setting the pace

Well, we have reached the beginning of a new ministry season! We have spent so much time evaluating past programs and dreaming for the new year, that I almost don't know where to begin! I'll start with an outline of what our ministry week will look like:
- Monday evenings we are hoping to start QUEST. This is an MTV-style video used to facilitate discussion groups on the basics of Christianity. We have used this curriculum before within existing programs, but this is our first attempt to open it up to anybody. Pray for strong discussion group leaders and interest from the community.
- Tuesday evenings will become our teen's drop-in evening: same goal, same crowd, different night. We are also hosting the Chopper Club, a mentorship-based program where young men use the welding shop to create their own low-rider bikes
- Wednesday evenings continue to host our children's club program, a small-group based discipleship program for ages 8-12
- Thursdays are our children's drop-in, where we are beginning to find ways to focus on different age groups (2-8, and 9-12) to continue to strive for excellence in communicating the gospel to children. We also host the Chopper Club again on this evening.
- Friday after schools I host a small group Bible study for those interested in Leadership Development. Friday evenings we are bringing teens to local youth groups with a goal of connecting them to a local church in a meaningful way. Despite our partnering with the church plant, North End Community Church, very few of our young people actually attend. We are hoping, through involving more churches, we can find a home church for every believing teen. It's a big goal, but we're trying for it!

Beyond our evening programs, Bridge staff are involved in teaching Christian Education, woodworking, supervising recess and leading chapels for St. Aidan's school, which runs from our centre. I continue my involvement with the women in our community through the gardening club, which I am hoping to hand off to a new staff member very soon! We are also pursuing involvement in one of the local public elementary schools as a means to service our community as well.

It feels so good to have another staff member around, as it seems we are able to double our effectiveness with one extra pair of hands. We have spent considerable amounts of time evaluating and dreaming for the year ahead and I am excited for the directions set. Please pray for me as staff management becomes a growing aspect of my work and I find myself often intimidated by all it entails, as well as for our Bridge team: as we grow, staff unity becomes increasingly more important as well as increasingly more difficult. We covet your prayers!

Kirsten