Jesus @ The Skatepark: Meet Foundation Skate Ministry

May 2, 2012

"During college, a couple of buddies and I started a Bible study where we would meet for breakfast and Bible study and then go and skateboard together," said Zac Whitfield. "That was probably the beginning of God turning my heart toward reaching this subculture with the His love."

Whitfield majored in Youth Ministry at Trinity International University, and was required to create a ministry from the ground up as part of his studies. He choose skate ministry. "In 2005, ESPN magazine reported that more kids skateboarded than played baseball. MTV noted that skateboarding was second to Hip-Hop in its influence on youth culture."

After graduation, he began searching for ministry positions while continuing to skate. "Traditional" ministry doors closed, but he realized that every time he went to a skate park, he was in contact with kids who had never heard who Jesus really is. "I started going with my buddy to skate parks with a purpose," said Whitfield. "We would pray before we went that God would give us opportunities to share His love with these marginalized teens. That was around two and a half years ago. What started as a handful of rough guys meeting at my place for dinner and Bible study has grown to over 30 guys every Thursday meeting at a local skate park skating and then heading to a nearby house for dinner and Bible study." Whitfield noted that Foundation Skate Ministry also has a couple of discipleship groups that meet weekly. "The vision is to raise these disciples to reach their own peers and be the future leaders of the ministry," he said.

Whitfield, wife Lauren and son Hudson Taylor attend Cornerstone Community Church. In January, 2012, he is full-time with Foundation Skate Ministry. "We are in the process of raising support to do the ministry full-time through Commission To Every Nation, but are not fully funded yet. We are trying to partner with churches in Lake county to be a resource for them and let them know we need support from them."

The Whitfields live in Libertyville. "We basically travel around and meet as skateparks and share the gospel and build relationships inviting kids to join us for dinner and Bible study. We went out to visit Skate Church in Portland. They've been doing skate ministry for 25+ years. Paul, the founder, advised us to work toward our own warehouse location, to create consistency for the guys - to create a place they know they can always go to find the love of Chirst no matter where life finds them. That is what we are working toward. As of now the majority of our ministry takes place in central, western, and northern Lake County; we're desiring to reach southern and eastern Lake County this summer."

He notes that about 80% of the guys with whom they work are unchurched. "The majority of kids that skate are unchurched and from broken families and rough lives. This subculture seams to draw the “scum” of teens. We see a lot of failing school and drug use and trouble with the law, which is precisely why God has broken our heart for these guys."

On Thursdays, Whitfield and his team meet at a local skate park before heading to a nearby house for dinner and Bible Study. "We are working through Luke right now and letting God speak for himself and show these guys for the first time the real Jesus, and not what culture says He is." He also heads two weekly discipleship groups that focus on the spiritual disciplines and evangelism. One groups meets in Mundelein/Vernon Hills/Libertyville and the other one meets in the Round Lake/Fox Lake/Gurnee/Grayslake area.

Whitfield has this prayer request for the ministry: “Please continue to pray that God will move in these guys lives and that they will truly sense God's presence and guidence amidst this dark world. The Holy Spirit would provide spiritual wisdom and guidance for all of our guys to live out Colossians 3:1-10.

He is also asking the Christ Together community to pray:

• That his family will become fully supported financially.
• That local churches and Body of Christ will support the ministry God has called them to do, and that they can be a resource to them as well helping reach their children that are fringe kids and feel unwelcome at Church.
• For permanent meeting space and transportation: "We are having around 30+ guys every week and it is crowded! Which is great, but gives no room for growth. We need to find warehouse space and a big van soon to allow fro growth, as we wait on the Lord for those be praying that the guys we have will become spiritually mature and that FSM would be in a healthy place when we do grow."
• More leaders. It is hard to have meaningful relationships with all these kids! Pray that the Lord will raise up some leaders alongside us!
• Vision and direction as we move forward in planning summer trips with the guys. We plan on going on discipleship based trips that include skateboarding roadtrip with other Midwest skate ministries and a wilderness trip to stretch and challenge our guys

Click here to email Whitfield to learn more about Foundation Skate Ministry, or call him at 815.761.1463.

Do you know someone who is reaching out to teens in a creative way? Click here to share the story with the Christ Together community!

Gardeners Can GROW For Those In Need In Lake County

May 1, 2012

Last year's Manna Garden Initiative brought together a unique mix of kingdom-minded people in order to respond to the hunger in Lake County. Read a summary of the project here. 2012 offers another opportunity for gardeners to become a part of this project. As you are planning your backyard plot, why not plan to plant a little extra to share with those in need in our area?

If you'd like to learn more about how your harvest can become a part of the Manna Garden initiative, click here.

Gardener and Manna Garden participant Cheryl Besenjak passed on some helpful links for those interested in growing food for those in need:

American Community Gardening Association - Here is the page which provides lots of info on creating a community garden and more.
Just Food in NYC - What can I say? You could spend weeks on this site. I love it!
The Peterson Garden Project - on the site of original Victory Gardens in Chicago.
Growing Power - In Milwaukee and Chicago - Besenjak notes, "Yvette Ewing and I have dreams of developing a Growing Power in Waukegan!" 
Square Foot Gardening - Gotta love this method!

She asks, "What will be a next step for you? A class? Spending a day at one of the church gardens growing in Lake County? Finding out what volunteer opportunities we might have? Donating tools, seeds or seedlings, building or garden materials, or simply funding a part of or an entire raised bed being planted around Lake County?"
 

 

LOVE INC NE: Churches Pack Kitchen Kits With Hope

May 1, 2012

From the most recent Love INC NE newsletter:

Delivering Dishes and Hope to Client Homes
 
The Lord has blessed our Household Starter Kit ministry in tremendous ways already this year!  Many of our clients coming out of homelessness or transitional housing do not have even the most basic kitchen items to set up their homes.  Can you imagine how quickly the pride of walking into your new home turns to despair as you realize that you don't have the basic tools to cook dinner for your children?  Love INC's Household Starter Kit ministry seeks to help in three steps: Drive-Pack-Deliver.
 
Love INC partner churches or local businesses hold a drive for new or gently used items such as dishes & drinking glasses, pots & pans, bakeware, kitchen utensils and bath towels. Volunteers then pack the Starter Kits, ensuring each family has the basic tools to outfit their kitchen. Bible-study groups, youth groups and other teams from our partner churches then deliver these gifts, along with fellowship and prayer, to our clients.
 
Five of our partner churches have embraced the call to serve in 2012, delivering 87 Starter Kits so far! Many thanks to the teams from Journey Church in Waukegan, Trinity Christian Center in Zion, Northwest Christian Community in Mundelein, Christ Church in Lake Forest and Mosaic Praise in Beach Park.

Contact us at 847-731-0526 or info@loveinclakecty.net to find out more about this ministry - or the many other ways that Love INC NE connects the big "C" Church in service with those in need in the northeastern area of Lake County. 
 

New book release from Lincolnshire pastor

April 30, 2012

Pastor Lee Eclov wants pastors to remember.

Specifically, he wants them to remember God's grace. His new book, Pastoral Graces: Reflections On The Care Of Souls (Moody, 2012) is a practical and encouraging corrective for stretched-thin ministry leaders. His publisher's website sums up the message of Pastoral Graces this way: "Grace is the credential that lets us park close to people's hearts.When Jesus Christ, the Lord of the church, calls a pastor He instills a kind of heightened instinct for grace; what we call a shepherd's heart. However, pastors often become disoriented by leadership demands, congregational expectation, and the wounds of ministry. They forget how to use the grace of Christ in the everyday work of pastoring."

The book's message is as appropriate for a pastor-in-training as it is for a ministry veteran. Eclov has been the Senior Pastor of Village Church of Lincolnshire since 1998. Prior to that, he pastored in Pennsylvania for 14 years. He also spent 5 years as an assistant pastor at North Suburban Evangelical Free Church. He's been married to wife Susan for nearly 40 years.

He is a Contributing Editor of Leadership Journal, and columns and messages are featured at www.PreachingToday.com. He has been an adjunct professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and currently teaches a pastoral counseling course.

At the heart of it all, however, Eclov is first and foremost a shepherd. And as a shepherd, he wants to encourage other shepherds to rediscover the never-ending grace of God in their lives and ministries.

Note: If you've read Pastoral Graces and would like to write a 300-500 word review to share with the Christ Together community, please email us here.

2nd Saturday Market Place is Gurnee’s place to be

April 25, 2012

2nd Saturday Market Place is about bringing people together and creating something more than the sum of its parts. Market organizers anticipate the Market Place bringing hundreds of people together over the next six months.
 
2nd Saturday Market Place director, Sheila Baker Bondurant, puts it this way, ‘Consumers are looking for something special, family friendly and/or local and many are looking to find a great bargain. Farmers Markets are popping up everywhere but not being well attended, which is bad for vendors. There are people like me who need to sell things either for the cash, the garage space or both, but a yard sale won’t draw enough of the right buyers. People in apartments are out of luck when it comes to holding garage sales. EBay isn’t practical for an individual selling lots of low-cost items. But these are people who need to generate extra cash to support their families and with our marketing efforts and perfect location 2nd Saturday Market Place can help them do that. We want to bring all of these people to one place so they can support one another in reaching their goals.
 
"First Christian Church in Gurnee wants to get to know our neighbors better while supporting our community. We will do our absolute best to be certain everyone who attends 2nd Saturday Market Place leaves with a smile on their face and a happier heart – and is looking forward to coming back next month! When we’ve done that, we will have met some very important goals."

Sponsors will receive special recognition for providing free goodies for shoppers. The group will develop a kids area and as much entertainment as they can coordinate. The greatest outstanding hurdle is recruiting the first time vendors – and customers - necessary to make the event successful.

2nd Saturday Market Place is scheduled 8AM – 1PM, May through October. The inaugural Market Place, May 12th, will feature a Blessing of the Bikes at 10AM for all street-legal bikes.
 
Individuals and commercial vendors are encouraged to apply. Spaces are available by calling 847-986-6290 or visiting www.GurneeMarket.com, where you can find more information about the fledgling 2nd Saturday Market Place.
 
The church will have a booth each week with Go Project information to be distributed. If you are a church or have church members who might like to be a vendor - please go to the website: www.gurneemarket.com.