Body-Mapping: URBAN COMMUNITY

• WHO?
• URBAN
• welfare
• crime
• injustice
• loved ones in prison
• homeless
• poverty
• HIV/AIDS
• drug addiction
• uneducated/poorly educated
• girls who are taken advantage of (prostitution)
• unemployment
• abused (sexual, physical, emotional, kids, parents, domestic)
• NEED?
• someone to come along side them
• encouragemtn
• justice
• compassion
• to know their resources (educated on clinics/places to go for help)
• LOVE
• to know they are not forgotten
• health services
• education
• job training
• someone to advocate for them/come alongside them
• childcare resources (daycare, supplies, clothing, etc)
• HOW?
• women's ministry specifically for women and their children
• prison ministry
• food pantry
• dinner fellowship
• health information Sunday (abuse, HIV, pregnancy, etc)
• adult tutoring
• homeless bus ministry
• job fairs
• WHO TO PARTNER WITH?
• local business
• crisis pregnancy center
• food bank
• summer camp
• other local churches
• prisons
• supermarkets for leftover food
• homeless shelter
• health center
• tutoring services
• businesspeople to teach about business/do job training
• local childcare

Community Organization Interview #3

     For my Community Organization Interview #3, I decided to interview my aunt, Barbara Escalante, about her job as a case worker at World Relief in Asheville, North Carolina. World Relief is an international NGO that "takes a stand for the vulnerable" (WorldRelief).
     My aunt, a former missionary to the Philippines, has been stateside for almost 30 years. During her time in the United States, she has been involved in the church, but has not been in full-time ministry since her departure from the Philippines. Her heart beats for missions, however, and has been wanting to get back into compassion ministries since she left to get married and start a family in the 80s. From the 80s until January of this year, she has worked as a full-time mother, and part-time employer at local jobs such as supermarkets and banks, but her desires have finally come true. Upon hearing of a job opening at a World Relief office in her city, she spontaneously decided to apply (for fun, assuming that she would never get the job without a college degree.) "I still can't believe I got the job! It was a miracle." Not even 24 hours after applying, she was offered a full-time job and told that she would be able to start immediately. "I love it! The refugees have melted my heart," my aunt exclaimed. "The Asheville office specifically works with refugee families from Africa and Iraq. They help them move into homes and connect them to services to help them find jobs." While they are focusing on refugee families now, they are looking to start a human trafficking branch that would rescue and help victims. As far as the hiring process goes, they look for those that are willing to serve and love, but most of all show compassion for those who are vulnerable.

Works Cited

"World Relief | What We Stand for." World Relief | What We Stand for. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2013.

Engel Scale

The Engel Scale of Evangelism

"Dads, Dogs, and Digs Outreach" By: Ricky Echeona

"Dads, Dogs, and Digs Outreach" By: Ricky Echeona

• Outreach's Target Audience: husbands, fathers, and adult males with influence in their family.
• Purpose: to build relationships between men in the community.
• This will be a pilot outreach, eventually leading to meetings more often.
• What will the outreach look like? Goal of the outreach: 
• Men would meet for a volleyball tournament….but the overall goal is to coach men on building relationship and get to know them.
• How would men hear about it?
• Would like men from the church to reach out to unsaved friends
• Engage the community through community advertisements.
• "Meet, Greet, Repeat"
• Come to event, sign up for a team, greet with male leaders from the church who are team captains, play, and meet again in future.
• Ultimate goal is to involve the men who participate again in the future. Would like to meet for a movie night at the church to see "Courageous" and encourage men to be strong men of God in their families.
• Cost:
• Food (estimating around 30 men in attendance) - $250
• Park rental fee - $400
• Advertisement (flyers and newspaper) - $250
• Volleyball equipment - $100

Beyond the Soiled Curtain Presentation

I did my presentation tonight on Beyond the Soiled Curtain, a book by David and Beth Grant. Here is a copy of my presentation: 

Pastor Jimmie Rivera

Pastor Jimmie Rivera

610-972-8887

pastorjim@rcn.com

301 Ridge Ave.

Allentown, PA

18103

• David Wilkerson saved in North Philly
• Fell into drugs at 9, became addicted
• Used to rob/steal for his next fix
• Was tortuned by drug dealers for 11 hours then got away
• Pastor at City Limits AG in Allentown, PA
• Outreach-oriented church
• How do you keep church outside focused?
• 3 parts:
• Salvation
• Equip
• Deploy
• Every 3 month the church does something to send people out
• Rescue the lost, equip the found, and deploy the troops
• You have to minster to the poor and share love with them
• Help people until they can help themselves regarding welfare
• Hannah/Timothy Houses?
• Timothy House used to be a crackhouse, but is now converted to a halfway house
• Second phase houses
• Take people in who were just out of programs…(like a halfway house)
• Christmas outreach
• 75 Christmas tree for free every year
• 19 years
• Each tree has a tag attached that says "this tree, like Christ, is free; all you have to do is accept it"
• Ask WalMart/local community stores if they have anything that they are going to throw out/want to donate
• Last year gave away 2,500 trees in Allentown, Brooklyn, and Greensboro, NC
• Involve the local community
• "If everyone does a little, then no one has to do a lot."
• Has a gym in his church
• Farmer's Market
• Women gave an acre of land to Pastor Jim for a farmer's market
• Make connections with local food bank and they will give free food
• Evangelism outreach in teams of 4…divide city by wards
• 1000 water bottles with ice in the heat of the day mid-summer for a week at a time, then he baptizes people in street af the end of the week
• 132 water baptisms last year
• mobile tank that he buys
• people want to SEE
• Food bank open every thursday…free food, don't force them to come to church
• Works with police to turn in guns
• Hope In The Valley
• Help
• Our
• People
• Evangelize
• When he got saved he got talking and never stopped
• What about money?
• faith has to kick in when it comes to money
• find people who believe in you and you'll get money
• Coffee House is called "Halle-BREW-ya"
• Gave his new shoes to a man who was in a funeral home, was going to be cremated, and was about to go into the fire without shoes
• He told the mayor of Allentown that he wanted to be the Pastor of Allentown.
• Started an Arabic church
• "Make God big, stop making Him so small."
• He strives to be relational and intentional with people.
• Urban Ministry
• Urban Lift: when you get someone off of the streets, then they move away/leave your church in pursuit of a better life
• If you don't heal from this and take it personally, it can potentially ruin your ministry
• Love everyone, but look for those who will reproduce.
• Suburban churches become feeder units for Urban Churches. If the suburban church do things correctly, they will in return sew into the Urban churches/urban ministries.
• Jihari Window
• 1. Arena Me
• The you that people see
• How you want to be seen
• 2. Never See
• The me I never want you to see
• 3. Blind Spot Me
• When everyone else can see something, but you can't
• You won't see it until you deal with the Never See Me
• 4. Soul Print
• What God intended you to be
• "Relationships are your greatest commodity."
• "If you want to be a minister, you have to love people."

Gerry Stoltzfoos Interview

Gerry Stoltzfoos

717-398-9033

g@freedomvalley.org

• Now a pastor ar a Freedom Valley Church in Gettysburg, PA
• Grew up in Amish lancaster
• Left Amish church for a Pentecostal one who, unlike Amish church, accepted and loved everyone passionately.
• Grew close with the pastor, Omar, who is 10 years older
• Started as youth pastor under his leadership, then a senior pastor after Omar left to be in World Missions
• Omar is now the head of World Missions Eurasia for the AG
• "The Bible teaches us to love people that we don't normally like."
• Was fired and devastated by it…told he was fired because he was too young, but later found out that he was fired because people in the church started a rumor about him to get him fired.
• Lost his best friends and community when he was fired.
• Getting fired from a church is like "sociological rape"
• "Jesus didn't take the cross so we wouldn't have to."
• Left the church after being fired for a while, became depressed…until a passion was birthed in him that made him want to reach those people who were offended and hurt by the church so that they left.
• Went back in the ministry to heal those who were hurt by the ministry
• His church goes after the hurt by church, burnt out by church, people who have weird ideas of church…etc.
• "Planting churches are the best way to make disciples."
• Why? because a new church is desperate and wild eyed
• Felt led to plant a church in Philly, but was called to Gettysburg.
• Asked God for 4 specific things when planting a church:
• Finances
• Prayer meetings monthly
• Will fundraise to take care of family
• Serious about reaching the lost
• Was friends with the owner of Auntie Ann's pretzels…they supported his church plant with about $1,000 per year
• As little as 12% of people go to church monthly.
• A church planting movement is starting today
• To love Jesus means that you have a passion to bring people to Christ.
• Jesus left heaven because He was passionate about people.
• "Religion is the opiate of the masses."
• In The Blood Tattoos on East Carson St. in Pittsburg
• Was filmed by Nightline ABC Gerry Stoltzfoos speaking in tongues…which proved that the speaking of tongues doesn't come from the language part of the brain
• Started a state of the art handicapped facility to minister to severely handicapped by horseback riding
• Shining Stars Therapeutic Ministries
• Starting to minister to mentally handicapped/learning disabled this summer
• They are seeing kids get healed mentally, emotionally, physically
• This ministry brings about 1/3 of the newly baptized people per year.
• Goals for future?
• Buy land for Shining Stars Ministry across the street
• Plant 1000 churches in america, 1000 around the world
• Currently planted 67 churches
• Starting work with unreached people group in Uganda
• Planting a church in Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and possibly Germany
• Northeast is least reached region in America
• Currently recruiting positions on staff for:
• 2 personal interns
• Network developer
• Church planting teams
• Philly Boot Camp…Friday and Saturday