On Friday, December 18th ATLAS Ministry’s Family Services Division
held its annual Christmas Celebration. Families and friends
gathered to celebrate Christ as the children from A Place for Girls &
Man-Up Youth Programs displayed their gifts through greetings, poetry, music
and many others. There was food, fun, fellowship, gift giving and
spirited Praise and Worship! This was an exceptional fun filled evening.
This year included the return of our ever
popular Christmas Store! The Christmas Store is our
Parent’s Gift Shop where our youth have the opportunity to shop for a gift for
their parents. This is an exciting opportunity for youth to learn about
spending money, making financial choices and giving a gift from the heart. It
is such a special surprise for each of our parents who get these treasures just
in time for Christmas morning!
We are so grateful for the many volunteers who served as
decorators, sound-man, gift wrappers, servers, greeters, secret shoppers and
more. The evening would not have been possible without the help of so
many.
Thanks
to all who were there and those who participated in this event.
Please
visit our Facebook page to see pictures of the Christmas party and learn
how you can get involved in this joyous affair.
Our first Christmas gathering with the parents was an evening filled
with joy, entertainment, food and laughter. It was highlighted by the wonderful
presentation given by Mrs. Chris Leach. She shared the true meaning of
Christmas and the kids were all dialed into her message.
We were also blessed
with an awesome group of volunteers. They pitched in and made the evening the
best it could be.
Train bookends were donated to each family by the Ferst Books
Foundation.
Also, we were especially pleased with the number of parents and
children who attended. We had 80 % of the participating parents and
children. Hooray to the parents! Finally, the evening was capped off by sharing
gifts with all of the children. A great event enjoyed by all.
In
the first event of its kind, ATLAS Ministry, Inc. partnered with Lake Oconee
Presbyterian Church for a 3-day camp, July 8-10th.
Everyone
possesses God given gifts and has what it takes to be a leader. Oftentimes, however, we do not tap into our
God given potential. “The Leader in Me” Summer Camp was an opportunity for boys
and girls to discover the leader within themselves. Through a series of Bible studies, programs
and events, 27 kids ages 6-17 from ATLAS’ Man-Up boys youth group and A place
for Girls youth group, were off to an amazing start of leadership discovery.
Lake
Oconee Presbyterian Church inquired of ATLAS several months ago how the church
might get more involved in its ministry to youth. Over the intervening weeks, representatives
from LOPC and ATLAS Family Services Division worked together to develop the
summer camp, which LOPC hosted and led. Approximately
thirty volunteers from LOPC participated along with the ATLAS team.
The
Personal Development Program at the Summer Camp focused on: Kindness, Teamwork, Leadership, Serving
Others and Dining Etiquette. The camp
also included fun and exciting outdoor activities such as Three Legged Race,
Obstacle Course, Tug of War, Basketball and a Real Men Cook Grilling Team and
Cooking with the Best Teams for the Girls. To foster leadership, the children
were also introduced to the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Kids and Teens by Sean
Covey. At
dinner on Friday night the children were joined by their Parents, Volunteers
and ATLAS Staff to reflect upon what they had learned within the past three
days. Look out Greene County, some
amazing young leaders are coming your way!
"Every child is one caring adult away from being a success story." Josh Shipp
Video of Kalen with Mentor Mike Daniel
Kalen's Graduation from Youth Challenge Academy
Mike, Kalen and Detective Raleigh Callaway (co-mentor)
Through ATLAS I became aware of Kalen and his family and asked if I could be Kalen’s mentor. Kalen was 11 years old at the time. Today he is seventeen. Because his father was not involved in his life, I wanted Kalen to know that I was making a commitment to him. I expressed to him that I would be there to see him graduate from high school, to one day get married and to see him have his first child...all in that order. I told him that I expected there would be times that he may try to push me away, but that it would not work. I would be there regardless. At the time I felt it was important for Kalen to know that a “father figure” loved him enough to stay the course.
Staying the course has not always been easy. As an eleven and twelve year old, Kalen was full of bitterness that presented itself by fighting, showing disrespect to his teachers and disconnecting from his school work. I learned about “tribunals” and meetings with probation officers in the juvenile system. Yet I never wavered in my belief that God had placed special gifts within Kalen and that the persevering love of Christ would one day unleash them.
Through Nick Rucker at ATLAS, Kalen discovered a relationship with Christ and things began to improve. A few months later true change occurred when Kalen made a decision to forgive his father. I still marvel at the attitudinal and behavioral change that we witnessed. Within two months of his decision to forgive every one of his teachers wrote glowing letters of support for him. Receiving our Lord’s forgiveness and passing it along to others is truly transformational.
Kalen's Baptism
Academically Kalen is behind, way behind. Over many years he has been passed along in school without being prepared for the next level. He was so far behind that we needed to find another route to his education. He has recently completed six months in the Youth Challenge Academy at Fort Stewart, Georgia followed by enrolling in St. Andrews School in Sevierville, Tn. This is where we, three weeks ago, filmed the short video linked to this article.
Just this week Kalen made an impulsive decision to leave St. Andrews to come back and help his mom through a particularly tough period of her life. We all, including his mom, are disappointed in both Kalen and the school for this rash decision. However, our love for Kalen and commitment to him remain strong. As I write this I am running a little late to pick Kalen up to discuss and discover what he sees as the next step in his growth, for there is always a next step, there is always opportunity to dream, always a possibility of a better future.
I am convinced God has destined Kalen to be a man of peace, a man that lives out His love, grace and forgiveness and touches the lives of his friends, family and community in positive ways. God has called me and others to be His hands in molding Kalen into the man He has designed. I love Kalen and thank God for the opportunity to be in his life.
Mike Daniel is Kalen's mentor and ATLAS Board Chair
About a year ago I
was watching NBC Nightly News, Making a Difference segment, and I saw a story
about a Homework Diner. Here's the gist of that story:
Beginning as a 6
week pilot program in the spring of 2012, Homework Diner set out to involve
parents in the school/after school community. The purpose of the Homework Diner
was to engage parents in their child’s academic development, invite communication
between home and school, and give parents support for homework help and ideas
they can use at home. Average
attendance fluctuated between 35-55 participants during the pilot. Due to
overwhelming support from the parents’ desire to continue Homework Diner, now
attendance often exceeds 100 participants (students, siblings of students,
parents, teachers, volunteers, etc.).
Well, needless to
say, this Homework Diner thing stayed on my heart. I began to pray about it and
asked our team to pray. God gave us clearance to move forward. After all, if He made it possible in Texas,
he can do the same thing in Greensboro, GA.
What started as a
tugging at the heart became a reality on April 29th! What an awesome night. The Homework Diner was
everything we imagined it would be and more. There were students, parents,
mentors, tutors, homework helpers, staff, board members and volunteers. Parents
and tutors had the opportunity to get to know each other and talk about ways we
all can help our children learn.
There was a lot
happening in the room; excitement, relationship building, servant hood and not
to mention great food. But the thing we prayed for the most, that the parents
would interact with the tutors and mentors in order to help the kids, was
taking place and we were overjoyed. Of
course, there were a few things that we believe we can do to make the Home work
Diner a better experience each time, but it was a great start. On a rainy
Wednesday night, the Homework Diner was a very good place to be.
There were approximately
50 people in attendance; remember in Texas they started off with approximately
50 people and ended up with an average of 100 people. We feel as long as the
children are learning and the relationships are growing, the numbers will grow,
but it is God who adds the numbers. We give Him all the glory for such a
wonderful evening. We believe that in Him, the best is yet to come. So look
out, another Homework Diner will be coming your way soon!
For more
information on the how you can volunteer to be a Homework Helper or Tutor, please contact Rebecca Epps or Angel Robbins at our ATLAS Office 706-453-0581
