December 2009
Dear Friends:
Fathers, Champions and Citywide Transformation
Transformation is about fathering and operating in a spirit of adoption toward orphaned people as well as the community. If we come at it from a task-oriented mindset, (just tell me what to do and I'll do it...) it will come across as such. But, if we approach people and situations with nurturing hearts focused on fathering and mothering over the long haul, it will come across as agape-love. Letting God's agape flow through us so that grace touches every person and permeates every system in the city is the bedrock for transformation.
God's nation, called to be a blessing to the nations (Gen 12), started with a father as the leader, not a king or a president. Soon, they wanted a "king" like the nations around them. And so it went, and so it goes. Many leaders today are orphans at the top, not fathers. Although tragic, this nugget of truth opens up highways of understanding for the work ahead. Individuals, as well as community systems lack fathering. Leaders themselves lack it, and we, who have received the spirit of adoption, can walk in it most naturally. Fatherhood acts sacrificially, in maturity, with foresight, patience and wisdom while maintaining freedom, truth and an unshakable love. Warriors for cities must remember to walk this way, not as orphans on a quest to conquer.
This month, 30 local nurturers got face to face for the first time in a downtown coffee shop. These 'champions' (as we called them) have all accomplished a city-blessing assignment or two which they received from God. Each has proven strong in their own circle. Each has credibility and has kept relational bridges intact. Imagine what linking and leveraging these circles could do for the greater good of the city! The convening revolved around 'future dreams' upon their hearts and the potential of helping one another work these out. What occurred was much deeper and stronger than this, though. Leaders from government circles, educators, non-profit heads, business owners (many of whom are teammates of ours already) and implementers were present. Helping these and others bring to fruition the dreams God is placing on their hearts for this community is a way forward indeed! Connect this championing-dreams key (action) with the fatherhood key (approach) and you have one awesome set of Master Keys to unlock some burley gates! Pray for this group to align in the spirit of adoption to father transformation together.
Project 18 rockets forward
Project 18, our mentoring solution , has 24 mentors engaging at-risk youths referred our way. The paperwork, background checks, training and matching phase has passed (finally!) and we are now ready to roll. None too soon, as Plus One mentoring is winding down locally. They were the one of the only official mentoring groups in town. Many agencies are now looking our way for help. A handful of Shasta County probation officers sat down with me to gain clarity on the relationship between our team and kids they have in custody. They ended up asking if we could make one or two weekly "free time" visits to the hall to hang out with the youths. Wow! Another open door. Our mentors really do LOVE, so this is going to be effective!
We enjoyed a fun KICK OFF event early in the month with over a dozen youths and 20 mentors present. Balloons, food and lots of interaction drew such a positive response from kids and parents alike that we plan to make monthly parties a staple of the Project 18 family. Two weeks later, we took everyone out to Dairy Queen for some ice cream as the first ten matches were made. Applications of teens wanting mentors keep coming. Want to help? We need laborers - especially the men at this time!
Crime rate surprise!
If you recall, toward the end of January 2009, South County Transformation hosted a prayer breakfast with 40 top Anderson leaders. The police chief spoke out his concern that crime rates could exceed 20% in the face of economic downturn this year. Deanna prayed right then and there for a miracle. Guess what? This month, the chief proudly announced to the 50 or so gathered at the 2nd prayer breakfast that crime had dropped 13% in Anderson, while Redding enjoyed a 0% increase. What a miracle!
Imparting a Father's heart
City Impact Roundtable convened in Santa Rosa and invited me to share some of the Redding story. 'Twas good to make connections with leaders from Eugene down to San Bernadino, seeking to implement transformation in their communities. Fresno's Love Inc. leadership was present and ate up the idea of doing prayer tents in their city sometime soon. Fun!
Locally, Karen presented RT to the Redding Christian Singles’ fellowship and I was able to share vision with the Nazarene church's Glocal Sunday night gathering. The SafetyNet Orientation at the library was well attended and allowed us to introduce more people to current action steps available in the city. The connect-and-mobilize heartbeat is contagiously spreading. Thanks for your prayers.
Walking the walk
Thanks to your faithful support and prayerfulness, we've been able to develop many areas in 2009:
Community champions, 2 LYNK training series, the Track Record quarterly newspaper, connecting Nights of Worship, Project 18 mentoring, Safe Transitions, MyWatch, Grace In Motion, pastors and pastor's wives gatherings, spearheading prayer tents regionally, building bridges one-on-one and more. We've been growing and maturing along with you in this process, joyfully and patiently walking out our calling! If you like this focus and appreciate the role we play in it, or the way we play it, or anything whatsoever -- please pray about contributing to this ministry. Regular giving has held fairly steady through the year, but our pledges are still below our monthly need. Would you help us expand as more opportunities are coming our way?
Join us Dec 12 for a night of worship and connecting to share the Kingdom vision for the city and meet others who have the Father's heart.
May your heart overflow with the love of the Father as you celebrate His gift to us.
Thankful for what He sent,
Jon & Natalia Thompson
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