Investments. In Relationships

This young man at T H Watkins is practicing being interviewed
by KPLCTV about his leadership at his school...Yes!

We have been hard at work. Making investments. Investments in relationships with the young, the not so young, and in-between. Tonight I'm just loading some pictures of friends and family, of high-points and things that mark a typical day. We have lots and lots and lots to share about city changing, harnessing the opportunities from the upcoming industrial expansion to activate the unemployable because of lack of character readiness, about deploying the church to support that effort. About encouraging and equipping entrepreneurs to practice a lifestyle of engagement with their businesses. About helping others learn to live on purpose, and growing in our own engagement in the process. More on that soon. In the meantime, we will keep investing in relationships! 

#theCityWillBeDifferent  

paul

This is in the parking lot, following a 16 hour work day.
We laughed at Buck telling a great story. What a great day!

Our crew at Passion 2014. Investments in following Jesus!

Sam getting ready to play the keys at the 3rd
Annual Celebration of Children's Banquet

Here we are at T H Watkins, Again! #PartnersInEd

Here you get on of the teachers at T H Watkins in on the
action! These boys are growing, and they LOVE It when
adults invest in their lives.

This great friend is practicing the art of the party!
We are wrapping up is rockin afternoon of building
friendships! #GoTrent

I met this young man in 2012, and we've been through
a lot. I have learned much, and so has Nick. 

This young princess made me this hat! #funatwork

Here are several young man working and growing via
our Internships at Laundry World. 

Ms. Victorian, Principal at T H Watkins!

Our 1st 5th Grade led cookout for the PTO at
T H Watkins. The Kids LOVE IT when Adults invest
in relationships with them.  Chuck and Sam are in the mix!

It's how the city gets different. 

These artists held the "Hate Violence Movement" at
Lock Park, and we got to be a part.

Monica Grimoldo from KPLCTV covered our 2nd PTO
Cookout hosted by us and the 5th Graders. We invited her
to come back and teach the kids how to do an interview.
The kids LOVE IT when caring adults invest in relationships
with them! #areyoufindingatrendhere

Ms. Ann Polok has been coming to Watkins for several
hours a week, and the kids LOVE IT! 

Yeah, Ms. Victorian and T H Watkins!

Every Friday morning is Synergy Rally!

I am so proud of these two young men. It's been my honor
to get to be a part of their lives. Here they are working hard
in the middle of the night redoing the ceiling at Laundry World.

Sam and Buck, at work! Learning skills, learning character
learning to lead themselves and others. Work is a great
context for relationship, mentoring and growth in character
and capacity! 

My brother and one of my very best friends, Willie King.
We are at the MLK Breakfast. But you could take a picture
of us almost anywhere!

Here Buck learns a new skill, pressure washing. This task
has several components for him to grow. More on that later.

Welcome to the Princess Party that is my life.
These are my wonderful daughters. My biggest investment!

Buck and I at Passion 2014. #InItToEndIt
The red X is to show that we are in it to end
global human trafficking. 

Mardi Gras at T H Watkins! 

This is Hannah Pettefer. She is Incredible! This was her
3rd year to be a part of the Celebration of Children's
Banquet. Yeah!!!

This is April the Beautiful. She is wise and wonderful.
This is our 21st Anniversary #iloveApriltheBeautiful

This is the Donuts with Dads. I got to speak with dads, and
build new relationships. The PTO is growing and we
so love that!!!

Hate Violence

Today, a new friend, Jarvis Jacob, is organizing a day to take guns and knives out of hands and put in a pen, a brush or a mic. It's the Have Violence Movement rally in Lock Park, Lake Charles.

I'll get the chance to share for a few minutes there later today.  

I'll be telling the story of violence and her origins, and the way out of soul-death.

Oh, and for many, part of the process of walking in a new way will include the need for a real job. God is providing for that, too, with thousands and thousands of new jobs in our area in the next decade.

Stay tuned, more to come on both of those fronts.

Because God's Love is Alive, the from #Goosport2Graywood #theCityShouldBeDifferent

Paul

Give the Kids an Opportunity: Our 2nd PTO Cookout at T H Watkins

UPDATE: We are so grateful to KPLCTV.com and reporter Monica Grimaldo for covering the 5th Graders and Leaders & Teachers at T H Watkins.  What a great story, thank you!

KPLC 7 News, Lake Charles, Louisiana

Look what when we make pathways for kids to serve!

I'm writing you from the keys of my smartphone in the Cafeteria at T. H. Watkins Elementary School at 2501 7th Avenue in is Lake Charles. It's about 4 O'Clock Tuesday, September 24, 2013, and the 5th Graders will be showing up at 4:30. Today is not our first time here. We've come several times already to mentor kids, give a little money for the school's needs, attend a day-long training to implement the Leader In Me (Yeah!), and to get reading volunteers started in 6 classrooms here. There are about a dozen of us engaged at this school, from a couple different churches, with some more friends ready to get started.

Why are we doing this? Well, because this is our city, full of neighbors. Neighbors to serve and befriend. Neighbors to learn from and to share learning a with.Also, Jesus said that little children are way important in His Kingdom, and since we follow Jesus, we say RightOn!

Collin joined in the fun...you can smell the welcoming
environment coming off those chicken quarters!

So today our goal is to support the great work the teachers and leaders are doing here, our part being to make the environment here more inviting. Like the aroma from the BBQ pit draws you in, the service of others draws us in. Ms. Victorian, the principal here, told me she has some great parents here, but sometimes it's hard to get everyone at PTO gatherings, so I said, "Hey, I'll cook for them, making it easier for them to come." Then it hit us, since we are doing the Leader In Me at Watkins, let's lead the oldest kids here, 5th grade, to host the PTO cookout!

Mr. Hollier teaches 5th grade, and her kids were fantastic
servants today, soaking up the leadership learning.

So a few weeks ago in August that is what we did. It was fantastic! Kids were engaged and they so impressed us and the staff and the parents.

This awesome dad was the designated rib cutter.
They were fall-off-the-bone, so his station was smile central!

Since they were faithful with first things, we want to give them more responsibility and opportunity. So today we are cooking ribs and chicken for the parents and families for Math Night at Watkins!  I'll post some more pics and story later.

We are doing this because God has already loved us. And now we can love others, no strings, no catch. We are doing this so that our city can have a more clear view of who Jesus really is. The way that happens in my world is through relationships. There won't be any preaching from me tonight, and we're not sneaking gospel tracts onto the rib plates. We are here with an ultimate motive, but never an ulterior motive!

After the parents and kids learned at Math Night, all 200+
of us enjoyed the Ribs & Chicken dinner.  Serving that many
in a few minutes was a bit of a blur.
The T H Watkins team were tireless servants!

Because Jesus is alive, then from Goosport 2 Graywood, theCityShouldBeDifferent.

And the Ribs and Chicken should be way tasty!

Our goal at T H Watkins is to have 50 people from at least 5 different churches engaged at this school this year. The teachers have been asked and given us times and places to go read to the kids there, and let them read to you.  About 30 minutes a week, lots of times available.  We're ready, so get in the game!  paul@thecitychurch.us  or call/text Paul 794-9898, twitter @paulpettefer, or ryancnugent@gmail.com

Signed,

Paul Pettefer, lead volunteer servant to the city

Serving just takes the Want To - Our 1st PTO Cookout at T H Watkins, Aug 2013

Last year I was able to get to share briefly with the Elementary School Principals of Calcasieu Parish about Engagement and getting more people volunteering to help the schools accomplish their mission.  Ms. Godfrey, Assistant Principal at T H Watkins Elementary School called me and asked me to come to their school and work with a student who had some challenges.  I'm so glad she did!

Several good things have transpired, one of which is we were able to serve the school by providing a meal for the families who attended the 1st 2 PTO meeting this year at T H Watkins.  Even better than that, however, is that we allowed this opportunity to engage the 5th Graders at Watkins in the work.

The 5th Graders help in planning, preparing, cooking, serving and cleaning up.

They were so engaged in the August PTO that we decided to do it again in September. Since they were faithful in the 1st things, they were given more, and the menu went from burgers and hot dogs in August to Chicken and Ribs in September.

Here are some pic's from the 1st PTO in August.  We'll add more to the story tomorrow.

"Doing God's Work Outside of Church - Investing in what matters most" Editorial in Today's American Press

Today, we'll just share what others, like our rocin' local paper, the American Press, and our engaged television station, KPLCTV, are saying about people who follow Jesus letting their lives engage with their neighbors in their city...doing God's work.  (The pictures and video at the bottom are from Good Friday at Sunlight Manor.)

Editorial, April 3, 2013

Lake Charles American Press, Editorial: Doing God's work outside of church: Investing our lives in what matters most

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

In the grand scheme of matters, it was a small gesture, yet one with powerful possibilities.

On Good Friday, leaders and members of several churches gathered at the Sunlight Manor apartments and McMillan Park to help salve wounds from a tragedy. Mere yards away nine days before, three young men had been gunned down. Children in the neighborhood heard the gunfire that night and awoke to yellow police tape.

Within steps of where the trio had departed this life, these children, working alongside adults, sawed wood, hammered nails and painted three benches in memory of Jeminskian J. Arvie, 20, Jermaine Galmore, 23 and Fitzgerald Tremayne Guillory, 20.

Two organizers, the Rev. Braylon Harris of Mt. Olive Baptist Church, and Paul Pettefer, pastor of The City Church, sought to turn tragedy into triumph. They decided at a community prayer meeting two days following the shooting to produce an all-day event geared to returning joy to the park and connecting young people with adult mentors.

‘‘The wake of destruction coming from the decline is so powerful, it is sweeping over us,’’ said Pettefer. ‘‘The awful terror in McMillan Park ... like the tragedies preceding it, such as when three people were killed in one weekend in December, are signs for us to do more than just wring our hands, or say, ‘‘Somebody should do something!’.’’

Harris said besides activities such as an Easter egg hunt, tugs of war, jumping ropes and Hula Hoops, organizers wanted to inform area residents about mentoring programs like the Leader in Me and Stop the Madness that helps support at-risk youngsters.

‘‘There is one race, which is the human race, facing one problem, which is evil and destruction, with only one possible solution, which is the love of God,’’ said Harris.

He said to stop the rising ‘‘waters of violence and terror’’, it’s time to ‘‘build a levee of love, from Goosport to Graywood, one handshake, one rice scoop, one bending down to tie a shoe and this week we will do it one Easter egg, at a time.’’

The significance of such an event held on Good Friday was not lost. Good Friday is the darkest day in the Christian world when Jesus Christ was crucified. From that came the most critical day in Christianity, Easter morning when Christ rose from the grave.

‘‘We believe,’’ said Pettefer, ‘‘that a transformation of culture is what is needed in our city, and a huge part of that rests with the full-on engagement of its citizens, led by the people who belong to this resurrected Jesus, the Church, to invest our lives in what will matter forever, which is people.’’

‘‘ ... This is not just a south Lake Charles problem, not just a north Lake Charles problem, not just a white problem, not just a black problem. No, we believe that destruction like this is a King of God problem, and that the solution is that the Church united in bringing God’s overwhelming love to bear.’’

In essence, Harris, Pettefer, pastors of other churches in Southwest Louisiana and their flocks are mindful of the Bible’s Book of James which advises that ‘‘faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.’’

They are proof that what happens outside of the four walls of a specific church is just as important, if not more so, than what transpires inside.

This is as good as time as any for pastoral leaders and their congregations to take inventory and ask, ‘‘What works are we involved in?’’

• • •

This editorial was written by a member of the American Press Editorial Board. Its content reflects the collaborative opinion of the Board, whose members include Bobby Dower, Jim Beam, Crystal Stevenson and Donna Price.

Pictures of Good Friday in Saturday, March 30 Paper

Front Page Story of Good Friday at Park,
Saturday, March 30, 2013 American Press

Link to the text of the editorial: http://www.americanpress.com/AP-Editorial-4-3-13

Lead News Story KPLCTV on Good Friday at Sunlight Manor/McMillan Park

KPLC 7 News, Lake Charles, Louisiana

Montage of video clips on Good Friday: Arrival, Egg Hunt, Bench Building

Good Friday at the Park from the eyes of 8 year old Jeremiah!

Prayer and Bench Dedication at Good Friday

At the "Amen" of the opening prayer, the children dashed out to
find thousands of eggs, kicking off Good Friday at Sunlight Manor

These young men are already in a mentoring
group at a nearby church - that's what we're
talking about!

Young people are participating in building the memorial
benches (under very close supervision!)

Our Mayor, Randy Roach, gets in the game on the bench
building (he was quite skilled on the table saw!)

Here is a group of young people who are already being
mentored by the adults at the park on a regular basis!

Bench #1 is completed!
(We still have the 3rd bench to complete, and will do so
in the couple weeks following Good Friday)

These two headed up the kids activities - it was a blast!

More young people participating in the construction of the
memorial benches!

The prayer and bench dedication were moving!

These three young men are remembered.
#theCityShouldBeDifferent
#Goosport2Graywood

The walk and Worship Gathering to conclude the day
were powerful!  #JesusIsAlive

Love Is Alive in Lake Charles: Good Friday at Sunlight Manor - When the Good News of Jesus intersects the bad news of culture failure

GOOD FRIDAY UPDATE:  Today was GREAT!  We are so proud of theChurchAtLakeCharles, with over 20 churches and business collaborating to host a day of joy for children, remembrance and compassion for the families who lost 3 sons last week, and a day of life-on engagement where caring adults spent time with young people.  THANK YOU to those who contributed to the effort with your time and resources.

If you are interested in being a Mentor, or are looking for a Mentor, we will be posting some specific phone numbers of the 1st New Life Baptist Church's mentoring group shortly.  Until then, you can call/text/email Paul Pettefer, 337-794-9891, paul@theCityChurch.us and we will get you connected to them.

Because #JesusIsAlive, then from #Goosport2Graywood #theCityShouldBeDifferent




Where tragedy and destruction had their moment, the people who follow Jesus want to have something beautiful rise up out of the ashes, like young men and boys developing mentoring relationships. So on Good Friday, March 29, 2013, at the site of the 3 murders just two days ago, a group of ministers and friends will be hosting #GoodFridayntheLC. Be there and begin your lifestyle of engagement.

The primary actionable goal at the end of this day is to connect boys and young men who come with Jesus-following mentors.

From Goosport to Graywood, theCityShouldBeDifferent

If you want in, just contact us, paul @ 794-9891, paul@thecitychurch.us

Why we should be doing this (recorded 2 days before the Sunlight Manor killings):

Flyer for Good Friday at Sunlight Manor (feel free to share!):

News and Images on the 3 killings:

The night of the 3 killings, March 20, 2013, Sunlight Manor

Suspect is arrested.  How tragic for the victims, and for him.

The families all grieve. Such horrible loss. We pray for them.
And we take steps to bring God's love to the city.

The 3 photo's above are from KPLCTV.com

Stories from AmericanPress.com
http://www.americanpress.com/Three-dead-in-shooting-at-McMillian-Park
http://www.americanpress.com/Car-linked-to-fatal-shootings-found


Here are the stories from KPLCTV.com:
http://www.kplctv.com/story/21752781/shooting-investigation-possible-homicide
http://www.kplctv.com/story/21762266/residents-gather-at-mcmillan-park-to-grieve-encourage
http://www.kplctv.com/category/240197/new-video-landing-page?clipId=8680608&autostart=true
http://www.kplctv.com/story/21769483/authorities-release-details-in-arrest-of-triple-homicide-suspect
http://www.kplctv.com/story/21773194/lcp
http://www.kplctv.com/story/21760106/triple-homicide

Engagement lifestyle: the city needs us

The more I live in Lake Charles, the more I open myself up to new opportunities, being around people who are like me and people who are not like me, the bigger God swells my heart.  And the more excitement and burden I feel about connecting the people in our city, starting with the church. The kind of connecting I'm talking about can start in all kinds of ways, but funnels into this truth: If you and I live in the same city/parish, then we are neighbors, and we belong to each other.

The family is getting weaker and weaker, and that is leading our culture into a terrible spiral of self-destruction. Government can't fix it. There isn't enough money in Ft. Knox to pay for what the lack of a healthy family costs. 

But God...

But God can and will use the people who follow Jesus to bring the values of His Kingdom to bear here. 

The city need us, theChurchAtLakeCharles.us is what I'm talking about here, to engage and transform the culture. One child, one loving act, one sacrifice, one new friendship where suspicion used to reign at a time.

Because God's love is alive...theCityShouldBeDifferent