news is, Citychurch knows where he lives.

Pastor, Donnie Lane Jr.

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How to get to...Polk Street?

Over the last two weeks we have been working on creating the new children's outreach program.  This involved brainstorming, building, photography, printing, and several great big stickers!  For now, I will post some teaser photos...and maybe next week we can post some finished set photos with some more description about what will be happening.  Think puppets, art and dj.

Backdrops?

Brainstorming Sketches

Puppets & Future Stage Prop

A Family for God

The other day a man from the neighborhood came into the church with his wife and kids, seeking encouragement for his family.  He had been struggling to unify his family, something the world works to destroy.  As I shared with him the hope we have in following Christ to raise a unified family, his eyes began to swell, his hope and faith grew.

I then offered him a bible, with his family name imprinted on it, for free.  His heart broke and could no longer hold back the tears as he reached for it.

He knew the bible contained everything needed to ensure that his family stood justified before God, the story of Christ.  To see this book and touch it, and know that there was a church family there to stand with them and support them was a bright shining beacon in their hour of darkness.

The spirit moved in his heart and he was certain of God's love for him and his family.  But even more so, he was affirmed of his conviction of leading his family together towards the Lord.  He knew God can do wonderful things through a family devoted to Him and that brokenness was key in being able to follow Christ.

There are hard hearts in these neighborhoods.  Some may seem completely unreachable, and not worth the time and effort it might take to show them the Lord.  But God completes His work, and we are blessed to watch Him soften some of the hardest hearts, using things we can completely overlook.

Check back here in another day or two to catch our progress on the new children's program starting on January 26, 2011.

To return to our website, click here...www.citychurchamarillo.com

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Hear the sermons here...www.sermon.net/citychurchamarillo