Indianapolis Indians & Children International

This morning, I went to downtown Indianapolis and went to Victory Field. I had a meeting with a Sponsorship Sales Executives team member. I think that the meeting went well. I am not sure what exactly will come of it but I went down there to share with them a little bit about Children International and if there will be an opportunity that we can partner with one another.

Thus, I may be able to get information into the hands of individuals attending the ball game about child-sponsorship. Later next week, we will be back in communication to see what might be on the table. It may be as simple as passing out brochures at the gate about CI. It may be setting up a booth and having individuals see the children that are available for sponsorship. We also may partner with them and the other organizations for their faith night in August.

We may still be here at that time, so I may be there or I will pass it off to someone else. But, it was good going in and getting a foot in the door and letting them know about CI.

For baseball fans, at Faith night, Andre Dawson will be speaking.

Am I Invisible ?

Since I resigned from Christ The Savior, I have attended seven different churches. I believe that we have found our "home church" till we find our next step in ministry. However, it was an interesting experience visiting churches and I have thought about continuing the experiment. One of the reasons that I have thought about continuing the experiment is because the church that may be our home church has a Saturday night service. So, we can attend there as a family and on Sunday's, I can explore and do "research".

There was one Sunday in particular that was interesting. I went to three services at three different locations. I went to an 8:30, 10 and a 11:30 service. I am not going to name or oust the 10am service but when i went there, I must have been invisible. Now, let me tell you, I think that they knew i was there though. It was a smaller church (under 100), so it was not like I was hiding in the crowd.

No one greeted me at the door.

I stood in the gathering space wondering around, no one approached.

Ah, the coffee bar with folks 'working'. I went over there and struggle to get coffee, trying to make it known that I needed help. Not a word. Hmmmm, I will go into the "worship space".

No one there to say hi to me.

I sat down (10 minutes before service) and not a soul.

Ahhh greeting time, here it goes. Wow, did they greet and it was a long greeting time. However, I was not the one being greeted. If you are one of them, it is a loving place. I am just not sure how to become one of them.

Service was great, worship was excellent, sermon was relevant; it was just cold.

Lights back on, I exit and not a word. I don't even recall a smile or a head nod.

Nope, this is not the "home church".

What Is Sponsorship ?

Children International's mission is to help children living in dire poverty. Through the

generosity of contributors, we provide needy children with a variety of programs and services to meet their basic needs, enhance their self-esteem and raise their physical and educational levels in a meaningful, lasting way. Since 1936, Children International has been providing assistance to children and families struggling in terrible poverty. Today, through the Children International® Sponsorship Program,  we help children in 11 countries – Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Mexico, the Philippines, the United States and Zambia.  With your support, we can continue to help poor children grow up healthy and educated.  Here is a 2 1/2 minute video on "What Is Sponsorship"

Please go to my personal page, take a look at the children and sponsor one of them. You can choose the gender, age and country and begin to build that relationship with them TODAY. And today is my 40th birthday, that would be a really cool 40th birthday present for me; if you would sponsor a child.

Children International: Jeff's Page

Returning ......

I believe that I am returning to this blog. I have been gone for awhile but it is time to get back to writing here. I am not sure how much time that I will have to devote to it, but I am going to give it a try. Alot has happened since I departed.

I have resigned from my ministry position at Christ The Savior. I am currently working three part-time "secular" jobs. I am working night shift at Marsh (a grocery store) as a night stocker. I am working at Metro Plastic as a machine operator. Then recently, I have partnered with Children International. They do child sponsorship's in 11 countries and I try to match kids and donors. If you would be willing to partner with me/them; let me know. Your gift of $25 a month will do amazing things.

I am also interviewing for various ministry positions across the country. I am not sure where we will land. Also, I am now able to visit numerous churches. I visited 3 last Sunday. It is definitely interesting to see how everyone "does church".

So, in the up-coming weeks, I will share about Child International, my job search, church experiences and life in this transition time.

Jeff