I want to inspire you as God has inspired me.
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| The LAUP House at the Start of Last Weekend |
Last week I had the first chance to test out the new ideas
that have been incubating in my soul through the past year of studying theology
and learning from historic models of ministry.
In the fifth century, Saint Patrick of Ireland launched the most
successful revival of Christian mission since the dawn of the Church by
bringing the grace of God to communities, not just through words but through
actions. His monastic communities
transformed all of Europe by allowing people to taste, see, and experience how God’s grace addressed their chief needs.
Last weekend, a dozen students from USC
launched exactly that kind of community in South LA. South LA has some of the worst schools in the nation. Only one in five students in the area are
proficient in English; only one of
twenty-five are proficient in math.
South LA leads the county in childhood and adult obesity at 30% of the
community. This is to say nothing of
violence, vandalism, and depression.
Kids need help in school. Kids
need to learn how to eat well. Kids need
not just the words of Jesus, but the presence of Jesus to change their chief
needs: the vision for the LAUP house is to be a presence of God’s grace in
South LA through turning it into a tutoring center and community garden.
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| Youth and college students clearing the yard |
College students are perfectly suited to supplement the
deficiencies of South LA education. And
the LAUP house has a plot of land that can be the literal seedbed of youth and
families growing their own food, gaining a taste for vegetables, and changing
the course of their health. Last weekend
was the first of six groups of students who will spend their fall weekends turning this vision into reality, while
learning about God’s heart for the poor and building mentoring relationships
with inner city kids. Many of them
return three days a week to keep investing in kids while pursuing their
studies.
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| 12-year-old Demaurae and Kelsy, Working together |
College students know that their Christian faith is supposed
to affect people’s character and spirituality.
But through the LAUP house, they are becoming a part of Christian faith actually transforming a
poor community. My hope is that, in
the spirit of Saint Patrick, these experiences will plant a seed in hundreds of
college students that would germinate into a
revival of church planting and community transformation that reminds our nation
the power of the gospel.
I post this vision because I want to invite you more deeply into this journey of hoping,
praying, and participating in what God’s doing through LAUP. We need those who are already praying and
giving regularly to continue. We need
volunteers to help with work projects and offer skilled labor on the house such
as plumbing and tiling. And we need generous
one-time donations to help us get the house looking and working as a house of
God’s presence in a poor community should.
Please don’t hesitate to comment or ask questions about how you can do
any of the above by emailing me at Scott_Hall@ivstaff.org.
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| The LAUP House After the First Weekend of Working Toward the Vision, with College Students and South LA Youth |
Thank you for what you’ve already done, and I look forward
to seeing more of what God will do through us, together!
