Remember Carrie, my bratty little sister? Okay, well, for the moment, put the brat thing out of your head because this is way too cool to be bothered with silly sibling stuff. Is it out now? Good.
Carrie (or “Care” to me) will be working with One Hope Ministry in Tulsa, Oklahoma this summer.
One Hope is a ministry seeking to transform the inner city by targeting the devastating cycles of poverty, racism, abuse, and violence. We believe that the hope of the Gospel can change individuals who are imprisoned in these cycles and can transform families and communities by destroying the cycles themselves. Our goal is to combat the cycles of devastation in the inner city with research based and relationally oriented programs that specifically target kids who are at-risk for being the next wave of those cycles. ~www.onehopeministry.org
Unlike many large cities where our poorest are often located directly within the city, Care describes many of Tulsa’s projects as being totally removed. The city has moved the poorest of the poor into a field outside the city. Kids growing up in this environment are totally isolated. Those who can go to school face high drop out rates and failing public schools, not to mention large areas of economic depression with few prospects available.
Working with One Hope as a “getAHEAD” tutor, Carrie will be one of a team of people seeking to close the learning gap for at-risk kids in school and taking every opportunity to share Christ.
The night before she left, I asked Care why she cared so much about this particular ministry and why I should care with her. She looked at me and said “Why? Because it’s the only thing that matters in 500 years, that’s why. Everything else is going to go away, but what you do to help people come to Jesus and have a better life … that’s priceless. That’s the next generation, and the next generation after that.”
You can go to One Hope’s website to better understand their mission, “getAHEAD”, and One Hope Academy. There is also a video page with several informative shorts on the ministry, the impact, and better understanding the gang problem. Why should you care in this moment? Why should you learn about this ministry?
For the small children (ages 5, 6 and up) who are turning to gangs to follow in their older sibling’s steps, refusing to use certain crayon colors in the classroom because it represents a rival gang’s signature color … for the 12 and 13 year olds being targeted by gang recruitment and pressed to prove themselves with acts of aggression, violence and speculatively even murder … for the small boy failing his classes whose mother keeps him alive by prostituting herself … for all the children who have no fathers… for all the children caught in nightmare cycle after nightmare cycle with no hope. Why? Because there is HOPE for these children:
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 [ESV]
Please go to One Hope’s website and prayerfully consider how you can be involved with this amazing ministry as they seek to rescue and impact the next generation.
To become a “Friend of One Hope” and receive regular prayer updates, contact: onehopeministry@gmail.com
Follow One Hope Ministry on their blog: www.onehopeblog.wordpress.com (side note: the daily life stories of these kids are amazing!)
Do you have more questions or want further information on One Hope Ministry? Contact Pastor Joe Blankenship at: be2Himglory@gmail.com
This is my day today. Cleaning out the clothes. More specifically, cleaning out and passing on all my girl clothes [sniffs]. I’m okay, really. I’m just fine with the nine million boxes of boy clothes I will have. I’m down with all the blue. I am totally cool with being “the mother-in-law”. [sob] Oh man, I gotta stop going down this road …
Note to self: when you’re this much of a nerd, never “strike a pose”.
