|
|
by Matthew Loomis
According to Senior Pastor Jeff Allensworth, the vision of the St. Louis Dream Center is “to worship, to love and to serve.” Established in the fall of 2000 by Joyce Meyer Ministries, the St. Louis Dream Center is a ministry that provides a constant flow of love and service to hurting people in North St. Louis, Missouri—an area where one in five households lives on less than $10,000 a year. Located just twenty-six miles from Joyce Meyer Ministries’ world headquarters, the St. Louis Dream Center provides a means to help hurting people at a local level.
Today, with thirty-five full-time employees, approximately 150 volunteers, and fifty interns—young adults residing on campus to receive ministry training—the St. Louis Dream Center ministers to tens of thousands of people on a yearly basis.
Many of those who are in need in this area are either children or senior citizens. Poverty can be particularly cruel to the young and the old—both are usually dependent on others for their basic needs. Thanks to our friends and partners, the St. Louis Dream Center is able to minister and make a difference in the lives of many children and elderly adults.
God Loves the Children
And He took them [the children up one by one] in His arms and [fervently invoked a] blessing, placing His hands upon them. —Mark 10:16
It’s a Friday afternoon at Farragut Elementary School. Over 250 children are inside the school gymnasium with their teachers. All are listening closely to the young presenters who stand in front of a large KidZJam banner and explain the rules of the hula hoop relay race. Patrick, a St. Louis Dream Center intern, demonstrates what not to do with the hula hoop. “You don’t want to do this,” he says, intentionally stumbling over his hula hoop. The kids laugh. Everyone is well behaved and paying attention—most KidZJam programs encounter very few behavior problems. Ali Linn, KidZJam director, attributes the children’s rapt attention to the Dream Center’s focus on building relationships. “I think the reason why the kids behave well for our school assemblies is that we have such good relationships with the schools. The children and the teachers either know us individually or they know who the Dream Center is, and that rapport is the key.”
The KidZJam program conducts thirty-two assemblies per year at sixteen different schools. The presentations include a series of skits performed by eight interns and also include some audience participation games. The beautiful aspect of KidZJam is how children are learning about respect, unity and overcoming fear, along with other biblical principles in a fun and engaging manner.
The Oasis Tutoring Program is also taking place here at the St. Louis Dream Center. Many of the children served in the program do not have stability at home—it can be difficult for them to find some quiet time to do homework and study away from school. Through the Oasis Tutoring Program, the Dream Center sends thoroughly trained volunteers out to the local schools to work with students either during or after school hours.
Andrew Wheeler, a tutor with the St. Louis Dream Center, recently shared how being a tutor has truly blessed his life. “I have had the awesome privilege of being able to tutor two children—one first-grade boy named Jahiem and a kindergarten girl named Tramecy. Jahiem is very bright. He knows all his letters and phonics, so I’ve been teaching him how letters form words and how our phonics can help us read the words. They both seem to pick up things rather quickly.” Andrew’s goals for the next few months are to help Tramecy recognize and sound out five letters she doesn’t already know and for Jahiem to be able to read and comprehend some short, simple sentences.
Thanks to those who volunteer, the Oasis Tutoring Program is helping children become literate, and that not only helps them with their ability to learn and gain future employment, but it also helps them read the Word of God.
Another outreach for children taking place at the St. Louis Dream Center is the DC Sports program. This outreach uses sports to connect and disciple children who attend the St. Louis Dream Center church as well as St. Louis public schools.
Pastor Tony Gilmore is the leader of DC Sports. “Three years ago we started a flag football program and had over 100 kids participate. Last fall, which was our third year, we had about 320 kids. DC Sports encompasses nineteen schools and two churches. It’s an outreach to the community to promote Christ to kids.”
Pastor Tony is quick to explain that Christ is shown to the kids through the coaches. “In essence, during the eight to twelve weeks of sports play, the coaches are like the kids’ pastor. They spend a lot of time mentoring the kids and teaching them lessons about Christ through the different happenings during the season. For example, during a recent game, the Dream Center team was down by eighteen points. The coach gave them a few scriptures and talked to them about not giving up, and they actually came back to win that game. Those are the types of lessons that in real life give the kids something to hold on to.”
Right now, DC Sports has a flag football, basketball and baseball program and plans to partner with the Red Cross to create a swimming training program.
Cool Classes for Children and Teenagers
On Tuesday nights and Sunday mornings, the St. Louis Dream Center is a happening place, offering fun classes for children of all ages.
The Early Childhood Program includes three classes which focus on the youngest children at the Dream Center: Nursery (birth to twenty-four months), Ocean (two- and three-year-olds) and Safari (four- and five-year-olds). Roma Henry leads this important ministry, and when she talks about the mission of the program, you quickly find out that it’s about more than just babysitting. “We lead children through the plan of salvation and give them the opportunity to make an open confession of their faith. Basic truths of God’s Word are taught with simple lessons. Our goal is a safe and inviting classroom environment for children, parents and teachers. And to make this possible, we provide ongoing training for our volunteers.”
In the past year, over 175 children between the ages of birth and five years old have accepted Christ through these classes at the St. Louis Dream Center.
Studio 15 is another class open to children from first through fifth grade. Studio 15 is a children’s church service that gives grade schoolers a place where they can worship God in relatable ways. “Making the kids from our neighborhood into disciples is what we’re all about,” says Pastor Bob LaPlante, leader of Studio 15. “A lot of the kids we get walk here or come with brothers and sisters. Some do come with their parents to church here, but over half of the kids come here on their own. We teach them about Jesus and the Bible…we teach them about the differences between how their neighbors or family members might treat each other and how God wants us to treat each other.”
Studio 15 also has activities that help teach the children lessons about serving others. “We sometimes take kids to nursing homes. We help the homeless. We also have a program called Adopt-a-Block, where we pick up trash, cut grass and do whatever needs to be done to help make the neighborhood look better.” According to Pastor Bob, these activities help instill a sense of serving others in the children. Studio 15 is providing a church experience that is changing the lives of many young people in North St. Louis.
Adolescents also have a place where they can congregate in a healthy atmosphere. In the basement level is the program called 4U. Thanks to the friends and partners of Joyce Meyer Ministries, the teens who come to 4U feel comfortable right away when they find video games, a pool table, foosball and skee ball waiting for them. There are also concession stands that provide inexpensive snacks to eat as they hang out and fellowship together.
Eventually, the leaders call the teens together and they have their own church service, with worship, announcements and an anointed message. “We also have special evenings where we have a theme,” says Lilly Ramirez, an intern who works with the youth, “such as our open-mike night where people can share their talents. We try to keep things fresh and new so that the teenagers will stay interested.” On a typical Tuesday night, the youth ministry can have around 100 teenagers in attendance, while the two services on Sunday mornings usually have more than thirty in each one.
Hundreds of teenagers have accepted Christ through the 4U ministry. The services usually include altar calls with an average of ten to fifteen teenagers responding each month.
“Really, our goal is to try to keep them off the street,” says Joyce Meyer, speaking about the children of this area. “For those who are on drugs or in gangs, we want to give them productive things to do instead of just following a destructive pattern.”
God Loves the Elderly Too
This is My commandment: that you love one another [just] as I have loved you. —John 15:12
“Is it ok to have some fun today? Let God fill you with joy,” says Rita Evering, who leads the Nursing Home Ministry at the St. Louis Dream Center. She’s leading a group of elderly people in song, and you can see in her smile how much she loves them. There are about twenty people gathered around—some in wheelchairs, others sitting in chairs or on couches. Each receives a songbook, printed by Joyce Meyer Ministries, with extra large print to help them read the songs more easily. Amy and Heather, two interns who are part of the Nursing Home Ministry, help during the sing-along by turning the pages of the residents’ songbooks.
Although many of the elderly have blank expressions or show little emotion, the Nursing Home Ministry knows from experience that God is ministering to them. “Many of the elderly are on medication or depressed,” says Rita. “They are sometimes in their own world. But God’s Spirit is going to reach their spirit regardless. Many times after we’re done, someone who has shown no emotion will smile and tell us how much they enjoyed our visit.”
Sadly, as much as 80 percent of nursing home residents do not receive a visitor, even from their own family. That type of environment is a breeding ground for hopelessness—not only do many feel abandoned by their family, but also by God. Many of them have given up, because they feel so forgotten and alone. That’s why the Nursing Home Ministry’s primary goal is to remove the depression and bring in the peace and joy of the Lord, restore their hope and encouragement, and give them back their hope of heaven.
After they wrap up their singing sessions or other presentations, the Nursing Home Ministry teams begin making individual room visits. These personal room visits with the residents are where much of the ministry occurs and can include a miracle touch from God at any time. Rita shares an experience: “On one occasion we came into a gentleman’s room to pray with him, and his breathing was so hard and labored. So we prayed for his breathing to become easy and for the Lord to clear up his lungs, and he became so quiet and so peaceful. He went from heaving for breath to absolute peace.” Another time the team met a man whose hands were shaking uncontrollably. They prayed and the man’s shaking hands became still.
Walking from room to room, workers and volunteers hand out smiles and encouragement to everyone they meet. Interestingly, the Nursing Home Ministry views the staff of the nursing homes as a ripe harvest field as well, and can often be found giving out candy bags or Joyce Meyer Ministries materials to the staff. “How the residents are treated is determined by the staff,” says Rita. “If the staff are saved and filled with God’s love, then they’re gonna take better care of the people. But if they’re bitter, lost and hurting, then it’s like Joyce says, ‘Hurting people hurt people.’” The volunteers are always open to the staff’s needs, and there are many divine appointments. There have been nursing home staffers who have accepted Christ while riding in an elevator with a Dream Center volunteer. When the Nursing Home ministry teams make their rounds, they’re often approached by the workers of the facility who are seeking prayer or a spiritual boost.
The staff, along with three interns and forty volunteers visited an astounding 30,000 elderly people in 2007! If you have a heart for the elderly, visit www.stldreamcenter.net/Volunteer.html.
Thank You for Helping Us Change Lives
The St. Louis Dream Center would not exist without the friends and partners of Joyce Meyer Ministries. Because of your faithful giving, children and the elderly are receiving discipleship, mentoring, tutoring, visits, and also companionship, fellowship, hope and love. Your giving is making a world of difference not only around the globe, but right in the “backyard” of Joyce Meyer Ministries—North St. Louis. Thank you for making all of this possible. The St. Louis Dream Center will continue to make an eternal difference with your generosity.
|
