1. MPACT- Our small group ministry starts September 10th.  We hope that you will get involved in a small group this year.    We need everyone who is going to participate to fill out a odsm medical release 08-09 if you have not done that yet.  We also need you to fill out and agree to the mpact-agreement-08-09You can download these documents and turn them.  odsm-medical-release-08-09 mpact-agreement-08-09
2. Sunday Night Finance Classes.  On Sunday Night September 7th and 14th we will be having Bill McHugh with us to talk about the importance of Money Management.   Bill McHugh is a successful business man who has a heart and love for serving God.  Come learn from a pro how you can manage your money in away that honors God.
3. ChillsPort- September 12th.   A place to Chill and play sports.  A fun place to invite your friends to come and meet your other friends that have a love for Jesus.
4. See You at the Pole pre-Pole rally.   Sunday Night September 21st we will be meeting in the pit for a time of worship, prayer, and planning for the See You At the Pole that will happen on Wednesday September 24th.   Come join us and other local churches at THE PIT.

Austin,
Well I woke up this morning and I was not in the mood to do anything, but once I got to the camp I started to hang out with the kids and interact with them. Then we went out to give food to the homeless and that was cool! Then we went to this place called the christ house and we served the homeless there and it really humbled me cause I never have served people before so it was a cool day.

Roberto,
To not ramble on, I’ll keep it brief. I was the first to wake up and the first to get sick. Illness loomed over me while the need to sleep struck me out of no where. Finally meeting the children was awkward due to this factor. A few of us later took the left-overs of breakfast to a park in efforts to give it to some needy people. While some were grateful and others were not, it was an interesting time.
Us guys had to help serve food to the home-less which made me eager to help. Afterward, we talked about the positives and negatives about our days. The only real negatives I found was my sickness and the lack of organization in the church (main leader wasn’t there, which caused problems). The best thing that happened was realizing that despite what goes on this week, it really is worth it.

More updates to come later

We got into DC a little bit late due to traffic and missing the first metro, but we are now here. The first thing we did was meet with Kristen from City Gate Ministries. She did an orientation with us and here are the notes.

Orientation-
1. We learned about the history of City Gate Ministry. People came to the city gate as the main place of meeting in the Old Testament. City Gate ministries is a place that is offering hospitality through ESL, Ministry to families and children, and giving back as people use the talents and abilities to serve God.
2. City Gate operates 3 summer day camps.
a. Work with families who have generational poverty. Mom, grandma, great grandma, great great grandma are all poor. These families are weighted down by various ties. City gate through their faith based programs are cutting the things that tie down these families.
b. Holistic ministry that helps develop a the whole child.
c. We have people give back to God. You will never out give God. We will learn from these kids.
3. We are working at Colombia Heights neighborhood. This is called a transitional neighborhood. Wealthy, thin middle class, and 23% of the population are poor. Average family income is $40,000. 45% African American, 45% are Hispanic. Most African Americans in this area are living in generational poverty. The Hispanic population is just moving into the area and have a lot to learn.