[THERE HAVE BEEN A COUPLE OF (AWESOME) CHANGES. THEY’RE IN ALL CAPS…]
I’ve gotten a lot of head-scratching the past few weeks about what exactly we are doing this summer with “5 Day Clubs.” So I felt like it would be good to elaborate on here…
First off, here are the forms:
I wanted to focus on our own community for “missions” this summer. I feel like New Harvest can be even more proactive about reaching the Clovis community. Also, I think that middle school and high school students can greatly impact smaller children. With those two things in mind, I knew I wanted to get out there and uncover this Light that we have to our neighbors! Now, all I needed was someone who was already doing such a thing (very well) to help us do this!
That’s where Child Evangelism Fellowship came in. New Harvest’s own Tammy Beers is in charge of the Fresno/Clovis branch of this national organization. This ministry regularly holds “Good News Clubs” at area elementary schools, reaching kids from the community with the Gospel. They ALSO have summer programs down to a science. In their “5 Day Clubs,” trained volunteers set up shop in areas wherever kids are to share the Gospel with kids over the course of (you guessed it) five days. In a jam-packed two-hour daily program, these kids hear the Gospel and have a chance to respond.
So…I’m in. I know Tammy. I know the work that she’s doing is awesome. I know that our group (middle schoolers, high schoolers, and adult volunteers) are more than capable of being trained to reach our community. So I say, “Let’s do this!”
Tammy and I met and discussed areas of Clovis where two things are happening:
1) Children are participating in free food distribution programs. CHILDREN ARE IN SUMMER SCHOOL. [Families in need.]
2) It’s close enough that someone could actually go to New Harvest. [Greater long-term impact.]
We decided on two locations: Bicentennial Park SIERRA VISTA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL and David E. Cook CLOVIS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
[AND, BOY OH BOY, DID WE HIT THE JACKPOT ON LOCATIONS. CLOVIS UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT EVEN GAVE US PERMISSION TO HOLD THESE 5 DAY CLUBS ON CAMPUS AND DISTRIBUTE FLIERS ADVERTISING THEM TO ALL 1200 OF THE CHILDREN WHO WILL BE ATTENDING SUMMER SCHOOL. JUST THINK OF THE IMPACT! WE’RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO REACH ALL THE KIDS WHO ARE GOING TO SUMMER SCHOOL AT THESE TWO LOCATIONS!]
Then Scott and I decided what times would be best for our summer calendar. We landed on July 16 – 20 and July 30 – August 3.
So…now what do we do?
First, if your youth kid (middle school or high school) or you are interested in participating, you’ve got to:
1) Fill out the forms and take them to the CEF office [1322 E. Shaw Ave. Ste. #110. Fresno, CA 93710. Phone: 559 -226-5539. Fax: 559-226-3290. Office Hours: 9 am to 4 pm. Monday—Thursday] This needs to be done ASAP! All volunteers over 15 have to have a background check (for the protection and safety of the children involved).
2) Attend one of the three-day training sessions (which are 9 am – 1 pm). Session one is at the CEF office from 6/19-6/21 [IF YOU WANT TO ATTEND THIS SESSION, YOU’VE GOT TO HAVE YOUR FORMS IN BY THE MORNING OF WED. JUNE 13]. Session two is at the CEF office from 6/26-6/28 [IF YOU WANT TO ATTEND THIS SESSION, YOU’VE GOT TO HAVE YOUR FORMS IN BY THE MORNING OF WED. JUNE 20]. There we will learn all the skills required to make this happen. I (Paul) will be at both training sessions alongside you guys as a learner!
So…as of right now, we’re asking that you let us know if you plan on participating. The expectation would be that if you participate in the training that you will “pay it forward” by serving in two “5 Day Clubs” over the course of the summer. Obviously, we have two planned; but if you can’t make either of those, there are plenty of other ones that will be taking place all across Fresno County (CEF can hook you up with that info).
Questions? Either ask on here or email or call Paul.
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