theCityShouldBeDifferent: Gathering at Stellar Beans Tomorrow (been a cool 3 weeks!)

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Gathering at Stellar Beans Tomorrow (been a cool 3 weeks!)

In the last 3 weeks we have been doing some interesting stuff:

Supporting Kids in Schools

We helped put on the Field Day at JFK Elementary by volunteering and bringing the prizes.
We also brought some new P.E. equipment and benches needed at the school.
Participated in classroom mentoring at JFK during the year, and the American Press wrote a great article, which you can find here,
We participated in the Graduation of the 5th graders there. 25 5th graders at JFK and ALL of them passed the LEAP! 11 of the class scored as Advanced or Mastery - WOW! We will be participating Shadowing a Professional with these kids and others this summer.

2 weeks ago, we held our Worship Gathering at the Civic Center Seawall, at the Marina and had a great boat party afterward. We were able to take kids in the boat and tubing who had never been in a boat before. We got to meet and worship Jesus with people we met at the Civic Center. We prayed over our city, while we were at one of the keystone places.
Last weekend we had:

Mancamp at Toledo Bend - way cool! We fished, swam, threw ax's, cooked meat over fire, went tubing behind the boat, watched Saving Private Ryan, and worshiped Jesus around a fire...what else can you say!
Ladychurch at ShaSha's - Jesus' people can meet anywhere. We think that theCityChurch should be different, too!

We moved our Freedom Display to the Water's Edge Gatering's Community Theater for the 5K Run for Freedom today to support International Justice Mission - very cool! Ben Spenser was in charge of creating the interactive experience to tell the story about the enslaved, and we were so glad to support that effort!

Tomorrow we gather at Stellar Beans again, after a couple of weeks doing other things. I can't wait to see you at 10:45 tomorrow. We're starting a new series, and it will be very interesting!

We're planting a church because we want God's love to make our city different.

Paul

Mentor Paul Pettefer congratulates Ja’marlin LaFleur on winning a “PBIS award.” LaFleur was given the award when a teacher caught him doing something nice for someone else. (Michelle Higginbotham / Special the American Press)

2 comments:

Pattie RupertJune 2, 2012 at 4:34 PM
And we had baptisms! Jesus rocks.
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Paul PetteferJune 2, 2012 at 6:14 PM
How could I forget - Two baptisms on the Marina dock! I love marking the crossing from death to life!
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theCityShouldBeDifferent

Since #JesusIsAlive, then from #Goosport2Graywood #theCityShouldBeDifferent

theCityShouldBeDifferent.com

a move to Unite theChurchatLakeCharles.us

and Transform the city

through Building Capacity for Engagement

So That John 17:20-23 can happen here, now.

OK, that sounds good, but what does that mean? So here is an Example: We have this enormous industrial expansion headed to SWLA, bringing 25,000+ new construction jobs. There are lots of, say, young men in our area who are not meaningfully participating in the workforce, but who could certainly fulfill the unskilled helper jobs that will be a small portion of this large construction workforce needed. What they need to be ready for these jobs is some hope. We, church, are charter members in the hope trade. So, via relational engagement, we let the young men borrow some hope from us, inspiring some to begin working on improving their character and soft skills, getting ready for this meaningful work opportunity.

There are a bunch of kickers in this real-life scenario.

1.) The industrial construction helpers can make $15 an hour, and typically have lots of overtime. This scenario really stomps on the gas pedal in this way: a new entrant into the workforce in this situation can save enough to buy a reliable car in 1-2 months! That is hope building; dignity establishing!

2.) If we are going to see a thousand young men (that's my vision) pass through this opportunity, we will need a whole-bunch of support systems, meaning mentors, encouragers, soft-skills instructors, rides to work and more.

3.) When we engage with our real-life neighbors, in real-life serving, everyone's character, everyone's faith in Jesus gets a real shot at growing! It's what you call, Discipleship.

4.) When a young man gets a job that can pay $40k a year, they have real options! They can get more education and training. They can inspire those around them to follow them. They can be inspired by those who invested in their life for free and set them up for this situation, and they can help the next group of young men who aren't working get on board.

5.) When people from all corners of the city who are a part of the Jesus story get engaged together on a real-life mission worth doing, one that doesn't benefit any of the men or their churches directly, but the benefits are so powerful and real, then we get to build trust, relationships and capacity and see that Jesus unites and trumps race or class. We get new respect for each other and our capacity to do go and be real brothers is greater than we could have foreseen

...

Are you getting a little glimpse at the picture?

The people who follow Jesus are carrier's of the Hope of the World. We, in the Lake Charles area, have a beautiful opportunity to engage with our community, building relationships and helping lots of people see who Jesus is more clearly.

There is lots more to say, so stay tuned and, if you are intrigued, lean your voice into the mix. Contact Paul Pettefer at 337-794-9891, paul@employmentisbetter.com, @paulpettefer, or stop by the InterGalactic Offices of theCityShouldBeDifferent.com located inside Laundry World, 2712 Lake St, Lake Charles.