Week 7-The Gathering Place, FBC Lawrenceburg, Townville Baptist, The Brook, Grace Church, FBC McMinnville, & FBC Jenny Lind

Rosamond

FBC Lawrenceburg from Kentucky returned to Memphis this summer to love on our Rosamond kids, Street Reach staff and the surrounding community. Bible club kids were thrilled by surprise gift bags given out by the team. Each day was filled with fun and intentionality. Whether missionaries were carting kids across site or delivering water station to station, all hands and hearts were extended with willingness to serve in the name of our Savior. Bible story and crafts were coordinated well, one supporting the other, and the energy in games and songs never appeared to decreased. Olivia and I were so impressed by the team's preparedness to run an enjoyable yet structured club. All week the kids informed me of just how much they adored each specific member of the Lawrenceburg team, and I have no doubts the team's passion toward the kids was anything short of equivalent. No child was forgotten, no matter how many children showed up for club. Our youngest team member, Eli, even donated the shoes off his feet to a Rosamond kiddo Friday afternoon. It was truly a privilege to serve alongside FBC Lawrenceburg this week. Until next time! 
-Brianna

Guernsey

What an awesome week it was at G-Street! This week TGP grew even more and brought along another church, The Word! This was this specific church’s first trip to Street Reach but they came in with hearts prepared to love even the toughest of kids. The missionaries brought in awesome(and wearable!) crafts including vests, bracelets, and even binoculars that went along with the bible story each day. Everyday the bible story station went through the life of Joseph and then brought each story back to the Gospel and applied it to the kids lives. Everyday they looked for their “divine appointment” and the Lord revealed them!  Whether they were listening to one of Jon Jon’s songs he wrote or running back to Asia’s house to give her an apple, each team member was intentional to show Christ’s love to these kids everyday. This week even more children began asking questions and we even saw a couple enter into a relationship with Christ. I cannot wait to see how they grow in that as they begin to follow Him. It’s been so sweet to watch these children follow us as we follow Christ. Every single day this week as soon as Nyjee would get to club he would ask “I could help you pass out lunches today?”. The children are constantly asking if they can help Miss “Sunshine”(Kaylin) with water. And of course our older girls are still asking if they can help the younger ones in crafts station. They love serving each other! I am so thankful for the many mission teams who have come in with servant hearts this summer. The kids are seeing that in you and they are imitating it themselves. A huge thank you to The Word for loving and serving the cool kids that meet at G-Street, even in the heat this week! I hope to serve with you again next summer. 

-Sarah

National

I cannot believe that there is only a couple weeks left of bible club for the summer. As it gets closer to the end of the summer, it gets harder to maintain a continuous amount of energy that it takes to go out to bible club and love on the kids every day. That's why it's so encouraging to have teams like Fbc McMinnville who come in with tons of energy and hearts ready to serve. It was super exciting to have this church in town this week because they live really close to my hometown. It was really nice to have a little bit of home here in Memphis with me this week.This team was willing to do whatever it took to spread God's love to each of the children. No matter how hot it was outside or how tired they were, they relied on God's strength to keep pushing them through. They continued to pour into these children every day knowing that they could be the only Jesus that these kids might ever see. We had quite a few kids give their lives to Jesus this week! We also had some recommit their lives to him! All of the glory goes to God because we know that it was all because of his work that he is doing. At the end of the week, the team gave all of the kids storybooks so that the kids could continue to learn about the gospel. I can't even fathom the work that God did through this team this week. Thank you Fbc McMinnville for giving up your time to come and love on the kids at National. I cannot wait to see what God is going to do these last two weeks.

-Morgan

Johnson

What's up everybody? This is Bobbby with four b's coming at you this week. The Gathering Place Church from Moody, Alabama rocked it this week at Johnson! They came here on Sunday night with great energy yelling, "GP+Y"! The Gathering Place came here ready to share the gospel this past week and put in many long hours preparing for bible club. The team was ready to meet new faces and to be reunited with old ones and proved that by canvassing amazingly and bringing 86 kids on the highest day of the week! The energy was great all week at bible club and away from bible club as well. God was there this week at bible club with multiple salvations throughout the week. The kids at times pushed the team members but the team held there ground ministering to the kids no matter how tough the children were. The kids loved being able to dance to the whip and nae nae but loved the team memebers even more for doing it with them. The kids learned a new song this week called, "superhero", and loved dancing to it. They  had so much joy on there faces this week as GP+Y showed Gods true love to them. I want to thank GP+Y for everything they did this week. Hope to see everybody next summer back at Johnson for another great week. God bless The Gathering Place youth group for being the hands and feet of Jesus Christ. Hope everyone has a blessed summer! See ya guys!
-Bobbby & Bantz

Que Que 

This week at Club Que Que was great one with Grace Church in the mix! The kids loved hanging out with the teams so much that they pushed through the crazy heat to see them each day! It definitely helped that the team came in fully prepared to smother the kids with love and guidance! Throughout the week the kids were taught about forgiveness and the love and grace of our great God! They were also able to learn some awesome new songs as the team broke out the guitar and had them all singing " We will sing because you are good" followed along with them shouting "We will shout because you are good, you are good to me". It was so great to hear all of these kids learning how to praise our mighty creator and loving to do it! The kids were constantly talking about the bible story and were able to answer almost every question we threw at them! We ended the week on a great high note as two of our kids accepted Christ! In the end I think we all realized that sometimes it is all worth melting in the 100+ degree days just to see Christ work through us! Grace Church thank you for coming and serving at Club Que Que this week and teaching the kids more about the love that Christ holds for them! Y'all were amazing this week! 

-Katie

Kendrick

Good good father. That's what has been on my mind as I've been thinking about what I wanted to put in this blog post. We serve a good good father. This week The Gathering Place church came and shared Christ once again with the Kendrick kids. Though the first day was small the team made the most of their time by patiently waiting for their divine appointments. And sure enough the appointments were found. We had a total of 4 salvations this week. It's obvious that our kids are learning and growing. This week one of our most troubling kids; Jay found a friend in one of our leaders. He started out the week misbehaving, but by the end of the week he was giving hugs instead of high fives. Helping our younger ones and participating in his station. We are so thankful for Ms Debra and her willingness to spend one on one time with Jay to make such an impact in a small amount of time. This summer at Kendrick I’ve been trying to teach my young Hispanic children who don't speak English their colors. Here's a little story of one our favorite kids Johani. 
*wipes his bloody arm on my leg* 
Me- Johani what are you doing?
Him- red! Red!
Yes Johani. Red. 
Thanks so much TGP for an awesome week!

-Steeley

Whittier 

This week at Whittier was a great example of how the Lord does not need a huge army to do His work, but only desires a few willing hearts to make His Name known. On Sunday evening, I was met with nine team members from The Gathering Place in Moody, Alabama. With such a small number of Whittier team members, I was very unsure of how exactly I would be able to have them walk the five walking routes that have been walked all summer, as well as run a Bible club with the 60+ kids we had loved on during the previous week. However, on Monday, I was reminded that, although it is important to reach as many kids in our area as we possibly can, numbers are not God’s primary goal in having us here. Therefore, we decided to cut two of our walking routes in order to have more team members on each route, and decided to keep our club numbers around 30 in order to be able to invest more in each individual child. And this method brought quite a harvest, as one of our kids, Ayden, began asking questions about Christ and, by Friday, decided to make Him Lord of His life. What a blessing! But not only was the gospel clearly shared, much fun was had as well, as the games station enjoyed new games about finding hidden treasures, the crafts station enjoyed making their own binoculars, and the songs station allowed the kids at Whittier to star in their own music video for “Watch Me,” our kids’ favorite song and dance! All in all, we had a wonderful week with The Gathering Place, and were excited to watch this team grow in both number and experience, with this being their third year at Street Reach, but their first time to take on six Bible Club sites. We look forward to having them back with even more team members, more energy, and more excitement about sharing the gospel with this community! “GP! + Y!”

-Big Em

Treadwell 

Week 5 at Treadwell was well spent with the team from The Brook. The old site was cut and new area under the trees were able to provide shade to our site! The kids were able to enjoy protection from the sun while we danced to the awesome music and puppets the team brought with them. The team's unique set of skills were utilized in ministering to people who had yet to be reached. One of the team members was able to communicate to the Hispanic community members including one of our kid's grandmother who waits on her grandchildren across the street. Another team member was able to sit with one of our kids who has slight autism and by the end of the day was the first time I've ever seen him smile. He was laughing and asking for piggy back rides. The group was phenomenal at being intentional with all the one on one time available and the kids were loving the attention. To end off the week we set a new record this summer with 51 kids at club on Friday! A big thanks to The Brook for coming and pouring into this community this week!

-Allison

Pope 

It was another great week of bible club as GP+Y taught the Pope kids all about the best super hero of all, Jesus Christ! Aurtranise learned all of the lyrics and motions as well as several other children. They even recorded the kids dancing to the song for a "music video" which the kids loved. The older boys continued to do flips on our

cardboard break dance floor during the free style portions of the song. Crafts made magnets with scripture verses on them so the children could share the gospel in a fun way with their families! It was another hot week and that let us focus on the children who were there by loving on them and answering their questions about Jesus Christ. Netria an older girl who I have known and prayed for for three summers now accepted Christ this week! I met her when she was ten years old, and she had a lot of anger issues. I have listened to some of her questions in Bible story and she has been trying to figure out who God is. In an afternoon activity club with the sports trailer she stayed at Bible story the entire time and read Jesus Calling! The leader spoke with her, talked her through a prayer of salvation, and then gave her the book. I am very thankful to GP+Y and FBC McMinnville for continuing to pour into kids in the afternoon and discipling Netria. I hope to see you all back next year, and I know that the kids do as well. Please pray for Pope and the team about to come in as salvations continue to occur and we have only one more week at Pope left this summer. This fantastic summer at Pope has caused me to dwell on Matthew 9:36-38.

-Rachael

Jackson 

Wow, another amazing week at Jackson thanks to The Gathering Place from Alabama! This team came in with so much excitement and energy… but when doesn’t TGP have energy? In all seriousness though, I am so incredibly proud of the team this week. Every day I watched the apartment routes hold hands and pray together in the middle of the parking lot, unashamed of their faith, just as the red and green routes did before heading into the neighborhood. The team’s willingness to canvass brought back great numbers (45 was our high) and they even brought brand new kids to Bible Club! I wish that I could explain in words how great Bible Club truly was, but it’s almost something that had to be seen. I saw team members with a kid on each leg, I saw kids being loved on, and I sincerely saw Jesus in the team. I am so thankful to have had such a great team this week because on Thursday night I found out that the next day would be the last day Jackson would run for the summer. Instead of spending a lot of time being sad, the team sprung into action and used Friday to pour into the kids and share the gospel one last time. I know these kids had a great last week and left Bible Club knowing more about Christ than they did on Monday. To The Gathering Place and all of the other teams that came in this summer, thank you for allowing God to use you. Without you all Jackson Bible Club could not have happened. I am comforted to know that your actions have undoubtedly changed these kids’ lives in a way that glorifies His Kingdom. 

I don’t expect that dishonor and shame will plague me in any way, but I do hope that I will continue to be able to speak freely and courageously about Jesus, and that now and forever the Anointed One will be glorified and placed above all else through this body of mine—whether I live or die. For my life is about the Anointed and Him alone. And my death, when that comes, will mean great gain for me. So, if it’s His will that I go on serving here, my work will be fruitful for the message. (Philippians 1:20-22)

-Bristow and Adan

Kippley 

Welcome to the Blog, you blog readers, you. Saying good bye to the kids on Friday wasn't easy, being Kippley's last day for 2015, but the bitterness was outmatched by the sweetness of the week. Only 13 kids ever came to bible club, but my home church family First Baptist Jenny Lind made every second with every child count. Every child received a whole week of undivided attention from the team, a whole lot of fun, a mess ton of crafts to take home, and most importantly the truths of human identity defined at creation and re-found in Christ. It was an added blessing for my siblings and even parents to get to know the kids I have come to love. All in all, it was a great week and a great end to Bible club Kippley 2015. Pray for these kids that they will not forget what they have been taught throughout the year - that they will continue to dwell on these truths and that God will search out their hearts and prepare them for a harvest. And pray that God will send workers into this Harvest field again. Have a good day, a great rest of your summer, and a fantastic year ahead. TTFN - tata for now.

-Kaden @ Kippley

Vernon 

What's up fellow Street Reacher's, it's Armskrong hitting up Vernon again this summer! This week, Street Reach rocked it out with all twelve bible club sites running. We welcomed FBC Townville in the house, all the way from South Carolina! This team jumped in with all hands on deck and ran a great bible club. Monday morning we loaded up and headed out to site with heavy canvassing in mind. We started our week out 18 kids and grew to 29 by Friday. The team each day had a over all bible club theme going along with their daily bible stories. This week the kids enjoyed some fun and cool new games, some awesome VBS song with Ms. Mary Ann, a amazing bible story, and some outstanding crafts with Mr. Richard,  like making medals and crosses! This week was another hot one;  with the heat index exceeding to 109! A huge excitement at Vernon this week was that Townsville youth and adults were on fire for God this week. Team member Jacob, daily talked to me about the love and the passion that his group had for Christ and the mission here. The team helped lead a total of 8 kids this week to Christ. It was a awesome week to see 8 of my kids turn their lives over to Christ and to be born again as a brother and sister in Christ. I told little Kendricus after he accepted Christ, that we are now brothers; of course he thought it was hilarious and he thought I was crazy, but after explaining it, he finally understood. I can not thank FBC Townsville for fulfilling the call to be the hands and feet this week in Memphis; this group was outstanding and helped bring Vernon to a close. Thank you again to the youth and leaders of FBC Townsville, I hope to see you all back again next year, and let it be God's will that we get to work together again! Another thank you to the teams that have helped run Vernon this summer; it means a lot to our kids, community and to myself! With all of that being said I'm signing off from Vernon for the summer; God bless each and everyone. May you all have a great rest of the summer!

-Armskrong