Bridges for Youth

I met Bob in 1999 at the Bridges For Youth center on National.  He was one of the first adults I encountered in ministry there.  There were no kids at the center when Bob came through the front door, and I still to this day think this all happened so I could be attentive to his needs.

While listening to Bob, I quickly gathered that he missed his father who had passed away some years ago and that he had a difficult time understanding his mother and her ways.   He talked about the days when he had a sign business and it was obvious he really missed it.   A musical career and a touch of elusive success in a band, was something Bob spoke of with excitement.   A song he had written was used without permission and without compensation.  Bob had traveled around and seen much of the country, and he had colorful stories about his adventures.  He wore a smile and also donned that disgusted look when you talked about something that bothered him.  Bob’s clothes weren’t the best, and he had a mountain man look about him.  There was a profound interest in Bob to share his testimony in front of churches, but none that I know of ever allowed it.  This bothered him immensely.  Almost every month Bob would get some assistance money so he would be able to eat, but he gave most of the money to homeless men and women he would cross paths with, so they could eat.  He worried that the wrong people would find out he was helping others and take away the assistance.  Feeling his passion for music and knowing that he didn’t have a guitar, I bought one for the youth center and allowed him to come and play.  Several times we allowed Bob to take the guitar and use his musical talents on South Street in Springfield.   I remember going to watch him perform on the streets and how much I enjoyed this man.  He could really play that guitar.  Bob was always wanting to help at the youth centers in what ever way he could.   I don’t know how many times he did face painting, but it was a bunch.  He free hand painted Bridges For Youth above the snack bar at Nichols Street in 2001 and he painted a bridge and Welcome to Bridges at the front door. Most of all he was a good friend and someone I dearly miss.  You see, Bob was a homeless man, and one who was accustomed to that lifestyle.   I accepted him as  a colorful man and one who was honest and sincere.   I count myself blessed that I knew him and that he shared his life with me.    In honor of Bob,   Pastor Steve

Since I take advantage of this blog to express my disappointments and discouragements, I have to take this opportunity to rejoice in a recent victory for our Bridges for Youth Centers.  Being financially dependent on God is a difficult thing to communicate and deal with , but the inevitable deliverance of God is something we have grown to expect. God never fails us.

Last week we received a matching donation opportunity of $10,000. Every dollar up to that amount will be matched by the anonymous donor.  It is God’s deliverance for us at this appointed time. The memorable times in the Bridges for Youth ministry have been the times that God has delivered, not the times when we were in need.  God has never failed  to deliver us from these difficult financial challenges and that is so thrilling and energizing.   Each new deliverance brings you closer into the throneroom of God and His presence.

Today and this hour is a good time to give God the glory.   I thank Him for the valleys of impossiblilities.   I thank Him for the impossible opportunities in the future that will not yield a sensible worldly way to achieve them.  I pray that we, at the Bridges For Youth centers, will go forward each day in faith and yield to God and His voice.  Laying all impossibilities aside I pray for the strength and passion to minister to the lost and the hurting.  Without faith it is impossible to please Him-so let our faith be action and a moving forward, not yielding to the impossible of what is seen, but yielding to the God who is unseen.

Taking a victory lap and raising the Lord’s banner high, giving Him the glory!

Pastor Steve Hare

Every year or so we do a little survey of the kids to get their feedback on Bridges for Youth.   One of the questions we asked this year is, “Who is Jesus to you?”  Its funny to me that when I wrote out this particular question, that I was expecting a certain kind of an answer.   

It’s amazing to me the variety of answers that the kids give on this question.   Even more than that, it absolutely brings me to tears when I see what the kids say Jesus means to them.  Whether I had anything to do with it or not, it makes Pastor Steve very happy.  I can hear the angelic choir rejoicing at the proclamation of “Jesus is my Savior!” We have 35 or so kids that gave this response. 

My enthusiasm and joy go up to a whole other level, when kids who attend the Bridges For Youth centers are even more descriptive of who Jesus is to them. Heartfelt comments like the following: “My Savior, friend, and helper”,  “God’s Son, the one and only son of God”/Girl-age 9, “Our Lord and Savior”/Boy-age 10, “He is my God, my father, my savior, my guardian, and most of all my friend”/Girl-age 11, “My Savior, What else?”/Girl, age 17, “Jesus is my friend and my Savior”/Boy-age 16, “My Savior, my everything”/Girl-age 12, “Alpha and Omega and He is my Counselor”/Girl-age 14, “Jesus is another parent to me”/Girl-age 12, “He died on the cross to save our sins”/Boy-age 5, “My King!”/Girl-age 7, “He is always there and I love Him with all my heart”/Girl/age 12.   Some of these kids had attended church before they came to Bridges, but the vast majority had little or no God in their lives before attending. 

 There was one answer that I did not expect.   One young lady proclaimed that Jesus to her was symbolized through three people in her life.  At age 9 her answer included three names, one a staff member at Bridges, and the other two no doubt were  teachers and addressed as Mr. and a Mrs..  Being a reflection of Jesus is an invaluable way of spreading the Good News.    Kids can see a sincere reflection of Jesus in our lives, as they can see a fake reflection of Jesus. 

I was really encouraged by the kids comments and hope that you are as well.

Pastor Steve

It is such an easy trap to take those daily Bible readings and apply them to other people’s lives, rather than applying them to your own life.  Applying God’s truths to your own life reveals some pretty ugly stuff, after all.

One particular verse got my attention today.  Mark 7:6-7  “He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from me. And in vain they worship Me. Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’

At first I started applying this verse to other people and I said to myself, Amen!.  Then the Holy Spirit convicted me that I am guilty also.  The ground is level at the foot of the cross, and all my weakness I lay there, that I may become strong through Jesus Christ.

The real power in a strong walk with Jesus is our weakness.  My weakness.   My yielding to Christ. 2 Corinthians 12:9 really sums it up. “And He said unto me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness”.  Then the Apostle Paul continues to look at this weakness in yielding to God and summizes that “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”   So, I will rap up by saying Amen in agreement to the Apostle Paul, not looking to the weakness in others, but looking indeed at my own weakness. Praying that God will use me today as an instrument  of the Good News.

      I heard this cell phone ring yesterday and it said something like “Help, I’m stuck in your pocket”.    It really cracked me up.  A  guy really needs a good laugh every now and then and then, every now and then.  

       Anyhow, I got to thinking about God’s people in the Old Testament, after God had given all the tribes their allotted lands, and Joshua had died.   It had been a time that the people had been obedient to God and He had delivered on all His promises. The generation immediately following Joshua’s death was disobedient and took their eyes off of God.

     They were missing out on the blessings, and basically going the opposite direction. Metaphorically, the story of God speaking through Balaam’s donkey is something that came to mind as I was thinking about that cell phone saying it was stuck in the pocket. Then, I started thinking about how so many professing Christians  don’t honor God with their  money and possessions. 

     Now I’m thinking that if God can speak through a donkey, that God can certainly speak through our money and possessions and get our attention. Can you imagine God stopping you in your tracks by speaking out of your bankcard, checkbook, wallet, dashboard of your car, walls in your house?  I believe that would definitely get my attention and remind me that I had been neglecting God.

       So, this is one of my new prayers, that God would speak through inanimate objects  and get Christian’s attention.  God clearly tells us to take care of the poor and needy in His word.   It takes obedient Christians to accomplish this directive in God’s word.  By the way, it is not a directive to just the few Christians who feel that God has laid it on their heart to help, it is a directive to all Christians and all Christian churches to help the poor and needy.  One of the unpleasant things about being in ministry is that you realize after a number of years that only a scattering of Christians and churches fulfill this biblical mandate.

     So how do you fix it? Over and over again, in the Bible, it talks about God’s people crying out for deliverance, and God always responds.  We are in a position at Bridges for Youth were we have financial needs that are not even close to being met.  We are in a position were there are several  identifiable neighborhoods and small towns were we could go and make an immediate difference among the poor. So, we will cry out to the Lord and ask for deliverance.   My prayer will be that God will speak through the hearts of Christians about the needs to be met among the poor and hurting kids all around us.  For those who don’t heed the voice of God in the hearts I pray that he will speak through the inanimate objects all around them and that just like Balaam’s donkey, attention will be given to the things of God and His voice. Pastor Steve

     Adventures in the wilderness probably brings to most of our minds scenes like in Davy Crocket, King of the wild frontier.  By the way adventure is defined in several ways: taking a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome, a wild and exciting undertaking, venture:put at risk, I will stake my reputation on this, is an activity that is comprised of risky dangerous or uncertain experiences for the sake of physical or emotional excitement.

   Lower income neighborhoods and many of the areas in our small towns in Southwest Missouri, are the two  wilderness adventures that I would like to address.  I just say wilderness because it appeals to me that it will take people with great vision and faith to take back territory that many have long since forgotten about.

      I spent two days on the roof of the Bridges For Youth center on National in 2006. I was amazed at how many people drove by and were oblivious to me being on the roof in a lawn chair with banners hanging all over the building. Needless to say when you are on the roof and nobody much is noticing you, and your not raising any money like you thought you would, you have lots of time to think and prayer.

     God showed me two things during those two hot days on the roof. We are a self centered society focused on the next thing we need to get done, and we seldom look to the right or the left, or slow down enough to just look around us.   Therefore many of the needs of the poor and those around us are never met.  The hundreds of thousands of kids and their parents living in poverty just off the beaten path are not always met, because no one gets off the beaten path of the main drag to see how they can help.

    The second thing I learned was that many people noticed me when I was on the roof and enthusiastically waved, knowing we were raising money, but never gave even a dollar.  I only received a couple bucks from one donor, on foot,  in two days on the roof. By the way, I include myself in both these categories, because I like the Apostle Paul am the ‘chief among sinners’.   The point is that we need to take personal adventures into the needs of people in our neighborhoods and small towns, and help those in need.   If we see need as Christians, if we see the poor in need, then we are supposed to help.  Jesus said “You will always have the poor with you…..”. Bridges helps the poor in 4 neighborhoods and 1 small town and we are just one opportunity you have to support the poor through our daily presence and programs.

   Bridges For Youth’s new vision will be coming out soon and it will detail new adventures we will be making into neighborhoods and small towns over the next 5 years. Follow our progress and look for our vision on the Bridges website.  Wagons ho into new areas of ministry with prayerwalking, establishing new centers, and reaching thousands more with the Good News of Christ.

Oh Christian souls rejoice,      Pastor Steve

     The old plucking of flower petals, in the  fashion of, “they love me, they love me not” is becoming all to familiar these days.    I think my petal plucking session goes more like me asking God, “Will we have money today, or will we have money today not?”          

    Sometimes I understand why we run out of money and have to trust in God for days before the provision comes in and then many other times I just grow frustrated with having to deal with the relevation that the funds are all gone again at Bridges For Youth. Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch.

     Trusting in God for your daily needs puts you into some strange conversations with the Almighty.  All to many times large needs have been met at the Bridges centers, only to face the next day with another need raising its dinosauric head.  You cry out to God and say in without a thought, “Lord, this stuff is impossible!”  Without even realizing, you have told God that you cannot fix this impossible challenge, in fact, you don’t even have the courage or strength to face it.   Wow, did you catch that, you just told God you couldn’t do it without Him.   

     I used to be so filled with energy, believing I could change the world.   I used to dream big colossal dreams and work my body to the extreme to succeed.  Self achievement was something I fell for hook, line and sinker.  I literally have boxes of certificates of achievement and certificates of memberships in professional and fraternal organizations.    None of these things mean anything when you are faced with God sized needs that you cannot fix.    

       Thousands of dollars in  recurring needs in working with kids is nothing I can take care of, so I have to have God’s intervention, and I have to have his presence. Still, the confusion, the understanding of God’s ways, are far beyond this painter/pastor.  I think being humbled is most likely the only way you can begin to understand God’s ways.        

Honestly though, being humbled is not a pleasant experience. The flesh side of me wants an easier remedy to the needs. “Why?”, I ask God, ” “Couldn’t you move in one of your wealthy saints hearts and provide a deliverance for several months of financial needs?”   The answer is that God certainly could do that, but again we don’t understand His ways or His timing, so its back to trusting in God, one day at a time.

“Will we have money today?, or will we have money today not?” applies to our journey today at Bridges For Youth. Today the answer was, “You will not have money today”. The accounts are empty that hold our earthly provision for ministry, so we will pose the question again to God tomorrow, trusting that the provision will arrive as it always has, in His perfect timing.

 God bless all, Pastor Steve

I’m not sure why, but suddenly God has shown me that the quick sand of ministry is going to swallow us up if we don’t make prayer a priority. Don’t get me wrong, “We Pray!”, it’s just that I feel God is moving us to a whole other level.

We have  a number of dedicated prayer partners who have covered us for several years now.  I’m feeling now like we need that same covering every hour and minute of every day.   Continuous and fervent prayer, inside the ministry and out.  Bridges is after all fighting a real battle on the front lines. Our centers, staff and kids are surrounded by combatants from the evil one.   This battle will definitely be won or lost in prayer.   We are pouring over resource material now on prayer and developing a prayer partner ministry for our youth centers.  I really like “Partners in Prayer” by John Maxwell.

 The concept of prayer walking is something I have been aware of, but have not practiced to this point.    In my research I was led to an organization called “the Prayer Closet Ministries Inc”.  I can’t believe we have never done this before. Knowing the power of prayer and the power of praying God’s Word, this could have very fruitful results in the neighborhoods and communities where we currently minister and in those places that God leads us in the future.   Even if we do not end up starting a Bridges for Youth Center in an area we prayer walk, we can be sure that there will be results that have eternal implications.

Teaching kids to give praise, thanks and petitions to God for themselves and others has always been a passion of mine.  I believe kids praying with that childlike faith is going to move mountains in our community.  Kids talking to God. Yeah!

 Who’s with me? 

I had a collie for years. His name was Boswell.  Boswell was an outside dog. The collie I have now is named Isabel.   Wow, is she goofy.  We decided she was going to be a house dog some 2 years ago, when we got her. Man does she shed.   Isabel is a lot of work, and she can be really frustrating.  Anything worthwhile is going to require some work, and thats what Issy is, worthwhile.   One of the funniest things is to see her interract withPierre, our toy poodle.  Sometimes Izzy gets the best of Pierre, and then sometimes that little pint sized toy poodle wins, hands down.  Kind of a David and Goliath thing.   One of my favorite things about Izzy, is when I’m just standing in a room and she comes from behind me and walks halfway in between my legs and just looks up at me. Its kinda like a dog hug. She really  needs attention all the time. I also like playing hide and go seek with Izzy in the house.   If you can get a good head start, you can get behind a door or around a corner, she will look for what seems like forever to find you.   Then, the funnest part of the game is to jump out at her and startle her. Sometimes I surprise her, sometimes not. When I do make Izzy jump, there is inevitably Collie talk to follow.  We both love that game. 

Just having a little fun on a snow day.  You know, rhyming words for the title of todays blog. As a Christian snow and ice days have really redirected my life in the last year.  The ice storm of 2007 was a real show stopper for me.   It is so easy for me when I  get in a comfortable flow, where things are manageable, and the stresses of life are minimal. Sometimes I can go for several days or weeks in this mode.   I had been in this mode for awhile back in January of 2007.   It was during those mundane hours of existence, gathered around the fireplace to keep warm in the ice storm, that God finally got my attention. Generally speaking, your life has to stop for a little bit, in order for you to take a good look at things and take inventory of your life. I didn’t like what God was showing me during the ice storm of 2007.  I knew who was providing and who was charting my course through life, the problem was that I wasn’t starting everyday by going to the One who gives you direction for the  day.  I was pretty much relying on what God had told me in the past and how He had provided in the past.  The truth is, it is impossible to face today and be dependent on God, without relying on Him for today’s provision and for today’s direction.   I went back to my previous discipline of reading God’s Word every day.  I reasoned that leaving the house without going to God each day, was a recipe for disaster.

These recent snow days are just as redirecting and energizing as last year. Its hard to go anywhere or do anything ,  but God is patiently waiting for me to turn to Him. Just the last 24 hours has been envigorating.  Let me explain. Most of the time, doing God’s work can be totally exhausting. I think its usually because we try to manage or control the blessings God has given.   It is almost laughable when you really look at it.  Yes, God has put me in an leadership role, but the whole unimaginable task of keeping this thing going is dependent on Him.  I could do a fabulous job in any one area, or I could be an outstanding fundraiser, and the whole thing still hinges  on whether or not I trust in God that day or whether I rely on my own perceptions of what is right. How many times have I smacked the living daylights out of a rock to get the water, or provision, (like Moses), when I should have just trusted in God and His promises? 

Yep, this painter/pastor, likes the snow and ice days. Its to bad there is not something every two or three months that would slow us down and help us to take inventory of where we are, who we are in Christ, and where we are going.   Oh, that God would get the glory through my life.   Pastor Frosty Steve