Block Party Weekend!

This past weekend we were thrilled to have another Block Party after having the Spring Carnival the weekend before! On Friday afternoon three teams arrived from different parts of the U.S. to help for the weekend: Lyndon Bible Church (VT), Hope Community Church (NC) and Community Cornerstone (PA). After arriving, the groups had orientation to the weekend then headed to South Street for a Scavenger Hunt. The purpose was to find different types of people through starting conversations. So while it was a fun experience, it was also a practical training exercize in how to start conversations with people.

On Saturday, we had our block party from 1-4pm. It was different from the week before in that while we did not have the Carnival-like atmosphere (moon bounce, dunk tank, etc.), instead we hosted a 3-on-3 basketball tournament for the children and teens, opened up our youth center for a massive dodgeball game, and provided all sorts of food and refreshments. It was great to see so many children and teens show up from the community -even with how hot the temperature was! The best part was the opportunity that some people from our church (as well as the visitors) had to time and talk/hang out with some more of the neighbors in our community. Later that evening the groups headed for south Philly to grab Pat's cheesesteaks then drove to center city to spend time with the homeless in the subways, at Love Park or Logan Square. It seemed like it was a neat experience for the groups since only a small handful had ever done that before!

On Sunday morning, two of the groups departed for home (since they lived further away) while the PA team stayed to help out with our Kingdom Kids program in the afternoon. Even though it went by fast, it was an amazing weekend and the teams were a huge help with our block party. Many thanks for their servant hearts!

You can see more pictures of the Spring Carnival in the Training Center Photo Gallery.
By: Brent Saba

Spring Carnival 2009!

It was a very full couple days here at Urban Hope. On Friday afternoon, Maranatha GBC, Valley Community Church and Winchester GBC arrived eager to learn and participate in the weekend festivities. After getting unpacked and organized, they met for a quick orientation followed by a challenge regarding the homeless in Philly. Shortly after, they grabbed their brown bag meals and headed off for center city. For the next hanful of hours they spent time in the subways, parks, and streets handing out meals and praying for people. The neat thing was that (in many cases), some of the students from the groups were more blessed than the homeless! They encountered people on the streets who would openly share about Jesus, recite the scriptures and ask to pray for them. For many students, it came as a surprise to see such strong faith even though they had less. What a lesson of faith! In addition to learning about the faith some of the homeless had, the groups were also challenged to reach out to those who society constantly pushes out. As Christ followers, we are to love as Jesus loved, especially those who may be (or seem) different. As the Scripture say's in 1 Samuel 16:7b, "...The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

On Saturday morning the groups met up to clean the street and sidewalks and set up for the Carnival that afternoon (1-4pm). After a couple hours of organizing and minor set backs, the Carnival was ready to go. Some of the activities included: a moon bounce, jousting, three-on-three basketball, spin art, a dunk tank, face paint and more! The best part was the awesome weather God provided. All in all it was a ton of fun and great to have so many from our community show up. Many thanks to the visiting groups who helped make this happen.

You can see more pictures of the Spring Carnival in the Training Center Photo Gallery.

By:Brent Saba

Spring Break Teams Visit Urban Hope

It has been very active at Urban Hope the past couple of months! Since the end of February we have had several teams visit including: Hope Community Church (NC), Cedarville University (OH), Manchester College (IN), Lititz GBC (PA), Grace Brethren Christian School -GBCS (MD), Brighton Chapel (IN), and Rittman GBC (OH).

Whether they were here for a short weekend or an entire week -each group was a blessing to have and work with. Some of the ministry training included: developing a greater heart for the lost and the city, how to build relationships and share Jesus, the strengths and challenges of urban ministry, and gaining a greater appreciation and understanding of what holistic ministry can look like in the urban context. Other than the training the groups received, they were able to participate in various ministry experiences such as homeless ministry in the subway's, scavenger hunts on South Street, cross-cultural exercizes in Philly neighborhoods, visiting local boy's and girl's clubs, Yogi Bear sidewalk sunday school and more.

Here are a few quotes from some of the visitors:

Hannah Leitch (Cedarville) - "Hey! I'm so glad we were able to visit! It was definitely one of the best weeks I've ever had. I'm so thankful for how available you all are and for your hearts! I will definitely let you know if there's anything you guys can do. I'm really hoping to come back and visit Urban Hope again! Thank you for helping us to see God in new ways. I know that I will never be the same after experiencing what I did last week. I'm still amazed at each experience God allowed me to have. I am keeping you all in my prayers!! God is definitely working in Kensington!"

Emily Loufik (GBCS) - "...you guys are definitely in my prayers...and I will be back as soon as possible we were already starting to talk about a summer time reunion...i had the greatest time ever and i learned so much and met so many people that encouraged me and hopefully i encouraged them too..."

Rob Gable (Rittman) - "I'm hearin' all about how much we missed out on brother! Next time we're stayin' for at least the whole week!"

You can see more pictures of the visiting teams in the Training Center Photo Gallery.

By: Brent Saba