Hi, my name is Misti! I wrote a blog back in July telling you a bit about my story and my heart for Metro Kidz. At the time, I was a site pastor at Grant Park. At the end of the summer, I switched and I am now a site pastor at Angier, which is right down the street from the Dream Center. I have really enjoyed getting to know these children and their families, and am so thankful God has placed me here.
Throughout this past semester of working with Angier kids, I have become really close with one child in particular. His name is Quandravious, and we basically “bonded” over singing “Hakuna Matata,” & he’s called me his best friend ever since. He recently turned 7, and I went to see him on his birthday. He literally knocked his brothers and sisters out of the way in order to hug me, and stayed in my arms the whole time I was there. After playing a couple of games of UNO, he cried when it was time for me to leave. Melted my heart. I see in Quandravious what I see in a lot of these kids- Hope. With encouragement, a positive influence, and most importantly the gospel of Jesus Christ, these kids have the chance to see beyond their circumstances and to rise above them and break the continuing cycles of poverty, addiction, abuse, and desperation that surround them. If you haven’t been a part of Metro Kidz yet, haven’t been in awhile, or are just learning about it, I am challenging you to come and work with these children. Their smiles are contagious, their laughs make you forget your worries, and their hearts are longing to love and be loved. We see, hear and give to other countries and other country’s children, now it’s time for us to make a difference here at home. Let’s stop closing our eyes to the darkness right outside our doors.
In Matthew 19:14 Jesus said “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them for such is the Kingdom of Heaven.” Well, here at Metro Kidz our mission statement is “We believe it’s better to build boys and girls than repair men and women.” So come be a part of this movement. Come make a difference in Jesus name.
Hello! My name is Hannah Palmer and I am the Director of Atlanta Metro Kidz! As you can see, it is finally my turn to be the lucky blog writer. Please bare with me…writing is definitely not my area of expertise.
Hundreds if not a thousand broken lives are being reached EACH week through Metro Kidz. I am so blessed to be able to see and experience it 24/7. I would like to focus today on the people behind the scenes, the people that truly make it all happen. They are called Site Pastors. Each Site Pastor is designated to a certain neighborhood which they are responsible to minister to at least 3 times a week through Sidewalk Sunday School, visitation and bus ministry. You see, people are like bank accounts…(I can already hear my interns moaning because theyʼve heard this a thousand times;P). You can either make a deposit or a withdraw on pretty much anyone. The more you deposit the bigger that number will be on that end of the month bank statement. It’s the same with people; the more you deposit into them the bigger their smile, the higher their self esteem, and the more likely they are to press on towards higher goals. In the same way, the more you withdraw, the less the bank account will have and it caneven overdraft. People who have had too much “withdrawn” from them, are easily pointed out in todays society. Unfortunately, many of these people are children. I would like to think there should be a rule for when the bank account is 1st opened… (when a personis still a baby/child) that there is no withdrawing until that person has been deposited into for at least 12 years. Unfortunately that is just not the case in the inner-city. Opening a bank account should be exciting, but more times than not, our kids are being viewed as an annoyance at the day of birth rather than a blessing. Or, on the opposite realm, they are automatically turned into an answer for their mothers need for security in life. Sadly these are both withdraws.
After withdrawing way too much, as I said earlier, you can actually overdraft a person. When a bank account overdrafts the debit card eventually becomes void and extra fees have been added to your debt. So many of these sweet children that we encounter daily have already been “overdrafted”, meaning, their outer shell has become hardened and they no longer have anything left to give. They have shut down and become void. Not only that but it is going to take some extra fees/deposits to get them running again. This is no small task.
These amazing Site Pastors have taken that task on to the fullest. Day in and day out, prayers, thoughts, sweat, and yes, tears are poured out for these kids. They know the power of consistency in their bank accounts: Checking in on it as much as possible and trying to make as many deposits as they can to fill the withdrawals the kids go through when they are not there. If this means visiting EVERY child EVERY Saturday even if it makes it an 8 hr day, or taking a couple kids out for ice cream when there is trouble going on at home, these saints will do anything to keep their kids in the “red”. They aren’t just there when it’s fun, when they need to feel like they’ve done something good for the world. They do it when they’re tired, when they’re sick. They sacrifice family time, friends, and other opportunities. They have given everything to make a difference, even if it’s just for one life. Correct me if Iʼm wrong, but is this not the exact example Jesus laid out for us? Their diligence convicts me. Jesus is always there rain or shine. He is true to His word, He has never made any empty promises to me and I trust Him fully. I know when I am with Him I can let down all my walls, and that all my debt has been paid for.
So I guess at the end of all this my question is; How many “deposits” have I made in others this month? How many have I “withdrawed” from? Am I depositing in others for my own deposit or do I do it whether I get anything back or not? I hope that we as Christians are being seen as “Depositers” rather than “Withdrawers”. I also hope that we are constantly turning to Jesus for our deposits rather than our fleshly desires. I have proof that Metro Kidz Site Pastors sure are;)
What’s good. My name is Toro and to tell the truth I am really just a Metro Kid at heart. I’m 21 years old and from Atlanta, Georgia. Though my parents and extended family are from Nigeria, I was born here. I was raised by my Mom and Grandmother. My family went back to Nigeria shortly after I was born and I was raised there for about seven years. When I came back to Atlanta everything was new to me. I wasn’t used to all the buildings, all the different types of people, and a whole new culture, but as I grew up I started blending in all too well. I fell into the world of gangs, drugs, and violence as a teen. Thankfully, in my late teen years I accepted God into my life as a result of people I met that genuinely cared about me and pointed me to Christ.
My walk with Christ has been very hard but I don’t think it is meant to be easy. I grow in my faith daily, and my relationship with God continues to build. I know that God is using me for his will and will use me for more things to come. Working with these kids has been the greatest experience of my life. Sometimes it almost feels like I’m having a second childhood because I get to just hang out with them so much, but as I hangout, God also uses me to minister through their lives and the lives of their family and friends. Just as I was trapped in the things of this world, these kids are in danger of becoming entrapped as well. The only difference is that the stakes are getting higher with each day that passes. There are so many things that are fighting for their attention and influencing them negatively each and every day, and I believe that we need to be right there with them to fight against those things and influence them toward God. We have to be there for them on a constant and consistent basis.
Like they say, it takes a village to raise a child, so it’s going to take many of us getting involved in these kids lives to change the course they are on. Through donations, time spent, resources offered, prayer, and anything else, we need you all. Life is not worth living just for yourself. Our lives are for God and to be used by God to reach out to other people. Please support and be a part of Atlanta Metro Kidz Ministry!
My Name is Misti Bryans and I am an intern with Metro Kidz. I am 20 years old and one of the site pastors at Grant Park and today I want to tell you a little bit of my story. When most people think of their childhood they remember the family Christmas’ spent together, funny inside jokes, playing outside on hot summer days running through sprinklers, going fishing with their dad, or baking with their mom. That would be what some would call a “typical” childhood. I don’t have a single childhood memory that looks remotely like these. I grew up with a mother who was addicted to drugs, alcohol and all of the tangible things that this world has to offer. With things like that going on, by the age of five I was expected to basically take care of myself and mind my own business, and I did exactly that. The years passed and I became more and more aware of the things going on around me, and as a result I became very desensitized to life, as I knew it. I was starting to repeat the cycle of destruction that my parents had laid out for me… that is until God got a hold of me. Graciously enough God has placed many people in my path that have cared for me, loved me, been vessels of His will, and have guided me to stop this cycle of destruction. Along the path of finding my way, and taking hold of my Saviors hand, I have learned so much about love, whether that be loving others, loving those who make it tough, and even loving myself. Through these revelations and learning experiences my eyes have been opened to how much we all need to be shown the love of Christ. After realizing these things, I felt the call to missions on my life, and have never been the same. I feel the call for inner city missions, seeing how I grew up in less than “normal” circumstances, I know first hand what these kids are up against everyday, and I know what they need most everyday- the love and hope that goes past their circumstances which only our King can bring.
While writing a theology research paper on inner city missions, I came across the Atlanta Dream Center. I automatically felt God tugging on my heart to do whatever I could to get involved in what He was doing here. I am now an intern for Metro Kidz, and a site pastor at Grant Park. This job has many things to come with it, but the joy that comes from showing these children love, and bringing them the gospel each week is something that is irreplaceable. I am truly living out Christ’s dream, and my life dream through the Atlanta Dream Center by meeting some of these kids needs each week and pointing them to the one who can meet all of thier needs, and with that I can end and begin each day with a smile. These children have to be reached, after all they are our future and they deserve the love of our Savior just as much as anybody does. In Matthew 19:14 Jesus said “Let the little children come unto me, and do not hinder them for the kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these”
These children must know that they are loved beyond all comprehension, no matter the status or circumstance, that they can overcome, and they are never alone. While Metro Kidz is working hard to reach these inner city kidz, we can’t do it alone. Sadly we live in a world where everything runs off of funding, and in order for Metro Kidz to remain and flourish, we must have funding. What a blessing would it be if every child coming through the inner city was reached by Metro Kidz, and every child received the gospel. I believe in a God who is mighty to save, and mighty to move. He is working in this city, and is up to great things- don’t you want to be a part of that? “Let it be said of us while we walked among the living, let it be said of us by the ones we leave behind, let it be said of us, that we lived to be a blessing for life.”
My name is Cassidy Newell (Cassidy@brmemc.net), I am 20 years old, a nursing major at Kennesaw University, and a site pastor at Ashby Park. I know that the path I am on was divinely selected so that I might be the hands and feet of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am currently taking a microbiology class. In a test tube of agar (a gelatin like substance), the way you are able to tell if the bacteria are motile and moving is if the clear agar becomes blurry. This image describes my thoughts during the summer of 2009. My head was crazy as I tried to understand Jesus calling me and my heart was heavy for furthering His Kingdom. I experimented with local church activities that summer and continued to grow and and strengthen my personal walk. By the time fall came, I was in love with Jesus on a completely new level and I was restless at the thought of being active for Him, in His name.
I had heard of the Dream Center but only in passing. Honestly, I had a distorted view about the things they did. One winter night, while at home in North Carolina, I literally could not sleep. I was itching to get my hands dirty in ministry! I stayed up until 4 a.m. Googling volunteer opportunities in the Atlanta area. Even though I kept trying to overlook the Dream Center it kept popping up. Since then, I have gone back and tried to take the same internet search paths as I did before and the Dream Center website does not pop up as often. I decided to check out the website and send them an email. I thought it was at least worth looking into. 5 hours later, at 9 a.m. Patrick Palmer called my phone. It was a number I didn’t know so of course I didn’t answer, plus it was so early! After calling him back and talking his poor head off I set up some times to come down and visit with different ministries.
My parents were indifferent about this new step in my life. They were not excited whatsoever about me being amongst the crime and secular filth that the inner city can sometimes bring, but they also understood that we are not called to be comfortable and that this may be something God was specifically calling me to. After volunteering with the Metro Kidz tutoring program with Hannah and Suzi, I fell in love. One day, Hannah asked me to go for a ride with her. She said she needed to talk to me and that it was good. She drove me over to the Bankhead area of Atlanta to a neighborhood called Ashby Park. Do not let the name fool you, this area is near the Ga Dome and can be very rough. She said that she wanted to pray with me there, on site, because she wanted me to consider becoming a site pastor and taking on that neighborhood for the MetroKidz Sidewalk Sunday School program. I remember my thoughts were going through my head like a crazy mad house and my heart was pounding. Not only was I unsure about the responsibility of becoming a site pastor, I was not about to close my eyes and pray when the van we were parked next to had just broken into and fresh glass was still shattered on the pavement!
After much prayer and even 5 days of fasting, I made the decision to seek God through site pastoring at Ashby Park. I was humbled. That decision was by far one of the absolute best decisions I have ever made. Jesus has blessed me with wonderful friends who volunteer, including my sweet partner Lauren Lisle. He has provided in every other area in my life. I believe it is because of that provision that I have never once resented the Dream Center or my neighborhood, regardless of the obstacles I have encountered. There is always an abundance of volunteers when we go out to the site every Friday. I am more than grateful. Lauren and I have seen a significant change in most of the kids; it is more obviously evident in some kids rather than others but we trust that God’s truth and love is changing their hearts and lives. We are also trying to reach the families. I pray for my mind to be clear and my physical body to be open so that Jesus might “rock that block” through me.
Matthew 10:8 says “…freely (without pay) you have received, freely (without charge) give.” We are not called to comfort. We are not worthy of praise. We are mere specs on a canvas that will one day present itself as a masterpiece, a work of art, by the most divine artist any of us could ever imagine. This will not happen if we do not help one another. We have everything we need except for funding here at Metro Kidz. Yes, the Lord is the wind behind our sails but unfortunately we live in a money hungry world were dollars are a means of reaching people. I would love to see Metro Kidz grow. I would love to see the name of God extended beyond the areas we have already reached. Fundraising is our goal this month! Let’s celebrate summer, July, and donating for the Glory of God! Also email or call about our new $10 Metro Kidz tees! I want one in every color, they are too cute!!
God did not send His son to die, to save us from death, from hell, in order to gain a group of followers that are robotic, selfish, and thoughtless. I pray that God uses you every day. If there is a tug on your heartstrings, act on it. Go for it. Be radical, if for no other reason than to just simply help your brother.“Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the laws of Christ.” Galatians 6:2
I’m Aaron Miller. I’m twenty years old and from Lithonia, GA. I have been involved with Metro Kidz for two years and am the site pastor at Chappell Forest. I am a leader in Metro kids because I believe the gospel is most effective when those proclaiming it are lovingly invested in the lives and needs of the people. I originally took interest in Metro Kidz when I was working at a camp during the summer of 2008. While there I learned that several of the campers and camp counselors were part of an interesting ministry, called the Atlanta Dream Center. One of the campers I met that summer is still a major part of my life today.
When I first met him he was on several medications aimed at controlling his explosive behavior. To say the least, I was intimidated at first; none the less I went on to spend time with him and dialogue with him to show him the love of God. Slowly but surely his life began to change. I can recall one day hearing that his mother called the church to inform Metro Kidz that his school notified her of extreme improvement in his behavior. He now regularly attends church and continues to spend time with me. That situation showed me that the heart of this ministry is going to change the lives of many inner city kids.
If tomorrow morning I were to wake up to a miracle in Metro Kidz funding I would see even more opportunities for our ministry. We would be able to go to many more sites (Government Housing) and give more to the families, as well as have more comfortable vehicles to plan bigger and better activities for the kids. Lastly, there would be more people bringing an outpouring of love and talents to add to our dream. We have big dreams for this ministry, but we believe God has even bigger dreams!
Aaron
Hello, my name is Katie Morgan (katiemorgan1@juno.com) and I am one of the summer interns with Metro Kidz! I am 21 and a senior psychology major at Georgia College and State University. In the 5 weeks I have been here the most common question I have been asked is what it is that made me want to give up my summer, a job, and a comfortable home with friends and family to come live in one of the roughest areas of Atlanta and work with kids that most view as a lost cause. In order to explain why I am here I have to tell you about a girl named Brandi.
For the past two summers I have worked at Camp Grace. Camp Grace takes kids from Metro Kidz and other organizations that work with at-risk-youth and offers them a once in a lifetime opportunity. Camp Grace finds generous donors to sponsor these kids so that they can spend a week at camp learning about God, getting away from the city and their home lives, and having the chance to just be a kid for a week (to learn more or donate, visit http://visionatlanta.org/camp-grace). During my first summer at camp I had a girl in my cabin one week named Brandi. She was 6 years old and the definition of what most would call trouble. She was at camp less than five minutes before I had to break up a fight, ask her to return stolen items, bring her back after several run away attempts, stop an attempted poisoning of the camp dog, and correct her repeatedly for cursing. She gave me the silent treatment and went on hunger strike to further prove her dislike for everything and everyone at camp. She was one of the smallest girls in our cabin (and, in fact, at 6 she was too young to even be there) but she had more grit than I had ever seen in a kid. She was entirely unpredictable and out of control, bouncing between exuberant and happy to violent and sullen in a matter of seconds. But at night I saw a completely different side of Brandi.
Throughout the night Brandi tossed and turned in her sleep, often crying and screaming and awoke panic-stricken over and over again. She never stayed asleep for more than thirty minutes at a time and awoke hysterical. Most nights the only way I could get her back to sleep was to lie down next to her and wrap my arms tightly around her, assuring her over and over again that she was safe. She clung to me with a haunted look of terror and a deep sadness in her eyes. Her sister told me their family had lost their apartment and had been living on the streets, but Brandi never spoke of what she had seen or experienced and what filled her nightmares. I cried each night as I held her, heartbroken for such a young girl who had experienced so much and had learned to be so afraid. Each time I told her she was safe I realized that it was only for one week-we both knew that at the end of the week she would return “home” and wouldn’t be safe. In between her nightmares I would lay awake praying for Brandi, grappling with difficult questions. I didn’t notice my growing exhaustion as the week wore on-I simply knew that God had put me there to love Brandi….and so I did.
Brandi never acknowledged what took place during the night. As soon as morning came she would crawl out from under my arms and switch back to the tough girl who pretended not to need anyone. The more vulnerable she was at night the tougher she was during the day. Brandi tested every boundary and every bit of patience we as camp staff had. She pushed us away but it was obvious she desperately wanted us to keep pursuing her, to love her in spite of everything. At the end of the week Brandi left, in customary style, with hardly a goodbye. In spite of all of the time I had spent with her and the time she had spent with the other kids she seemed incapable or unwilling to form attachments of any kind…somewhere along the way she learned that caring about people wasn’t worth the pain.
Something about Brandi and the other kids I worked with at camp completely wrecked my heart. I loved camp and I fully believe in what they are doing, but I needed more. It wasn’t enough for me to take kids out of their situations for a week…I want to be with them IN their situations. I want to be a consistent and real part of their lives, want to spend time in their neighborhoods, get to know their families, earn their trust, and most importantly love them day in and day out. I know I cannot begin to fix all that is broken in their worlds, but I want to be in the midst of that brokenness, loving them and pointing them to a God that heals and redeems. Most importantly I want them to come to know and believe that God loves them, because I believe that can and will make all the difference in their lives.
People often tell me that I have a big heart. In reality, I think we all have big hearts, sometimes we just choose not to use them to their full capacity. We choose to shut parts of ourselves down, we decide to protect our hearts and live in safety rather than risk, and we choose to look the other way because we don’t know how to deal with the problems and pain we see around us. Maybe we get so overwhelmed by how vast the problems are that we never even try to do anything about them because we don’t know where to begin and we are afraid of not being able to change things. For me, it isn’t about the big picture, it isn’t about all the societal problems with which I come in contact every day-it’s about the hundreds of faces I see and the hearts that are behind them. I don’t wake up in the morning hoping to change the world-I wake up hoping to make that one child laugh, forget for a moment their problems, feel safe, pass their grade, experience something new, and begin to dream big dreams about who and what they want to be. Most of all I hope that one child sees a tiny bit of God’s love for them.
That is my heart and why I am here. At the beginning of the summer I read 2 John 1:6 which says “His command is that you walk in love”. This has challenged me to rethink how I live my life. Love isn’t something I should do on a Saturday morning or when I get off work or with a friend who I know I can trust or when it is convenient-it should be as much a part of my life as eating and sleeping, it should be evidenced in every word, thought and action to every person I come in contact with. Love is a way of life. Whether it is taking out someone’s trash, playing games with the kids, cleaning the bathroom at our office, helping with homework, or raising money for a new truck or to send kids to camp, all of it is for this one goal-to show Christ to these kids. So what does your heart break for? What are you passionate about? What makes you feel truly alive? Don’t turn away from those things, don’t make excuses. Embrace what God has given you a passion for, pursue it- I promise you will meet God there in a way you never have. The world needs your heart…….
Welcome to the Atlanta Metro Kidz blog! We hope to use this to keep our supporters more updated and more closely involved with our ministry, as well as to spread the word to those who don’t know about Metro Kidz! Metro Kidz is a part of the Atlanta Dream Center. The Dream Center is based upon the idea that God created each of us with unique dreams and He desires that we live lives that fulfill these God-given dreams. Many of us, however, have lost these dreams, had them taken away or thrown them away due to discouragement, pain, and difficult circumstances. Through relationships, acts of kindness, and the love of Christ we seek to change lives and restore these dreams. The Dream Center works with people who have lost their dreams, their hope, and their way, from prostitutes, the homeless, drug addicts, youth, children and many other groups living in Atlanta.
Here at Metro Kidz we work specifically with children in the city that are growing up in at-risk communities. We spend our days in the midst of their neighborhoods, walking their streets, spending time in their homes and taking them to our own. Just last week we began working at two new sites and have been blessed with an incredible response at both of them. We now visit 6 projects each week to do a high energy sidewalk Sunday school program in which we teach them about God, play games, sing, give away prizes, and get to know each of the children. Site pastors at each site spend time throughout the week one-on-one getting to know the kids and their families, and seek to be a consistent positive influence on their lives. Statistics tell us that unless we intervene before these kids reach the age of 11 most of them will end up dropping out of school, using and/or selling drugs, in jail, or dead by their early twenties. We believe that the message of Jesus Christ can radically change the direction of these kids’ lives.
Many view the areas and children we work with as hopeless; most have long ago written them off as a lost cause. We believe each of these children is precious to God, that their lives and hearts matter. Our heart is to teach these kids they are valuable, that they have potential for more than what they see around them, and to teach them to follow God. 1 John 3:18 says “Children, let us not love in words only, neither with the tongue only, but with actions and in truth.” We believe it is not enough just to talk about God’s love-we must be actively living it out in the midst of the need surrounding us.
Each month we focus on a specific goal, as well as continually working toward a year-long goal. Our specific goal for this month is to send kids to Camp Grace. Camp Grace takes kids from the inner-city and gets them sponsored for $370 to spend the week at camp. This only leaves $30 for each child to pay, but many of these kids are unable to afford even such a small amount. We are working to get as many kids sponsored as possible. Words cannot explain the impact a week at camp has on these kids and we do not want money to be an obstacle. This past Monday we were able to bring 23 kids to camp, and we hope to bring many more over the next few weeks! We are asking God to provide $500 more to sponsor kids. On a larger scale, this year we are working on raising funds for a portable stage. This site truck will enable us to reach more kids across Atlanta, as well as make set up and take down at each site quicker and easier, thereby allowing us more time to spend with the kids. So far we have raised $4,000, and only need $8,000 more!!! We are so excited to see how God continues to provide the money we need! We as the Metro Kidz team are so blessed by your continued support and encouragement! We could not do what we do without you! Please continue to keep our team and our kids in your prayers!
Katie Morgan
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