Schedule of Events September 2009:
September 12, 19, 26 Field Day: 2:00pm – 4:00pm Every Saturday at the field behind 3713 Dorchester Road: We will play games with the kids and figure out who needs mentors as well as cook hot dogs and provide refreshments for the attendees. Email Martha for more details and to volunteer: xcitedesigns@excite.com
September 2009
Vision Casting As we reach out through Neighborhood Fellowship and through our new Hope Group, our ministry recognizes that we need the help of the Church at large. We reflect back on our mission: To unite the Church Body in order to take the hope of Jesus Christ to the local community and the world. And
Volume 1, Issue 3 love people in practical ways. As a ministry, we want to recognize that the Church, as one body of Christ, has capabilities to influence the lives of people beyond our expectations and that unity through the Spirit is crucial. Jesus is the head, and the leader of the vision we’ve been given, and our intention with Take It To The Streets is to engage all of life, regardless of
September 12 & 26 Neighborhood Fellowship Saturdays 10:00am - 12:30pm Jeanene Batton Community Center at 3742 Dorchester Road. Pass out groceries, pray for the community. September 14, 21 & 28 Word On The Street: Resume building class 6:30pm – 8:00pm every Monday at 633 King St.
with recognition to that call, we look forward to working with the local church bodies in order to continue to become missionaries in our communities. As a pastor at Mosaic Church Outreach Partners: in Downtown Los Angeles explains, Seacoast Church “Gone are the days of throwing parties Without Walls and only inviting one’s friends”. How Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist true that is! In order to transform our communities, we FIELD DAY AT FULL SPEED must connect with A Game of baseball breaks out and you see the kids those who live differand volunteers at field day come together in a large ently than we do. This co-op game. In the picture below Tom tries his hardest will mean discomfort to strike out the batter. Does the batter have the right at times, but this is postuer to hit the winning home run? the example by which Jesus leads us. Just as the light upon the hill, we too have the opportunity to shine that light. As Paul writes in Philippians, we shine like stars in the universe. This light is evidenced when we serve others, and when we
age, income level, race, or education. If we will recognize the power of God that works through us, He can put our gifts and talents together to impact our community and literally bring Jesus to the hopeless. It is with great excitement that we continue forming relationships with local churches and congregations, and with anticipation that we look forward to what God has in store for this ministry.
Field Day looks back at August By Mike Waters
This has been an exciting month for the field day ministry of Take It To The Streets. The past two weekends held a record number of people, both children and their families. One of these weekends included the Family Field Day, wherein we took portraits of 18 families and each family received a free, framed 8x10 print to take home. The expressions on family member’s faces as each received their 1
Energize and Mobilize By Connor McIntyre
picture was a huge blessing for us to witness. The immense gratitude was further encouragement that we are loving people where they can be met. One kid was so excited that he couldn’t wait for his mother to come to the field so that he could give the picture to her.
He handed me his toys and carried the portrait over to his house. He proudly presented it to his mom and dad as I stood amazed to witness the impact such a simple act of kindness garnered from this community. God has blessed us with a new outreach partner, The city of North Charleston Parks and Recreation Department. What started as a simple phone call inquiry for basic information turned into a blessing beyond our expectations, and we recognize God’s orchestration in it. The city donated two soccer goals, jerseys, and a large duffle bag full of sporting equipment. We also now have real bases to be used in games of kickball and baseball. The city also pledged to maintain the field every week for us, since they’ve noticed our ministry out in the community working to promote
unity in the neighborhood. They have people from the Parks and Recreation Department making sure that the field is mowed each week before Saturday and they are treating the field for fire ants. There are also two new picnic tables in the field, with more coming soon. We are incredibly blessed to have the support of the city while working to improve the community. God has provided a great connection with North Charleston which will help us make some exciting changes in the neighborhood. With the city’s support and God’s help, we are anxious to have a playground in the field so the kids can enjoy going to it during the week. I look forward to seeing the glorious changes that will come about, through the power of our Father and his son Jesus Christ. I am grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of this group as we all strive to be the people that God has called us to be.
It has been an exciting summer for Take It To The Streets. In the beginning of the summer with the Unity in the Community concert, our ministry was in a reinvention phase, but now we are in a full-fledged growth phase. This was due in part to planning and strategy, but truly is a gift that we can only acknowledge as a blessing from Jesus. From the beginning of summer until now, our volunteer base tripled, a new website was launched, and we are on our third edition of the “Good
News” newsletter. Furthermore, we’ve created a promotional video, and have recently established a relationship with the City of North Charleston Parks and Recreation Department. And still there’s more! We were announced as an official outreach partner of Seacoast Church, 240 families have received food and prayer, and several families have accepted Christ and now attend church regularly. All of this was accomplished through the hearts of people who are fully engaged in being the hands and feet of Jesus in North Charleston. What are we expectant for now? At this time, we are conducting surveys from all of our volunteers (as well as our church outreach partners) to brainstorm on forthcoming outreach projects. We will partner with Without Walls Ministry to host the Convey of Hope Outreach Project on October 10th with an intention to meet the needs of over 2
7,000 Charlestonians. We are also excited to announce that this fall will launch our first expansion location in Atlanta, facilitated by Mike Laycock. We are currently looking for a church to partner the help support the Take It To The Streets after school mentorship program, beginning this fall. Surely, we have our work cut out for us in the upcoming months. However, it is without a doubt a time to celebrate the wonderful things God has done.
Picture of the Month
Glory, glory, glory to the L o r d !
Ministry Spotlight Pastor Gordon Cashwell is the Director of Without Walls Ministry, located on King Street in downtown Charleston. He first received the vision to reach out to the hurting over ten years ago and, in complete faith, his family moved to Charleston, SC. He began to serve the community through outreaches such as ongoing Adopt a Block’s, Thanksgiving dinners, Christmas present drives, and Back to School Bashes, among others. Without Walls is a predominant ministry in the Charleston area, and is known by pastors throughout the region. It has become a fruitful way for churches to join together – despite denominations – in order to share God’s love. In August, at Back to School Bash over 1,000 residents were served. Several hundred children received school supplies they otherwise wouldn’t have had, and because the event was set up as a field day with jumping castles and refreshments, families were able to come and enjoy everything together. Take It To The Streets participated in the Bash and was honored to be a part of such a God-focused event. The beauty of Without Walls is that the ministry seeks to embody its name. When the Church acts as one body, many more people are influenced. Tearing down the walls of denomination and religion in order to better serve our community is Pastor Gordon’s desire. Please find more information about this ministry at 633 King Street in Charleston, SC.
The picture of the month is a picture that captures the true love and “God presence” of Field Day. This picture was taken in August for an event called “Family Day”. The love and emotion of this picture explains itself.
Kids Corner Hello fellow servants! I hope that everyone had as great a summer as I did and is looking forward to the new school year. God has blessed field day these last couple of weeks with amaz-
ing growth. We have seen recordbreaking attendance. The last two Saturdays had about 60 volunteers and attendees each time. This is beyond our wildest dreams, and God has been sufficient by supplying us with enough food to feed everyone every time. Last Saturday we encouraged the children to
invite their families to field day and we had our first Family Day Picnic. There, we talked about the importance of looking at your community as one big family and even had a photographer out there taking family portraits. The lessons continue to become more entertaining. One community member led worship while another graced us with poetry. The children themselves are flexing their acting muscles through the skits we use to tell our stories. Last week we did the Body of Christ where we learned the importance of working as a team. The week before that we broke into groups and acted out different parts of the Moses story. The kids are not only building relationships with us, but also with each other. We’re excited, because it’s the first step towards winning back their neighborhood. 3
Volunteer Sp
otlight
Sarah Harrelson is a vital volunteer and contributor to Take It To The Streets. She initially became a primary volunteer staff member when God specifically called her to serve. She has since proven herself to be a devoted servant by assisting through many different facets of the ministry. For example, since joining our team, Sarah has not only provided rides to church for families but also helps organize and execute field day every Saturday, which has influenced the lives of hundreds of children. She responded to God’s prompt to relocate to Dorchester Road in order to better serve the people of that community and has since started a women’s bible study affiliated with the ministry. It seems that she is somewhat of a superwoman with the capabilities and dedication she’s given, but her actions are merely a result of God’s perfect strength and a reflection of the compassion of our Divine Father, who is able to work through any pure heart. Sarah has set a beautiful example of what sacrifice means, and in turn has completely blessed this ministry. Thank you, Sarah, for using your talents to serve the King of Kings. It is an honor to serve Him together.
Our Mission: To unite the Church Body in order to take the hope of Jesus Christ to the local community and the world. Mission Statement: To move from members to missionaries in our community by emulating Jesus Christ’s love towards others through the formation of genuine relationships.
Contact Us
www.takeittothestreetsministry.org Info@takeittothestreetsministry.org Jesse Williams: 843-642-4233
On The Horizon By Jesse Williams
We’ve been given a gift to serve this area, and our prayer is that we continue to be good stewards of it. Another dimension of this ministry is more generalized. As we build up a team of leaders and solidify our team, we will begin to invest in new up and coming ministries. Currently, we are working on building a team that can minister to leaders and support the visions God has given them. This means we are prayerfully considering how to encourage and invest in the visions of local church leaders. Please join with us as we pray that God would show us what this looks like applied in daily life. Also join us in praising him for the immense opportunities that continue to present themselves! We’ve had the chance to connect with international ministries as well as local ones for the sake of spreading the word of God’s love to people. Thank you for the support you give us through prayer, volunteering, and finances. God is doing great things within and through the people of the Charleston/North Charleston area, and to be placed in the middle of His plan is a very exciting thing. We maintain the posture that God is our strength, and that all good things come from Him alone.
H a l l e l u j a h ! Take It To The Streets Atlanta, GA Please stay tuned
The Team Jesse Williams - President Connor McIntyre - Director of Operations Sarah Harrelson - Central Administrator Martha Martin - Children’s Ministry Mike Waters - Informations Manager Wes Stichweh - Newsletter This Newsletter was Designed courtesy of Future’s Graphics, LLC Photography: Garsteck Photography Alyona Photography 4