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By Narayan Mitra
THEY came, laughed, rocked and listened – but some 25 percent of them walked a few extra miles, to demonstrate their faith
in action through their willingness to serve.
The event was Rush 2009, held February 27 – March 1, sponsored by Kelowna’s Willow Park Church. Besides giving 1,700 youth a fantastic spiritual lift, it
helped many of them shed tons of cumulative narcissism. That’s all because of the major part Adopt-a-Block played in the overall program, as
one of the electives.
Picking up the challenge from popular author Shane Claiborne’s messages, almost 450 young people handed out socks, pop, hand-made scarves and
bag lunches to Kelowna’s homeless.
They also asked for the privilege of doing menial tasks for households. Samples
included moving furniture, yard raking, painting homes – or whatever. Before leaving, they would inevitably ask permission to pray for
the families.
Testimonies trickling out at this early stage indicate that some beautiful
friendships have emerged. Willow Park and Adopt-a-Block members are serious
about transforming communities.
Willow Park pastor Joel Feddersen reported that their youth group and church
have been completely changed as a result of the initiative.
Referring to the Gospel of John, he said: “John writes to not love in word and tongue, but in action and in truth – so we are reshaping the focus of church. Jesus washed the disciples’ feet as a model for us, to become servants to all.”
Feddersen said the idea was inspired by The Dream Centre in Los Angeles. That
church used this approach to start the work – which evidently helped reduce crime in their neighbourhood by 83 percent.
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Karyn Bonikowsky, youth leader at Grace Baptist Church in Hope, saw 20 of her
youth engage themselves in life-changing street and house-to house ministry in
Kelowna. That’s almost double the number from 2008.
They organized a BBQ and a concert at a shelter; heard personal stories of the
homeless; and regrouped at the end of the day to hold their own concert. Many
described the day as life-changing. By walking in the shoes of the less
fortunate, these young people are more determined to identify themselves with
them.
Feddersen and his church are all set to continue extending helping hands to the
contacts made. In the process, he hopes to see many of them become members of
God’s kingdom, not just neighbours.
Three years ago, only 30 youth chose the option of serving the poor downtown – over others like paintball, snow boarding and spa. The fact that there were well
over 400 this year is very encouraging to Rush organizers.
June 2009
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