The Good News in Cleveland

As the weather cools, it becomes harder to connect with our neighbors on a regular basis because we all begin to stay indoors. Last weekend went by, the parks were empty, and no one knocked on the door; it was unsettlingly quiet. Late Sunday afternoon, Caleb and I went on a brief walk and ended up connecting with 10 neighborhood kids who then walked with us back home to have hot chocolate and dessert while playing Catch Phrase outside. These interactions are critical in our interpersonal relationship building. Pray that we have wisdom in knowing how to effectively build relationships throughout these cold months where the typical activities of playing basketball and hanging at the park are undesirable.

This past weekend we took 17 teens and 5 leaders to Banished at Camp Patmos; it was a healthy mix of newer teens who just started attending Shoreway this summer (majority of whom are our neighbors), and those who we have known for years. Among our leaders was Ronald who is 19. Once a CityView student attending Camp Patmos, he is now leading and growing in the faith. We had solid opportunities to build relationships and make memories together. In chapel, the speaker spoke on evidence for the existence of God. Though many of our teens know about God and the gospel, they are not driven to worship. Pray that God would do the work that only His Spirit can do in their hearts. Our hearts are heavy today because we want to lead more Cleveland teens to encounter the greatness of God.

I would be rich if I had a dollar for every time someone said, "just tell the poor to get a job." Often, one of the most discouraging aspects of walking in relationship with our friends here in Cleveland surrounds the processes of obtaining identification, benefits, housing, jobs, etc. There are hurdles and roadblocks for those who come from cyclical, generational of poverty that we have personally never had to face. It's exhausting. In recent months, I have been helping two adult women work through the beginning stages of becoming independent from their mother as they attempt to get IDs, social security cards, jobs, and WIC benefits to help feed their young children. This process has been full of nothing but bad or lacking information, discouragement, repeated hurdles, phone calls, and long hours of sitting and waiting in government offices alongside countless others experiencing the same things. All of this is best summed up in the statement made by one of the w...

We continue to see God at work here in Cleveland. Summer 2018 has been marked by growth and change on the near west side. It’s our small team’s third summer outreaching in city parks. One highlight came as Julia shared the gospel in depth in her first interaction with a girl at Zone, and she and her brother have been stuck at our side ever since. Most other new people are coming from W. 85 th . This area is home to many teens; the surrounding neighborhood schools thousands. After having lived there for about four months, we've seen many from the street grow to trust us, love us, and about fifteen have joined us at church. Sometimes we get home and can’t get out of the car before being swarmed by our friends. Obviously, this is an interpersonal ministry in a life-on-life cultural. With Shoreway attendance reaching 40, we are fighting to ensure that no one is overlooked. We’re doing two hours of intentional hangout after school before church Thursdays (just basketball, Wii, cra...

Almost a year ago to date, a family consisting of a 20-year old with her infant son, her 15-year old brother, and her mother, walked into our Saturday service at meal time desperate for food. Throughout the course of that evening, I (Julia) had the opportunity to connect with the 20-year old and was able to invite her to attend our Girls' Night ministry the following Thursday. She attended Girls' Night and is still attending Shoreway faithfully. In the past year, she has become homeless and separated from her family as they are spread throughout Cleveland. In addition to this, her 17-year old sister has gotten pregnant and is due in the next month. Throughout all of this, we have been given a unique opportunity to share the gospel to her and her family. Last night was a big moment in ministering to this family as we threw the 17-year old a shower celebrating the life of her baby girl. Though none of the girl's friends chose to attend, we had fun with the 13 family membe...

We had the opportunity to fellowship with and host visiting missionaries from Sevilla, Spain this weekend. The Puente Family are church planters in inner-city Sevilla with a heart and vision much like that of CityView. In sharing our ministries on the west side and downtown with them, we were encouraged by their excitement for how the gospel in going forth here in Cleveland. Already, they have begun connecting us with like-minded inner-city church planters throughout the states who can serve as resources and encouragements to us. Please be praying for the Puente family as they finish up their visit here in America and return to Spain.

Pray for middle schoolers and high schoolers at Camp Patmos this week. 11 teens from CityView are there plus 4 serving at the camp this summer from our church. This would not be possible without those who gave money to scholarship our teens. I have a personal relationship with each of the teens we took, but I couldn’t say with confidence that a single one has a relationship with God. This is not a secret I keep from them. I post now in the hopes of someday reporting on decisions made this week. How awesome it would be for any of these 11 to someday read this and reflect on the work of the Holy Spirit in their hearts. May the Spirit work in hearts through the camp staff through the gospel preaching of Pastor Dave Burman he speaks. Dave is one through whom God has definitely worked in my life - he was my youth pastor when I was a teen at First Baptist Church in Elyria, Ohio!