This weekend we are excited to have our first Neighborhood Hope Fest in our back parking lot at 5pm Sunday. The fest will be primarily for those in the neighborhood who struggle with substance abuse, depression, family relationships, and so on. The idea is to bring hope through Christ. We have a line up of musicians, spoken word artists and people sharing their stories of transformation to inspire hope in Christ. We will also be doing a barbecue and distributing free food. Some folks from His Providence Church and Christian Hill will be joining with us to make this fest amazing. Teen Challenge will also be with us.
Kids are welcome to come, but this will not be for kids the way our fest last weekend was. There will be a lot of street people present and it probably won't be the best atmosphere for children. This event is primary for adults. If you bring your children you will really need to watch them tightly.
I want to just encourage you to come on Sunday just to be there and enjoy the event. A crowd draws a crowd so please consider coming. If you'd like to get involved in a deeper way there are a number of opportunities I can tell you about.
This Saturday all are welcome to meet at Ren at 5pm for a little time of prayer and then a neighborhood walk 6-8pm to distribute invites. What this looks like is small teams of 3-4 going to different blocks around the church and personally inviting anyone who is outside. We don't knock on doors. If you are a little shy just come out and be the person who prays while others do the talking. We alway put one person on each team who is very comfortable approaching strangers.
By the way, these efforts to go into the neighborhoods and invite people make a huge difference! In recent concerts, movie showings and the fest last weekend we drew in hundreds of different people simply by going out and inviting them. This work of personally inviting people is so important. It's not enough to have a building at 184 Broad and a sign that says "all are welcome". Individual people need a personal warm welcome.
On Sunday afternoon we will meet at at Ren at 2pm (after lunch) for a short time of prayer before getting ready for the fest at 3pm. Some will stay at Ren between 3-5pm to set up staging, sound system, prayer tents, chairs and everything for food distribution. Others will go out into the neighborhoods one last time between 3-5pm to distribute invites.
–Pastor Scott A.