Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Popular Christian artist hears about One Hope
Christian singer, Meredith Andrews heard about the One Hope Ministry while visiting Tulsa. She recorded her impressions of the ministry on her blog: http://meredithandrews.com/blogs/meredith
One Hope Press Release
PRESS RELEASE:
One Hope Ministry is excited to announce its “Spread the Hope” weekend coming Friday and Saturday, August 1st through 2nd. One Hope is a nonprofit organization with a vision for reaching inner city Tulsa.
This vision includes building a One Hope Center where the people of Tulsa and their children can come for tutoring, sports clinics, recreational sports teams, counseling, medical clinics, physical therapy, and other programs. This facility would also house a charter school providing individualized teaching and mentoring for at-risk children.
The goal of One Hope is to use the hope-giving and life-changing message of Jesus Christ to combat the cycles of racism, prejudice, abuse, violence, and poverty that exist in the inner city of Tulsa, and to train college-aged men and women to replicate the One Hope model in other urban areas.
One Hope intentionally targets inner-city, at-risk, and disadvantaged children, single-parent families, and youth at risk for dropping out of school or becoming involved in gang activity through getAHEAD, a tutoring and mentoring program, sports camps and clinics, Rise And Dream, an inspirational vocational program, and GirlTalk, a program addressing issues facing high school girls. We hope to be able to expand these programs and extend our influence by building the One Hope Center.
We know that there are a lot of good things for people to give their money to. That’s why we’re just asking for one dollar. We believe if one million people gave one dollar each, we could open the One Hope Center in Tulsa, OK.
On Saturday, August 2nd, we will be spreading the vision of the One Hope Center by setting up informational and donation booths throughout the city of Tulsa. Some of the local coaches and athletes who serve as volunteer staff at our sports clinics, along with our full-time college-aged intern staff, will be manning these booths from 10 am to 6 pm that day. This will be followed at 7 pm by the One Hope Celebration at our current location, Springs of Grace Bible Church (7123 E. 7th Street, Tulsa, OK 74112). Additional information about the programs and the vision will be available at this time. This is an opportunity for those who would like to ask questions of the One Hope staff or to meet some of the kids involved in our programs who will be there celebrating with us.
Additional information can be found on our website at www.onehopeministry.org or by contacting Joe Blankenship at 918-760-0089 or b2Himglory@gmail.com.
One Hope Ministry is excited to announce its “Spread the Hope” weekend coming Friday and Saturday, August 1st through 2nd. One Hope is a nonprofit organization with a vision for reaching inner city Tulsa.
This vision includes building a One Hope Center where the people of Tulsa and their children can come for tutoring, sports clinics, recreational sports teams, counseling, medical clinics, physical therapy, and other programs. This facility would also house a charter school providing individualized teaching and mentoring for at-risk children.
The goal of One Hope is to use the hope-giving and life-changing message of Jesus Christ to combat the cycles of racism, prejudice, abuse, violence, and poverty that exist in the inner city of Tulsa, and to train college-aged men and women to replicate the One Hope model in other urban areas.
One Hope intentionally targets inner-city, at-risk, and disadvantaged children, single-parent families, and youth at risk for dropping out of school or becoming involved in gang activity through getAHEAD, a tutoring and mentoring program, sports camps and clinics, Rise And Dream, an inspirational vocational program, and GirlTalk, a program addressing issues facing high school girls. We hope to be able to expand these programs and extend our influence by building the One Hope Center.
We know that there are a lot of good things for people to give their money to. That’s why we’re just asking for one dollar. We believe if one million people gave one dollar each, we could open the One Hope Center in Tulsa, OK.
On Saturday, August 2nd, we will be spreading the vision of the One Hope Center by setting up informational and donation booths throughout the city of Tulsa. Some of the local coaches and athletes who serve as volunteer staff at our sports clinics, along with our full-time college-aged intern staff, will be manning these booths from 10 am to 6 pm that day. This will be followed at 7 pm by the One Hope Celebration at our current location, Springs of Grace Bible Church (7123 E. 7th Street, Tulsa, OK 74112). Additional information about the programs and the vision will be available at this time. This is an opportunity for those who would like to ask questions of the One Hope staff or to meet some of the kids involved in our programs who will be there celebrating with us.
Additional information can be found on our website at www.onehopeministry.org or by contacting Joe Blankenship at 918-760-0089 or b2Himglory@gmail.com.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Project 61
Well, Project 61 is over and we have already started thinking about next year's camp. It went really well, I thought, but this being my first year, I don't have another time to compare it to. I have never been to any camp like this one and it was really neat. We worshiped and listened to a message every evening and then in the mornings went out to Comanche to hold sports clinic for the kids. It was really awesome to be able to put what we learned every night into practice the very next morning. We were challenged to accept others as Jesus did and live with hope. These kids are dead and without any hope at all when they don't know Christ. It is so sad, but a great privilege to share the love of Christ with them and just get to know some of them. We just continue to pray that seeds would be planted and they would seek after God even though their hearts seem so hard. God is great and as I've been reminded lately, God can accomplish all that He wills. His purpose will never fail.
--Sarah Roberts
--Sarah Roberts
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Update from Jacob!
This is my first summer as an "official" intern. However I am not new to our ministry. This year it seems that most of the kids are more receptive to the gospel which is a great encouragement to me personally. Get Ahead went well today I think that we had a record high attendance, 61, which is a hand-full for twenty interns. Especially when individual time rolls around and we each have 3 to 4 kids to minister to. And so with the small exception of overwhelming numbers everything has gone swimmingly.
In Christ,
Jacob Gastelum
In Christ,
Jacob Gastelum
Update from Tyler!
6/23/08-
Last week was one of what I hear is going to be one of the busiest weeks of the summer, and after going through it I can understand why with the schedule that we had here at Springs of Grace (SoG). We had had what we normally do with the “getAhead” torturing program on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 2-4:30, but in addition to that in the morning we started Vacation Bible School (VBS) which went from 9-12. So as you can imagine on the days when we had both of these events going, it was busy.
Not having much time, or any time at all for lunch or even a break; the week basically took me to the point where I though that I was tired and pushed me beyond that.
I remember having one verse stick in my mind throughout the whole week, and it is a verse that has been coming to mind pretty much since I have been here. The wonderful thing about this verse, and the reason I bring it up is because of the way I got to see yet again how the Lord fulfilled the promise He makes in it. This promise comes from Matthew 10:39 when Christ says “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
I know that many probably don’t think of being an intern for the summer as a way of “loosing their life,” or that having to work with kids from 9-5 is a hard job that is stretching, because it really isn’t the most difficult job out there, and there are many ways that I could probably be “losing” my life in a more physical sense. But, often times when there is no other reason to do something, except with the hope of seeing lives being regenerated through the “foolishness of cross,” often times the littlest thing can be an opportunity to “lose your life” for Christ sake. The reason for this is because it is my tendency to hold onto my life and get frustrated when things don’t go the way I want them to go. So it can be hard to willingly lay my life down as an offering, and loose it for the sake of Christ. Yet, this week God fulfilled His promises made here in this verse, not to the point where I am perfect at trusting in this promise yet, but to the point where I can see Him giving grace to help in the time of need for helping me find real abundant life in losing it for Him.
Lord willing and this will hopefully be something that can continue for all of us here interning at SoG, so when these grains of wheat fall to the ground and lose their life much fruit will be found to the praise and the glory of Him in these kids; and no hope was being placed in “keeping our lives,” so that when we lay our lives down, it would produce much fruit to eternal life.
Last week was one of what I hear is going to be one of the busiest weeks of the summer, and after going through it I can understand why with the schedule that we had here at Springs of Grace (SoG). We had had what we normally do with the “getAhead” torturing program on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 2-4:30, but in addition to that in the morning we started Vacation Bible School (VBS) which went from 9-12. So as you can imagine on the days when we had both of these events going, it was busy.
Not having much time, or any time at all for lunch or even a break; the week basically took me to the point where I though that I was tired and pushed me beyond that.
I remember having one verse stick in my mind throughout the whole week, and it is a verse that has been coming to mind pretty much since I have been here. The wonderful thing about this verse, and the reason I bring it up is because of the way I got to see yet again how the Lord fulfilled the promise He makes in it. This promise comes from Matthew 10:39 when Christ says “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
I know that many probably don’t think of being an intern for the summer as a way of “loosing their life,” or that having to work with kids from 9-5 is a hard job that is stretching, because it really isn’t the most difficult job out there, and there are many ways that I could probably be “losing” my life in a more physical sense. But, often times when there is no other reason to do something, except with the hope of seeing lives being regenerated through the “foolishness of cross,” often times the littlest thing can be an opportunity to “lose your life” for Christ sake. The reason for this is because it is my tendency to hold onto my life and get frustrated when things don’t go the way I want them to go. So it can be hard to willingly lay my life down as an offering, and loose it for the sake of Christ. Yet, this week God fulfilled His promises made here in this verse, not to the point where I am perfect at trusting in this promise yet, but to the point where I can see Him giving grace to help in the time of need for helping me find real abundant life in losing it for Him.
Lord willing and this will hopefully be something that can continue for all of us here interning at SoG, so when these grains of wheat fall to the ground and lose their life much fruit will be found to the praise and the glory of Him in these kids; and no hope was being placed in “keeping our lives,” so that when we lay our lives down, it would produce much fruit to eternal life.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Update from Jillian!
At getAHEAD, we've been reading The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe with the kids. Most of us have made it about to the third or fourth chapter, but we wanted the kids to have an idea of the entire story, so we had a movie day last week.
I grew up on The Chronicles of Narnia and have always loved those stories, but they've lost the ability to surprise me. Watching it with the kids last Wednesday, though, brought some of the wonder back.
I sat with two girls I've known all three summers I've been here. One had never seen it before. She kept looking at me with huge eyes full of wonder. At the beginning she was excited as she saw things we'd read about in class. As the story unfolded, she kept turning to me with questions or just with a look of amazement.
At the climax of the movie, where Aslan is killed in Edmund's place, she snuggled close to me and whispered, "He isn't really dead, is he?" But he was. And as she turned back to the screen, I could feel her sense of loss. I felt it myself. And then when he came back, she jumped a little from the excitement. "I thought he was dead!" I explained the resurrection and she made the connection. "This is like Jesus." We whispered about the cross, and how we, like Edmund, had to die. We talked about how Jesus died for us, how His power conquered even sin and death. And I think she really got it.
It was one of those times that makes the long hours of interning completely worth it. You never know if you will get to actually see a child's life transformed by her understanding of God, but we keep teaching and loving in the hope that it will happen. I haven't seen yet if her life is transformed because of the cross, but I have seen her get a little bit of a clearer understanding of it. And I pray that it will take effect in her life.
Please pray with us.
I grew up on The Chronicles of Narnia and have always loved those stories, but they've lost the ability to surprise me. Watching it with the kids last Wednesday, though, brought some of the wonder back.
I sat with two girls I've known all three summers I've been here. One had never seen it before. She kept looking at me with huge eyes full of wonder. At the beginning she was excited as she saw things we'd read about in class. As the story unfolded, she kept turning to me with questions or just with a look of amazement.
At the climax of the movie, where Aslan is killed in Edmund's place, she snuggled close to me and whispered, "He isn't really dead, is he?" But he was. And as she turned back to the screen, I could feel her sense of loss. I felt it myself. And then when he came back, she jumped a little from the excitement. "I thought he was dead!" I explained the resurrection and she made the connection. "This is like Jesus." We whispered about the cross, and how we, like Edmund, had to die. We talked about how Jesus died for us, how His power conquered even sin and death. And I think she really got it.
It was one of those times that makes the long hours of interning completely worth it. You never know if you will get to actually see a child's life transformed by her understanding of God, but we keep teaching and loving in the hope that it will happen. I haven't seen yet if her life is transformed because of the cross, but I have seen her get a little bit of a clearer understanding of it. And I pray that it will take effect in her life.
Please pray with us.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Update from Julie
Last Thursday at getAHEAD I had the opportunity to talk to three little girls in a group about the Lord. One little girl who was nine years old asked me some good questions about God. She started out by asking me if who decides where we go after we die. We talked about how each person has a choice to follow God with their whole life or turn away and reject Him. Through that I was able to share with the three girls the story of Jesus...who came to die for us on the cross.
All three girls had heard the story before, but they continued to have some significant questions. Most of the questions were about sin and death and why God would allow people to die. We were able to talk for about twenty minutes and the conversation ended with two of the girls asking me if they could have a bible of their own. It was hard to hear some of the things these girls were going through in their own homes and the racism that they encounter. In fact, racism existed within that small group. One of the girls believed that only white people were able to go to heaven. I hope to continue to talk to these little girls and on Tuesday and I have two small bibles to hand out. Please pray for them and that the Lord would move in their hearts!
In Him,
Julie
All three girls had heard the story before, but they continued to have some significant questions. Most of the questions were about sin and death and why God would allow people to die. We were able to talk for about twenty minutes and the conversation ended with two of the girls asking me if they could have a bible of their own. It was hard to hear some of the things these girls were going through in their own homes and the racism that they encounter. In fact, racism existed within that small group. One of the girls believed that only white people were able to go to heaven. I hope to continue to talk to these little girls and on Tuesday and I have two small bibles to hand out. Please pray for them and that the Lord would move in their hearts!
In Him,
Julie
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