Impacting Kids Through Serving

You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild the foundations from out of your past.  You'll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again. —Isaiah 58:12  (The Message)

 _______________________________________________________

One of our five Daring Faith goals is to assist 250,000 people in need. On January 28, Saddleback members stepped up to help fulfill this mission by partnering with the Compton Initiative, birthed by Emmanuel Church in Paramount. Held from 7:30 AM–2:00 PM, the quarterly workday event––known as Good Neighbor Compton––brought people together with a common passion to make a difference in the lives of children. It also provided an opportunity to connect with local residents as well as other Christians who have a heart to serve the city of Compton.

Assiting were 60 Saddleback volunteers from LA, Anaheim, Lake Forest, and Rancho Capistrano, along with other families. Participants made an incredible impact on the Compton community by painting and repairing RISE Academy, a learning center focused on spiritual growth, financial awareness, character building, entrepreneural enrichment, growth mindset, and nutrition.

Birthed out of Daring Faith, RISE Academy started as a result from partnering with a local church to do an after school program and academic summer camps. Concluding the workday was a one-year anniversary celebration in honor of that journey. Since its inception, the ministry has drawn nearly 800 volunteers who act as the hands and feet of Jesus.

 “What has been accomplished in a year is nothing less than miraculous,” says Team Leader, Teresa Bowles. “It’s totally based on God's amazing grace.”

During the January 28 event, the goal was to improve several areas on the school grounds to facilitate future projects. The team painted doors, built a new mosaic walkway, created a jungle habitat along a staircase, and created a measurement learning station. Other projects included mentoring children on the planning phase of their miniture golf holes, facilitating pre-building activities, updating student binders and bulletin boards, and making a rug for one of the school areas.

In Teresa’s words, “This truly is a mission project that can be defined as a on-going local peace mission field. The ongoing volunteer participation has been instrumental in life skill- and- mindset transformation. We still need more volunteers with a variety of SHAPEs to partner with us year-round. The next step would be to have volunteers make commitments based on their SHAPE and desired involvement.”

Like Teresa, those who served have witnessed remarkable stories of life change, as well as stories of how an entire neighborhood can be transformed. Those stories range from a former drug house now the home of local pastors and their families, to once struggling students now excelling at school and finding hope in their faith. 

“There are so many stories here,” says Saddleback’s Steve Bresler. “I’ve been with Local PEACE for 12 years, and in all those years, these are some of the coolest examples of God at work.”

To learn more about the Good Neighbor Compton Ministry, click HERE, or contact Steve Bresler at steveb@saddleback.com.