Global Evangelist. Pastor. Entrepreneur. Mentor.

God is working in Chicago October 2017 ( Quick Update from Pastor James Owolabi)

10/14/17

Dear Prayer Partners!!!!

WHAT IS GOD DOING THROUGH REFUGE 1.0?

God is working using us to impact the teenagers on Chicago’s South-side.  October 13th 2017, over 80 teenagers, 11 volunteers, and 4 paid staff attended Refuge (weekly outreach event for unchurched teenagers)!  In the next few weeks, I see Refuge 2.0 ( our weekly discipleship environment) continuing to increase as the volunteers at Refuge are intentionally encouraging students during Refuge to come to Refuge 2.0! Most of the youth who came to 2.0 were not children of our church members. Pray for God to bless our weekly outreach every weekend. We want to see God use us to reach over 2oo teenagers every weekend.

WHAT IS GOD DOING THROUGH REFUGE 2.0!

I am really excited about hosting Refuge 2.0 every week. Refuge 2.0 is a weekly discipleship environment for high school and middle school students. Refuge 2.0 is highly relational, interactive, and entertaining. We use a lot of techniques to teach the Bible. We have seen a lot of improvement  in our students when it comes to remembering what they learned in the past weeks. I am really excited to see where the program goes in the future, now that we are starting to gain traction.

HOW CAN I PRAY FOR YOUR YOUTH MINISTRY IN CHICAGO?

Partners, please pray that God sends at least 10 more young adult volunteers that can fill roles as drivers, small group leaders, follow up team members, media team, and of course, fundraising helpers. Pray also for wisdom, as I have begun seeking support from local businesses to help us run programs. By next year, we will definitely be intensifying our fundraising efforts so that we can have at least $100,000.00 annually to  serve teenagers in Woodlawn and Englewood.

I love you, and thank God for you.

Respectfully,

Pastor James Owolabi

 

 

Refuge Staff Weekly Update - Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Dear Refuge Staff and Volunteers,

Thank you so much for helping out with Refuge last Friday. God used us all to do a great job and I was very pleased with how the night went. We helped 80 students have a safe and fun night on the southside of Chicago, and for that, we should be very proud.

I am sure that some of you sensed stress from some of the teenagers, but remember that the out of control behavior was not your fault. Last Friday, before Refuge, a young man and a young  woman were shot on King drive. These two people were known by at least 60% of the students we host at Refuge. The emotional processing of violence is not easy at any age, but it is particularly difficult for our teenagers. I appreciate your patience and am so grateful for the work that we do because it gives those teens a safe space to process through their feelings. Without Refuge, there is no telling what those 80 students would’ve been doing on a Friday night after a fatal shooting.

To make our efforts at Refuge even smoother, I am going to enforce the rule about the students only ranging from ages 11-17. I have not been firm on this rule, but I want our structure to be strong. So moving forward, anyone that is 18 years old or older will be asked to leave. Any 18 year old that wants to be a part of Refuge can go through the process of becoming a volunteer. Making this change should cut down on a lot of chaos and help the management of our students.

Just so you all are aware, one of my good friends, Mr.Z, will be hosting the “Game Section” of Refuge this week. This change will allow James Reed a week off to plan out the game segment for the next six weeks. We will also be hosting two non-African American students from Moody Bible Institute.

Leaders, in  the next 24 months, join me in prayer as we are recruiting a team of 10-20 millennials to help us engage teens and expand our reach to over 200 teenagers each week. This “team“ will become a part of the Refuge 1.0 leadership pipeline. We are specifically looking for the following positions:

• Student Ministries Director
• Male Assistant Youth Director
• Female Assistant Youth Director
• High School Director
• Middle School Director
• Outreach Director
• Follow-up Director
• Event Coordinator
• Music and Arts Director
• Fundraising Director

In the next 24 months, I am trusting God that all of these roles will be filled.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this email. I look forward to seeing you soon. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you need. I am looking forward to meeting with you one on one.

I love you, and I am praying for you.

 

Respectfully in Christ Jesus,

 

Pastor James O.

Quote of the week:

"Resilience: If at first you do not succeed, STOP! Do not try again! Stop! Reflect! Rest! Think! Get some real help! Get a plan!  PRAY! Then try again!"-Pastor James Owolabi