The 'Come Up'

Transformed PEOPLE transform neighborhoods.

This is our core belief. 

New buildings won’t produce lasting change around here.   A stronger police presence alone won’t all together eliminate the crime.   Parenting classes by themselves can’t retool families that are stacked densely into apartments.  Even doubling the amount of UrbanLife activities to the calendar won’t remake the realities for some of my neighborhood friends. 

God still holds the patent on life transformation.   Only He can generate the kind of transformation we are longing for around here.

That’s why we are committed to leadership development of youth.  Christian leadership development necessarily involves God in the transformation of people.

We believe transformed youth will grow up to be different kinds of moms and dads, employees and neighbors.  Better ones.  It took only 12 people (disciples- see New Testament), relentlessly committed to following Christ, to change the course of history. So I am pretty sure our neighborhood will look different with a band of transformed youth, driven to love God and neighbor.

Yesterday we interviewed 15 youth for “The Come Up,” a year-long leadership development internship.   In this internship, we look critically at the challenges facing our neighborhood and push the interns to engage in positive ways.  We coach them to be Jesus-style leaders, serving rather than wielding power.   And we pay them $100 monthly stipends.   This allows us to prepare them for employment and to train them to be professional and productive.  Additionally it allows a portion of them to help their families and turn from dishonest methods of making money in the ‘hood.  Unfortunately, we are seeing startling numbers of youth turn to different versions of a ‘hustle’ in efforts to meet basic needs (see tomorrow’s post for more).

Help me develop more students.  Although 10 of the 15 students, who interviewed, are ready for this kind of rigor and development, our current budget allows for only 5 hires.  While we have capacity to train more students, we just don’t have the capital.  With only a few new financial partners, we will be able to hire more emerging leaders this Thursday. More specifically, one new partner giving $100 a month will allow us to include an additional student in the cohort.  Four financial partners, giving $25 dollars a month will also allow us to include an additional student in the cohort.  

Would you pray and consider giving generously to see youth in our city, ‘Come Up?’

LINK to give online.

LINK to UrbanLife homepage

Let this Marinate in Your Brain

Mission Bay Baptism

You may remember Courtney as the guy who pledged to grow a square of hair (a “tail”) so long as his love for Jesus kept on growing too {post titled "Both Ridiculous and Redemptive"}.

The good news [and the bad news-aesthetically speaking] is that tail is still growing strong!

A striking sign of Courtney’s continued spiritual growth was his decision to be baptized last month.   Given the opportunity to baptize Courtney, I asked him three questions.  Each had significant gravity:

 Do you believe that you have a need for God because of your own sin and the brokenness of the world around you?

Do you believe in Jesus, who forgave your sins, died for you, and rose again that you might experience abundant life?

Do you choose follow God all the days of your life and commit to this family of believers, offering the best of your time talents and treasure to King Jesus?

With the affirmative answer to these questions, Courtney was submerged in the salty Mission Bay.  Then he emerged, dripping and smiling.  Amidst the hooting and clapping of onlookers, we witnessed an outward expression of an inward reality.

In Christ, Courtney is a new creation. 

Worship With 1001

Church happens throughout the week here.

It happens on a Monday night when fifty or so students walk over from the park to share a hot meal, some spontaneous laughs and a piercing story about God-in-flesh walking this earth.

Church happens on Tuesday when high school students weed and water UrbanLife Farms, bringing life to a barren city lot and empowerment to their own experience.

It happens Wednesday, as young adults mentor and love middle school students, right after 5-dollar pizza and immediately preceding sock dodge ball.

Church happens Thursday night where, once UrbanLife high school students, now Orange Avenue Church college-aged leaders, gather in a local condo to study scripture.

It happens Friday too, when we sabbath purposefully and worship as families.

Church even breaks out on Saturdays, from time to time.  

On Sunday we gather to proclaim what God has done during that week, to listen for His voice, and to beg God for strength to face another week.

We've been functioning as a church for a long time now. This fall, we will be formally chartered as a congregation.  In anticipation, a camera crew came by to capture a portion of God's movement in our neighborhood. Enjoy this succinct and up-close look at Orange Avenue Church, one of our denomination's 1001 New Worshiping Communities.   

Click any image to watch.

Peanut Butter Make-up is the Path to Significance

 This is how we build mentoring relationships that matter:

At this point in the year, we are doing a lot of inviting.   We are asking folks to join us.   And, in some instances, we are begging.

In my neighborhood, I have 60-70 youth who desire significant, formational, caring adult friendships.  For lots of reasons, they just don't have them.  As we start to gather students on Monday evenings, beginning in a few short weeks, students will come.   I'm just praying adults will too.

We don't need adults with perfect lives or iron-clad advice.  Volunteers don't need schedules with openings the size of part-time jobs.  We aren't even looking for 40 and 50 year-olds to dress with 'swag' to fit in.

Instead...

We need mentors who will show up.
Mentor leaders join us many Monday nights.  Additionally they see students outside of program, attending games, sharing meals and even running errands.  We ask for a weekly connection and a year-long commitment.

We need adults who are willing to 'let loose.'   
This probably means some version of painting your face with peanut butter and letting high school students spit q-tips out of straws, in your direction.

We need adults who want to be significant.
Volunteer leaders discover that they are receiving far more than they are giving.  At a basic level, the youth we work with help us to escape the gravitational pull of narcissism and worry.   When we give for the sake of giving, we find life.  And we make genuine friends.

If this is you and you realize a little bit of peanut makeup could be the path to significance, then please contact me.
justin@urbanlifesd.org