Lost in Faith

Trevor McKinney accepted his teacher’s challenged to change the world. The ground from which he came, an alcoholic mother and an absent father, wouldn’t create a suspicion of success. But from his mind, maybe, heart came the idea, “Pay it Forward.”

What if people sent three good deeds ahead, that is performed 3 good deeds to others for no good reason. They just decided to “Pay it Forward!” The world, Trevor McKinney thought would be a better place.

Trevor captured the very heart of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 7:12

Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God’s Law and Prophets and this is what you get. (The Message)

Each time you invite someone to a Sunday event, serve on the weekend or give up your hard earned income, YOU-Pay it Forward! Easter almost 1500 people attended, the week after we broke1000 people for the first time ever on a non-holiday Sunday. Each week I hear stories of people’s hearts being touched deeply by what they experience at Shoal Creek. I can’t ever say it enough, Thank you for being a part of this movement of God.

I won’t take long to get to my point, I promise! Each summer for the past 10 years we’ve hired “Summer Interns.” There coming has always been an expected event. They bring energy, excitement and hearts full of questions. This year is no different, in that we have 10 interns set to arrive on May 17th. Actually that is a little bit of misnomer since 7 of them are kids who have significant Shoal Creek experience.

Each Intern cost us about $2000 for the summer. To pull off the internship (The Foundry) we’ve always had 3 fund raisers, Golf Tournament, Intern Support Letters and the Fireworks Tent. Last year we didn’t do a golf tournament due to a low number of interns so when we tried to resurrect it this year, it didn’t come out of the ground like we’d hoped. The result being we don’t have the cash flow we need to start The Foundry this year.

This is my point, would you consider “Paying it Forward” by giving in 3 special ways toward The Foundry?
• by giving $500 (or whatever amount you choose.) That would be like making an investment of ¼ of an Intern! That would be one!
• Two, you could volunteer to serve alongside them on Sundays as they work in KidZone, WeeZone, Video, Drama, etc.
• Three, you could volunteer to help in the Fireworks Tent to help raise money for The Foundry.

I realize in these uneasy economic times it is hard to think of giving as a priority but Jesus was especially concerned about how we handle our wealth. He knew the direct connection between our souls and our wallets. Generosity is a quality that is good for the soul! May I invite you to soothe your soul by investing in 10 young men and women who are about to join us on our mission.

Roy

Make checks payable to Shoal Creek and attach a note that you would like to direct it to the Foundry or go online

If you’d like to manage your information on Shoal Creek’s database please go to www.shoalcreek.org and click on manage my info on the lower left corner and follow the instructions.