Community Ministry
“It was that moment that
brought me back to my
constant prayer from
earlier in the summer…
that someone, even just
one person, would come
to know His love”
A moment
that touched
my heart
Karen Elliot – Community Ministry Supervisor
29 | Pages 2012
As I was deciding what to teach this summer for Community
Ministry, God placed on my heart the desire to teach others about His
love. My hope was that the kids in the community would come to know
the completeness of God’s love and the joy that comes from knowing
how much He cares for each and every one of them.
At the beginning, there was one location that frustrated me because no matter what I said, the kids never seemed to be listening when
I would speak. I wondered how I was going to be able to teach them
anything. Each week I prayed for our ministry in the different communities, and with this one in particular in mind, I would ask that God would
use me to glorify Him, and I remember praying for the hearts of the
people who were there, that they would listen. I asked God to speak His
truth through me and prayed that if even just one person came away
from this summer knowing and understanding His love, then everything would be worth it.
SUNDAY
MONDAY-THURSDAY
SATURDAY
Every Sunday night at
Crossroads Fellowship
in Giddings, Discipleship
Supervisor Alyssa Perry,
and Community Ministry
Supervisor Karen Elliot
went to lead a Sunday
school class for the kids.
On weekdays, Tejas staff
went to Westwood Villa,
Shade Tree, Sun Valley,
and Town and Country to
teach the children of
Giddings about God.
Staffers would play games
with the kids, have worship,
teach them a lesson, and
have a snack each day.
Every Saturday, Michael
Chaney and Patrick Swilley
went to the Giddings State
School to minister and
build relationships with
the boys there.
Kids Corner
“God is love”
State School
On our final visit to this location
for the summer, everything went perfectly – the kids listened to what I had to say
when I summed up what we had talked
about over the summer and I reminded
them that God’s love for them is unfailing,
unending, and always there, no matter
what they’ve done, where they are, or how
they feel.
After playing several fun games
and face painting, we handed out small
New Testament Bibles with Psalms and
Proverbs, and also bags filled with school
supplies. Right before we left, one young
girl came up to me and asked me what
her Bible said, because she couldn’t read.
I asked her if she wanted to hear my
favorite verse, and she said yes. I read it
and she smiled, then asked if I could read
more to her. I told her I would read her
the whole chapter with my favorite verse
because it was short. I read to her all of
Psalm 100, and near the end she gasped
and looked up at the sky, a huge smile
spreading across her face.
When I finished reading, I asked,
“Did you hear something you liked?” to
which she replied, “Yes.” I asked her what
it was, and with awe and visible joy on her
face, she said, “He loves us.” In that moment, I knew that she truly realized how
much she really is loved. I nearly broke
down in tears and silently thanked God
for letting her see that at such a young
age. It was that moment that brought me
back to my constant prayer from earlier
in the summer… that someone, even just
one person, would come to know His love
and His sacrifice to bring them closer to
Him. All of the hardships in the beginning, with the frustration of teaching the
children and youth with seemingly no
acknowledgement or even response, in
the end was definitely worth it.//
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