Amplified Weekend

About six months ago the Student Ministries team started planning an outreach that would help an inner-city school to improve their facility. The idea was exciting because it would be the first time in history that HPC would be able to get into the public school system for a work project. The plan had been a school makeover; fresh paint, some landscaping, just kind of spruce up the place. The fruit of that original idea was seen on Saturday March 17th.

Almost 200 kids piled into the Annex at 8:00am; many short on sleep and hygiene but high on enthusiasm. Their fearless leaders, mostly house parents from the homes that billeted the kids for the Amplified Weekend, were present and ready for action. After a short talk from Pastor Tyler the students were separated into teams, each going to a different location. The original idea of one school had multiplied into six. Isn’t that just like God?

The 6th Graders headed to Mohican Center to paint exterior doors and sills and to clean up the playground, while 7th Graders headed to Prescott Middle where they painted floors, doors and each other. A local basketball team was practicing in the gym, no doubt wondering where all these kids were from.

Over at North Highland Elementary there were guys pressure washing walls and girls painting the stairs and sanding poles. One of the girls I spoke with has only been coming to Refuge for a few months. She told me she likes Amplified Weekend because it’s about getting closer to God. She had a safety pin through her bottom lip, and I love that HPC doesn’t care about that. At Banks Elementary they were busy adding color to the place, painting stairs, doors and poles bright red, yellow and green. It was a nice contrast to the otherwise drab surroundings. The students were excited about everything God was doing; from the in-home sessions to Chad Daniel’s preaching the night before. There was an electrical anticipation that God wasn’t done with them yet.

While the Senior guys were busy painting window frames at Melrose Elementary the crew at Belfair Elementary had their hands full too. Between trash pick-up, landscaping, painting and cleaning everyone was pitching in. The buildings at Belfair create an exterior block, with a green space in the middle. They call it the Secret Garden, now with white lattice and colorful benches. As I watched the HPC kids clean up, spread mulch and apply fresh paint, I wondered what the reaction of the Belfair students would be on Monday. I hope that what was once a neglected, rundown area will become an oasis for them; a refuge from the every day.

The lives of over seventeen hundred students will be touched by Amplified Weekend: Project Justice. Some trash bags, paint, brushes and time were all that it cost. There were no alter calls, worship services or prayers of salvation; just a bunch of kids wanting to show another bunch of kids that Jesus loves them. I think that makes God very happy. All glory to Him!