Teen Challenge and the arts

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Permalink Reply by Tina4Music on March 18, 2009 at 11:30am

Hi Jim
What a blessing to see how you are honoring the memory of your son's talent by your efforts to assist others.
As a single mom experiencing the effects of father abandoned chldren, I also have a heart to arrange opportunities for youth talent mentorship and have done so on many occasions including for OliveCrest.Org.

My artist friend Marcia has mentioned desire to share her gift, so you might like to find her on my page
to notify her of the invitation.'

God Bless !!!
&-)

PS
What are your specific volunteer activities ?
and how often do you participate ?
The next time you have an event, you might like to utilize the event tool here at CEAN
and if you need volunteers and/or art supplies you might like to join the NEEDS group here also.

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Permalink Reply by Jim cosley on March 20, 2009 at 6:11pm

Hi Tina,

It must be hard being a single Mom and raising children but you still take the time to mentor others. God bless you! I will look into OliveCrest.Org and Marcia.

Thank you for your interest in what the Lord is doing at Teen Challlenge in San Juan Capistrano. One of the many things going on is a youth ministry called "God's Gang" held in San Juan Capistrano on Thursday evening. I attend as a volunteer and have the opportunity to deliver messages, pray, be a friend and encourage. The evening is all about praise, prayer and worship with kids that might otherwise be on street with gangs etc. I am blessed every time I attend. Generally there are around 40 teens. Sometimes we will load a group of kids and take them to an event. In a couple of weeks we are going to the Science Mueseum in San Diego. The last time we went was the first time the kids visited a museum in their lives! I am hoping to more ways expose them more to the arts.

Come hang out with us some Thursday night. I know that you will be equally blessed.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Perez on March 21, 2009 at 11:57am

Thanks for sharing a bit of your story Jim. After speaking with you at Tom Bertini's memorial, I more clearly understand your situation. My heart aches for you brother. I have 2 sons and 2 daughters.

May the Lord richly bless you and the ministry he's given you.

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Permalink Reply by Jim cosley on July 18, 2009 at 9:54am

We are taking around 20 teenagers that participate in the Teen Challenge "God's Gang" program to a Bethany Dillon concert tonight. I am always amazed how the kids respond to being out their enviroment and having an opportunity to enjoy music that is differant from what they are listening to at home and on the streets. Music that reveals to them God's love and hope. I am blessed every minute I am with them!

Mark Pettigrew said:

Teen Challenge played a major role in my own spiritual life. In 1969, I read "The Cross and the Switchblade." In the summer of 1970, when I was 13 years old, I went to work at the Teen Challenge in St. Louis, where my grandparents lived. (Needless to say, I was a summer volunteer, not a paid staff member!) It was wonderful to see how God could help people who were struggling with various serious issues, and it was great to see that God could use me to help other people, in spite of the fact that I'd only truly committed my own life to Christ the previous year.

David Wilkerson, in my opinion, is one of the people who played a pivotal role in terms of launching the Jesus Movement with which I was heavily involved during the seventies and beyond. David's key accomplishment was that he was willing to take a major personal risk on behalf of disenfranchised people who were treated by many conservative Christians as if they were beyond help. David demonstrated with his own life that God's love was capable of working miracles.

I'm thrilled to see that the arts are being used by God in the ministry of Teen Challenge!

Regarding your comment about art reminiscent of the paintings of Jackson Pollock (who actually painted in a number of styles, although he's best known for his "drip paintings"), I know a bit about Jackson Pollock's life story. I can't help but think that he could have used the ministry of Teen Challenge at some point in his life. Then maybe he wouldn't have been an alcoholic when he died in an alcohol-related car crash.

mwp1212[AT]gmail.com

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