Transformation Station
The results: wonderful. Just ask Vera. When she and her children moved into the neighborhood, they were terribly needy. Then Vera heard that Christ Church provided food resources. The church responded to her need with compassion and friendship. In the spring, Christ Church invited families throughout the neighborhood to an Easter event — with the promise of an Easter Bag (given by Here’s Life) for the children. Vera and her kids were there, and relationships deepened. When the church’s S.A.Y. Yes! Center started up for the new school year, Vera was quick to sign up her three elementary-aged boys. (S.A.Y. Yes! is the biblically-based after-school program Here’s Life has developed and made available to inner-city churches.) Vera’s sons had received little spiritual input in their young lives; like many inner-city children, they had an edge of hardness and anger. The boys were wary at first, but they soon warmed up. Today, they’re eagerly involved in just about everything the church offers — not just S.A.Y. Yes! but also Sunday school, church, and other after-school activities. They’ve learned to treat others with respect, to listen, and to be accepting as they’ve been nurtured in this Christ-centered environment. And the transformation has made an impact in Vera’s life too. She gratefully received a sorely needed Box of Love (a complete, family-sized Thanksgiving meal provided by Here’s Life) at Thanksgiving. She also noticed changes in her boys and began to be drawn more and more into the church herself. At first, she’d drop the boys off at S.A.Y. Yes! or at church and quickly leave ... but over time, she would find herself staying longer and longer, listening to the sessions and learning what the boys were learning. Today, she’s in church twice a week, becoming more and more a part of the body. And she’s inviting friends, who have also started attending! The dedicated people at Christ Church are the front-line troops reaching out in their community to families like Vera’s. Resources from Here’s Life strongly empower their efforts. |
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Christ Church of Westminster in Los Angeles is a small, inner-city church with a big vision. Resources from Here’s Life Inner City help fuel their passion to reach out in the name of Christ to their very diverse community.