The month of February signaled the return of our missionaries serving on-site at all six SFS locations! We always welcome more volunteers, so if you've considered joining us, it is not too late to get started!
Over the next several weeks, we want to give our readers a peek into our newsletter highlighting some of Sidewalk Funday School's takeaways from 2019. What better way to kick off this 2019 review than a word from our dedicated leader!
A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT, KIMBERLY HANSEN
I was recently at Student Leadership University (SLU) with my daughter where they taught that people will buy into your Why long before your What. So, What’s our Why? We want to shine Light into darkness. We want to see children and teens in challenging circumstances have Hope. No child has control over the environment into which they are born. For the kids we serve, statistics bear out that if left without interference almost all will walk in the steps of what they see lived out in front of them. We want to introduce them to Jesus and to let a relationship with Him so radically interfere with their trajectory that they are Transformed and made disciples for His Glory!
Many of the children we have developed relationships with over the years have now grown into teenagers. As the children age and move away from the formal ministry, they still are involved by coming out to see us and talking to us while we are on-site. We remain burdened about how to keep these kids on a continued walk with Christ and provide them opportunity to rise above their circumstances. As they advance through their teen years, we want to continue to disciple them as well as be a connection for them to opportunities, to apprenticeships and to workforce development programs. Yet It is our weekly work at and in these communities that drive SFS’s efforts. To that end, please pray the teens engage as we implement new curriculum with teen-relevant content on-site this Spring. Please pray as we pursue our ultimate Why - to aid these teens in finding God’s purpose for their lives and to help them grow into leaders and productive citizens of Jacksonville.
We remain Faithful to our mission; Love Jesus. Love Children. Share the Gospel. Sidewalk Funday School continues to serve weekly each of our six locations during the school year. We have two vehicles outfitted for ministry and if we had more willing missionaries–we could double our number of sites to 12 locations! My personal invitation is to please come one time and check us out for yourself. Come with a heart to seek Him and I promise you’ll find God is already at work! Will you help us achieve our Why?