Way FM Faith and Fun Night

On Saturday the 20th Take It To The Streets took some of the kids from our outreach neighborhood to Way FM's Faith and Fun Night at the North Charleston Coliseum. We got to see the Charleston Stingrays play some great hockey followed by an incredible concert by Group 1 Crew. For these kids it was the first hockey game they had ever seen. They quickly joined in with the crowd in cheering on the home team and taunting the away team. It was a small thing bringing the kids along with us as tickets were not that expensive but to them that arena could have been a million miles from their daily struggles in their neighborhood off of Dorchester Road.

After the concert was over Way FM brought out Group 1 Crew who rocked the house with a lot of songs from their new not yet released album. Between each song each band member gave testimony to where they came from and how God had brought them to where they are. Their testimony actually sparked conversation between the kids as they talked about coming from a broken home, not knowing their father, and growing up poor. All of these themes resonated with the kids as they listened to their words and yet saw these individuals talking about growing up this way yet where standing before them preforming on stage. No part of their story glorified the use of drugs and alcohol but rather gave glory to God. One of the things that even touched me was the true humility in which their testimonies were given and that like our kids this was the first hockey game these three had been to as well. Through the second half of the game Pablo one of the band members actually sat in the row right behind us to watch the game. The night was a great time of fellowship for our leaders and volunteers as well as certainly expanding the kids bubble allowing them to experience a piece of life that many take for granted.

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To The Rescue

This is a fun blog for me to write and I think it will be an even funner one for you to read (is funner a word?). It all started with a phone call on Thursday March 11th from Fields To Families Jacki Baer. Jacki said, “Connor I have got 100 lbs of collard greens, but there is a catch you have got to pick them up today – actually in two hours”. I said, “Sure we can get them where are they” Jacki said “ Mt. Pleasant”. For those of you who are not up on TI2TS news we have a new partner Fields To Families (www.fieldstofamilies.org), they are a non-profit who started in 2006 that works to ease hunger in the Lowcountry by gathering crops form generous farmers and community gardeners and distributing them through their network of partners. This was such great timing with Neighborhood Fellowship on Saturday we could hand them out almost instantaneously! So I called Jesse and asked if he could get the van and scoop them up, as at that time I was having lunch with one of the parents of young leaders. Jesse said “no problem – text me the address”. At that time I thought everything was great easy peasey. The next morning I got a call from Jacki asking me “where were you yesterday I thought you were going to pick up the greens”? I didn’t know what to say and apologized for any inconvenience I may have caused. I let Jackie know that I would leave right away and could pick them up personally. She explained to me that it was to late that she already called another agency partner who was on the way. As you can image I was disappointed and worried that we had damaged our relationship with Fields To Families. Later that day Jesse, Mike and I met up for lunch to talk about TI2TS as well as this issue. At that very moment that we were talking about this issue Jesse’s phone rings – then mine, it was from David Truluck from Shield Ministry. We both agreed that we would call after our lunch. As we left Alex’s Restaurant, Jesse called me and said did you hear the message from David? I said “no, why”. David called to inform us that there was 100lbs of collard greens in the van. As you can image this was quite an experience for both of us. Shield Ministry was the partner agency that was on the way to pick up the collards.

On Saturday five children from the ages of 8 to 11 bagged up sixty grocery bags filled with collard greens and granola bars. Then on their own street they went door to door (with TI2TS volunteers) and began to pray with their neighbors, BOLD! I can’t tell you how proud and impressed I was with these boys this was a BOLD and Courageous move that most adults I know couldn’t or wouldn’t do. So next time you see Jahlea, Eddy or JJ give them a high five and tell them great job!

P.S. The neighbors loved the collard greens praise Fields To Families, Shield Ministry!

Connor McIntyre

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Thanksgiving in the Park

Last week Take It To The Streets had the pleasure of supporting Without Walls Ministry with their Thanksgiving Outreach. It was an incredible experience spending time on a holiday all about giving thanks, reaching out to those who are less fortunate and giving them a reason to be thankful. We helped to serve over 50 turkeys, 30 hams, and all the other traditional thanksgiving trimmings to many Charlestonians who had nowhere else to go on Thanksgiving day. By midday over 500 blankets and jackets had been distributed to the guests. It was heart touching to see how many people came out to willingly sacrifice time away from their families on a holiday to touch the lives those who had no family to spend it with.

As I walked around trying to capture the joyfulness of the occasion on film I felt a great peace in knowing that if Christ were present in the flesh that day that he would have been sitting at those very same tables giving hope to the "least of these". I can only hope that everyone who is a part of my life gets a chance during this holiday season to feel that same joy and peace. I know that in the act of serving pure of heart, that the server is blessed as much if not more so those than those being served. You may just find that in the act of changing the life of another it is you who are being changed.

To see all the pictures from the days events please visit http://photos.takeittothestreetsministry.org/

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Thanksgiving in the Park

On Thanksgiving Day we will be partnering with Without Walls Ministry to help serve Thanksgiving Dinner to the community. Last year we helped out with this event and it was absolutely amazing. Over 200 people showed up to help show the love of Christ on this holiday. The event takes place from 9am - 1pm at Hampton Park downtown. Volunteers who wish to drive themselves can park at the Food Lion a few blocks away and walk to the event or we will be meeting at the field behind Alex's Restaurant on Dorchester Road and car pooling to the event. Volunteers need to be there early so the car pool will be leaving at 8 a.m. Please remember to wear your Take It To The Streets t-shirts, maybe over a long sleeve shirt as it might be a little chilly in the morning.

We are asking each volunteer to prepare one dish or desert to bring with them to the event. If you can make something please post a response so we know what we will be able to take and we can let Without Walls know. I will be making my special lemon based Turkey :D If you are unable to attend or can not prepare food and still like to help out you can make a finacial donation for the event please contact Connor Mcintyre at 843.614.2307. We will also be collecting warm clothes, gloves, blankets, etc between now and the event to give out to he community. If you have any of these items please bring them to Field Day any Saturday between now and the event or on the day of. As you can tell the weather is getting cold at night and your extra blanket collecting dust in a closet may serve as a constant reminder of the love of Christ for some individual.

More information can be found here
Directions to the event can be found here

Posted by Michael Waters

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Convoy Of Hope

This past Saturday Take It To The Streets partnered with 25 other organizations and 75 churches to help host this years Charleston Convoy of Hope. It was a very humbling experience. I literally felt like I was in another world all day as watched over 5000 of my fellow charlestonians come out seeking aid. Volunteers arrived at 7 a.m to start setting up for this all day event. Take It To The Streets worked with Guest Services all day to help those 5000+ people get in to the event in a timely fashion. We handed out water and drinks to people as they were waiting in line in 90 degree weather. Some of our volunteers handed out games to the kids to help keep them in good spirits and walked around blowing bubbles with them. Our volunteers walked around and talked with those waiting in line and helped direct them through the front gates as the received information on all the different offerings Convoy had to offer.

There was a tent for everything. One tent was offering free haircuts and giving hygeine products. Another tent was giving out free shoes and washing the feet of the guests. There was a tent for health services and screening complete with a free chiropratic check up. There was a tent for job services where employers from the low country came to help those in need find employment. There was an incredbible kid zone that was like a mini fair unto itself. The kid zone had jump castles, clowns, face painting, cotton candy, and so much more. There was live entertainment all day from music acts, to poetry readings, and even a wrestling for jesus ring. Perhaps the most important tent of them all was the prayer tent where 3000 bibles were handed out 4,500 people were prayed for and 300 people came to know Christ for the first time. Right now you should be saying Amen as you read this :D If you would like to see more pictures from the event please visit our website at http://ti2ts.org or join us on facebook. If you have special God size moments from Convoy of Hope please share them in the comments section. Couldn't be everywhere at once and it would be nice to hear some of the ways God showed up.

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The Door is Open

TI2TS has been using the Jeannine Batten community center every other week as a meeting place before Neighborhood Fellowship. We received word that hey have decided to let us use the building for the launch of our mentorship program on Wednesday nights. The mentorship program will begin by meeting the children's educational and social needs. Please consider how you might volunteer to help tutor or lead a small group discussion on these evenings. These children need the constant presence of people who care about them if we want to see them succeed and end the cycle of poverty. We will also be holding the Word On The Streets Education Center Resume classes there, possibly on Monday or Tuesday nights.

Now that we have transportation we will again be able to bring in woman from My Sister's House to continue helping them find jobs and build resumes.

God continues to show us that we are on the right path as we make preparations for this new and exciting transition and growth time. Just yesterday we received word from Knology that they have agreed to donate Internet for the building for these programs. We will be using laptops and the Internet to help children with school work as well as adult students in the resume class. The Internet is a key factor in student success in this day and age. Thank you Knology for supporting us as we Take It To The Streets! The door is open for us to do some amazing things...

Sarah Harrelson

Central Administrator

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Neighborhood Girl Makes Public Profession of Faith

This weekend marked a milestone for TI2Ts, not only did several kids get picked up for church in our new van but several of them made it out to the beach for The Seacoast Beach Baptism! Among them was a girl whom I have become very close with. Since we are looking in particular for kids we would specifically like to mentor in or new mentor program coming up I thought I would invest sometime with this girl Sunday after church. Since one of our TI2Ts volunteers was getting baptized, I asked her if she would like to come along. On the way to the beach another volunteer and I explained to her what it meant to get baptized. As soon as we got there, when she saw all the people lined up she said to me, "I want to get baptized." I explained to her that if she wanted to get in the water that was fine but being baptized is something serious, and that it showed a commitment to Christ. I told her about the sinners prayer and asked her if she had ever said it and she said never. Then I asked if she would like to do that and she said yes! Praise Jesus! So we ran down to the beach and she was baptized. Just like that there was a new sister
in the Kingdom. That's what it is all about guys. That is why we do Take It To The Streets. These kids are not only finding hope for their lives but they are finding hope in Jesus Christ!

Children's Ministry Coordinator - Martha Martin

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God's Work: Vans and The Building

We are given so many examples in the bible of someone stepping out in faith and acting on the vision God has given them. We depend on God so we wait on God to show up as Take It To The Streets ministry we believe that God truly knows what He is doing and we know that his timing perfect. The bible says that if we can be trusted with a little we can be trusted with a lot. So I got a call from one of our ministry partners (Shield Ministries) about needing someone to act in their drama. I said I would think about it, but God was laying it on my heart to ask him about the vans that he has sitting in a parking lot. See our ministry gives rides to about 12 people to church every sunday, pick people up for our field day every Saturday, and pick people up for our resume building and goal setting class every Monday. We do all this in our personal cars. So I called David and ask him if we could us a van. He says that he only uses one van and he has another van we could use. Look at that open door. So amazing. Now we have vans for our transportation needs. It was right on time after God saw we were good stewards of what we have. Also today I receive a full set of blue print drawings that a local engineer put together for our ministry. This guy happens to be one of the original teams from Northwoods Assembly who started Seacoast Church and who made cold calls to Mt. Pleasant residents. So I will take the blue prints to the local Mayor's office in North Charleston and to the owner of the building n hopes that we gain the support of those people. We need all the help we can get to make the building Center a reality. First we can use the monetary donations to have a place where we can invest in the community. Please contact me if you would like to look at the blue prints of faith.

In Service to the King- Jesse

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More then I could ask or imagine

Quick back story. Couple of weeks ago I was telling my best friend how I had the closest thing to a vision that I had ever encountered. It was kind of like a waking dream. I saw the field somewhere in the future and in it were kids playing on a playground with parents sitting around on picnic tables and an abundance of life happening. It was a little bit more detailed then that but I did say quick. So anyway it has stuck with me for the last few weeks and I decided to see what it would take to make this vision become a reality. I called the mayors office.

On Thur I called them up and told them I was part of a non profit that wanted to see what we would have to do to go about raising money to build a playground at the field on Ferrara Drive. I was told that the person I needed to speak with was not in the office but they would take my name and number and give me a call back. I did not really give it much thought after that since I had a million things to work on and get ready for the weekend. Friday afternoon after a business meeting I got back to my desk to find a message waiting for me from the mayors office. I called back and was directed to the head of parks and recreation for North Charleston.

I really believe that this guy was more excited about helping out Take It To The Streets than I was about what he was talking about doing for us. (and believe me I was pretty excited) Come to find out he grew up off of Ranger Rd and is an active member of Northwoods Assembly of God. He was excited that there was a group of people working to improve the quality of life for people in this area. He offered is support more then I could have possible imagined. This coming week the city is going to put in 6-7 picnic tables in the field. They are also going to treat the field every week for fire ants. This is a huge blessing for those of us who do battle every week with this unrelenting army of biting machines. They will also be putting in two soccer goals in at the field. They are also donating kick balls, soccer balls, belts and flags for flag football, mesh jerseys, and a lot more sporting equipment. The city is also going to allocate grant money to go towards installing playground equipment at the field.

The ant treatment, picnic tables, and sporting equipment will be ready for us by the Family Field Day. God truly put his hand down and blessed this situation. I called to simply inquire about getting some information and received far more than I could have asked or imagined.

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Back to School Bash "The Results"

Today was an incredible day of seeing the fruits of our labor enriching the lives of others. Through our dedication to Gods word, lives were changed today and hundreds of people were able to experience the love of Christ through his disciples. Take It To The Streets had 15 volunteers pick up 12 children from our outreach neighbor and give them a ride to Hampton Park. Partnered with Without Walls Ministry we helped man the stations as hundreds of children filled the park. There were games and activities for all the kids from jump castles, a water spout cooling area, pony rides, games, worship, to a puppet show displaying the gospel of Jesus Christ with an alter call for the children. Each child that came through was given a bag full of school supplies to start the new school year off with.

Each of the kids we took with us to Hampton Park were given their own new book bags full of school supplies. After we we brought them home we handed out the book bags to all of the children, who were all smiles at their new gifts. One of the kids who rode with me today was talking the whole way home about how he was looking forward to getting a Batman backpack. Though we did not have a Batman backpack he did receive a Spider-Man backpack full of new school supplies. As I walked him home he was sporting his new book bag like he was king of the hill. He walked up to his dad in the front yard and said "I can't wait to go back to school now"!

I could go on about today's events but I will leave that for others to post. I do want to share with you how much we were able to collect through the combined efforts of our different small groups. THANK YOU to all of you who were able to help us make such an impact in the lives of these children.

We collected:
24 Erasers
15 Packs of colored pencils
31 Boxes of Crayons
10 Bottles of glue
50 Markers
23 Scissors
45 Highlighters
38 Glue sticks
766 Pencils
35 Folders
46 Spiral Notebooks
23 Packs of Paper
13 Book Bags
11 3 Ring Binders
2 Protractors
2 Compasses
13 Rulers
3 Composition Notebooks
131 Pens

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Back to School Bash

Tomorrow Take It To The Streets (TI2TS) will be partnering with Without Walls Ministry to help hand out school supplies and vouchers for school uniforms to children in need. We are meeting up at the field behind Alex's Restaurant off of Dorchester Road at 9 a.m to organize and pick up children from our outreach neighborhood. I talked with one of the parents this past Saturday explaining what we were doing this weekend and she was very excited. She told me that our ministry brings a much needed sense of hope to a neighborhood that is struggling in these uncertain times. The look on her face as she explained how much of a difference having help in getting school supplies and uniforms for her children would make to her and many other mothers like her, brought great joy to my heart. We are showing the love of Christ through our actions in giving of ourselves each week to those in need of love.

We look forward to seeing you all there. Come out and see the impact that one person partnered with one more person and so on and so on, can make in the city you live in. There will be food, music and games for the kids along with handing out school supplies and vouchers for school uniforms. The event runs from 10 a.m - 3 at Hampton Park in Downtown Charleston. I look forward to posting pictures and acounts of the days events early next week so stay tuned.

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