Tutoring Children & Youth Workshop!

I am thrilled to be able to share an exciting opportunity...a Tutoring Children and Youth workshop coming to Wisconsin this September!! Do you know kids and teens that are struggling with their schoolwork...some that may even be illiterate? There is a way to help, and to share the love of Christ as you do!

If you have any doubts about whether there are kids in our state that are slipping through the cracks, check out my blog entry: How Are Our Kids Doing? Really? It may open your eyes to the issues at hand!

This workshop will equip you, teaching you the basics of how to tutor kids and teens, how to teach someone to read, how to develop lesson plans, how to incorporate Biblical materials and share your faith. Understand that when you minister this way, you are consistently demonstrating the love of Jesus Christ over an extended period of time, meeting physical, emotional and spiritual needs!

Workshop details:
When: Friday and Saturday, September 25th and 26th, 2009
(9am - 5pm each day)
Where: Midvale Baptist Church, Madison, WI
Cost: $30/participant (includes materials, training, and lunch both days)
Registration Deadline: September 14th
Limited space available...please register early to secure a seat!

Contact me to register! Please share this opportunity with your congregation, and contact me if you'd be interested in my sharing it with the congregation as a whole, your missions team, Bible study group or Sunday School class. Visit the Events page of my site to download a flier to share with your congregation or to get more info on the workshop.

Hope to see you there!

FamilyFEST Last Day

What a great way to close out FamilyFEST...a block party at River of Life Church! What a great turnout!

Tonight's Celebration Dinner was a great time of sharing all that happened this week. I'm glad so many pictures were taken!

I'm sure I'm leaving some things out, but here is some of what happened this week:

Repairs to the roof of Waterbrook Church in Tomah
Renovation of a house in the Dells that will house displaced women
Block parties - 6 of them in 5 days! Way to go Paul and Kelly!
Backyard Bible clubs in 4 locations through the week
Singing and Visiting at 3 nursing homes/assisted living facilities
Cleaning at Midvale Church
International Student ministries in the Dells
First Responders Appreciation - goody baskets delivered to all the first responders (police, fire, ambulance) in both the Dells and Portage
Community Assessment in Portage

I think something else happened this week: we gained many new friendships with others from around the country that love the Lord and desire to see the Gospel proclaimed in Wisconsin! God is good...to Him be all the glory!

FamilyFEST Day 4

Some days are good days...some days you wish you could just do-over!

Today would be a do-over day. But without getting into that too much, I will say that one very positive thing happened this evening at the block party in the Hispanic neighborhood. I spoke with one gentleman that offered to use his apartment for English classes. He knows 3 or 4 people that would like to learn English. I spoke with another woman that will talk with others in the neighborhood about classes. So I am confident that we have an opportunity to start an English as a Second Language ministry there.

If you've been praying for FamilyFEST each day, please continue to do so. Thank you!

FamilyFEST Day 3

Wow!

I have to admit, I started out the day a little discouraged, and tired. As I drove up to the Dells, it started to rain, and I wondered if everything would get canceled due to the weather.

We were to start an unscheduled block party at the Ho Chunk Wellness Center at 2:30, but finally made the call to cancel due to weather. A moment later we found out the the kids were on their way and we'd better get set up. So we did. About 100 Native Americans came out to the party. This was really big. There were behind the scenes circumstances and events, some very bad that God turned around and used to open a door. The party was still going strong when I needed to leave for a backyard Bible club in a different location, so unfortunately I missed the Ho Chunk drummers. From what I understand, their coming to play at this event was a very positive sign...though not an acceptance of our faith, an acceptance of us and our presence there.

One of the highlights of the day for me was facepainting! Several of the Native American kids asked for crosses to be painted on their faces. I asked them if they knew what the cross meant, and they told me they did not...an opportunity to share that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Another child asked why we were here...an opportunity to tell her because Jesus loves them and we want to share that with them. I loved listening to Pastor Bob tell the story of Jonah and the fish as he made animal balloons.

The backyard Bible club in the Hispanic neighborhood went very well tonight also. There were twice as many kids that came out tonight, and a number of adults. We had one gentleman with our group tonight that spoke Spanish very well, and he spent a bit of time visiting with the men. As a result, there were several men that came out tonight that wouldn't the night before...and their kids were able to join us as well. Overall, I think everyone felt much more comfortable than last night. I found out that one of the boys will have his 6th birthday tomorrow. Tomorrow night we'll come back with the block party trailer...how exciting to help this little boy celebrate his birthday with a block party!

God definitely did some amazing things today, breaking down barriers between cultures! Awesome!

FamilyFEST Day 2

It's been another full day!

I stopped by River of Life this morning to make some copies, and met a team of ladies from Kentucky. They were baking cookies that will be taken to our many first responders (police, fire department, paramedics) to show our appreciation. These ladies obviously know how to have fun and it was a blast just listening to their singing and joking.

I met the Zuelkes at the American Legion to set up for a block party that would minister to members of the HoChunk Nation. Turnout wasn't what we'd hoped for...in fact, for the first hour and 45 minutes, no one showed, and we started tearing things down...then 3 families came. It's easy to let things like that discourage you...to look at your previous efforts and examine what you did wrong or could've done better. It seems easier in a way to give God the glory for an amazing turnout and then take the blame ourselves for a no-show, or low turnout.

Around 5ish, I joined up with others at an apartment complex in a Hispanic neighborhood. Our intent had been to have a backyard Bible club for kids, and some English lessons for adults. There've been some cultural tensions within the neighborhood, and there isn't a whole lot of trust towards Anglos in general. So we were pleased to have seven kids come out and join us. Several adults came out that we visited with also, though we did not have any formal English lessons. This week, I'll be content if God would enable us to build bridges of trust that will pave the way for future ministries. I did see the couple that had invited us to eat with them the night before. Their kids joined us for the backyard Bible club also.

Tonight I was thrilled to join Bridgepoint as they met up with international students in the Dells. This is their third year ministering to international students, often pulling up to the motels where the students are living with rootbeer float fixin's. Amazing how something so simple can open a door to conversation and friendship. Three groups went out tonight...one to a location where there are established relationships, two others to new locations. I met several students tonight from Columbia. Great kids!

And now it is super late and I am super tired...so to sleep I go!

Please keep up the prayers!

FamilyFEST Day 1

What a day! We kicked off the first day of FamilyFEST with an orientation and commissioning ceremony this afternoon. 125 volunteers, some from the local area, most from around the country, have joined us as we minister in the Wisconsin Dells this week.

Our first event of the week was this evening - a block party at Hines Memorial Park. Many of the international students that Pine Valley Church works with came out this evening, plus a few more that saw the party and decided to join us. These kids are so much fun to be around. Most of them come to the United States for the experience and to work on their English...so they love to talk! I met students from Kosovo, Jamaica, Taiwan, China, Italy, several middle-eastern countries, plus a few more that I don't pronounce very well:-)

We were a little disappointed that no one came out from Ridgewood. This is an apartment complex that houses many Hispanics. A couple of us went over to Ridgewood and talked to a few families. One family was grilling out and invited us to eat with them...so we ate and talked. I suppose if many had come to the block party, we may never have ventured over and had this opportunity. Tomorrow we will start a Backyard Bible Club there for the kids, along with English classes for the adults. Please pray for us as we attempt to build bridges of trust this week!

It's hard to put into words all that happened tonight. A very full evening, and lots of great things happening...can't wait to see what God will do through the week!

Tomorrow - many ministries getting started:
Backyard Bible Clubs in 4 or 5 locations
Block party to minister to the HoChunk Nation (Native Americans)
First Responders Appreciation
Construction work in Tomah for a church that has a roof caving in & in the Dells for a motel that will house displaced women and children
International students ministries

I'm probably leaving something out! Please continue to pray for hearts to be prepared to respond as we continue to demonstrate Christ's love in words and actions!

Please pray for FamilyFEST!

July 19th - 24th! Many months of planning, and it's almost here! By the end of the week, almost 100 people will arrive, ready to minister to the people of the Wisconsin Dells!

Please pray for:

...safe travel for all the volunteers
...spiritual preparation for each one of us, that we would be prepared to do whatever God prompts us to do next week
...bridges of trust to be built with the many different people groups that we hope to minister to
...the people that will hear the Gospel, that their hearts would be open to the Truth
...the Backyard Bible Clubs, English classes for immigrants, International student ministries, First Responders Appreciation, Elderly visitation, Block parties, construction work, and so much more...would God be glorified through all that we do and say!

There are still a great many things to do THIS week to prepare for next week! Pray for each of the ministry leaders and the many tasks that must be accomplished!

Thank you for your faithful prayers!

How are our kids doing? Really?

I think most people would agree that getting a good education plays an important role in a person’s future success. But just how important is it that our kids graduate from high school?

There are a lot of statistics floating around out there, and wading through all of them can become a little mind-boggling. For some reason states report higher graduation rates than independent organizations. Which numbers are accurate? After reading through numerous studies and reports put out by different organizations, I’ve come to one conclusion: our kids need help!

Take this in:

• Only approximately 70% of our nation’s students earn a high school diploma.

• Every year, approximately 1.2 million students do not graduate on time…having been held back, or they do not graduate at all.

• The greatest challenges are for minority students. Graduation rates for Hispanics, African-Americans, and Native Americans are significantly lower (57%, 53%, and 49%, respectively).

Wisconsin ranks 5^th in the nation for graduation rates, but I wouldn’t consider this something to boast about. 80% (compared to #50 Nevada’s 55%) seems pretty good, but what about the 20% that don’t graduate…that’s 1 in 5 adults that do not have a diploma or GED. Those percentages vary greatly from county to county, and city to city! Milwaukee’s statistics are particularly discouraging…less than 46% graduating!

What’s the impact?

In Wisconsin, working-age drop-outs earn on average $10,000/yr less than high school grads. Their unemployment rate is three times higher than high school grads. And they are twice as likely to be incarcerated as high school graduates.

There are obviously a lot of factors that play into whether a student will graduate high school. I could list a dozen factors, and become overwhelmed into inactivity. So I’m only going to focus on one and more importantly how we, as the Church, can make a difference!

Literacy – 70% of all students entering 9^th grade read below grade level. In our nation’s 2,000 ‘drop-out factories’ (schools that graduate less than 60% of their students) many of those kids are coming into 9^th grade at only a 5^th or 6^th grade reading level. High school students don’t just suddenly develop reading problems.

The reality is that kids that can read by the 3^rd grade are unlikely to encounter the wrong side of our criminal justice system. On the contrary, 85% of youth in juvenile detention centers are two or more grade levels behind, many are functionally illiterate. As mentioned before, I know literacy is not the only factor, but it is a starting point.

And clearly, our kids need help!

What’s the answer?

Should we sit around and wait for the government to figure it out? Or is there something that many of us can do RIGHT NOW?

I believe there is. It’s called Literacy Missions.

What if churches adopted their local schools, making a commitment that every kid in their school district would be able to read by 3^rd grade? Sound too big? True, it is a God-sized vision! But not too big for our God!

What if, in addition to meeting the physical needs that many students have by helping them with their schoolwork, the church also intentionally shared Jesus Christ with those kids and their families? How many other social problems would be addressed?

What if we stepped out in faith, trusting that God would give us the ability, and really met the needs of the community…extending a ‘cup of water’ in Jesus’ name?

I’m currently working on arrangements for a Tutoring Children & Youth workshop to be held in southern Wisconsin this fall. This will be a great opportunity to learn the skills you need to become a part of the solution!

Contact me and let me know you’re interested so I can make sure you get the dates and location of the workshop when it’s available!

If you want a clearer picture (or want to find out how your local schools measure up), take a look at these articles:

Alliance For Education: About the Crisis

Promoting Power: How Does Your Local High School Measure Up?

Wisconsin’s Ten Largest School Districts

High School Graduation Rates by State

The High Cost of Wisconsin’s Drop-Out Rate