Whatnot

So I've thought about posting this for some time, but wasn't sure this was the forum. But why not?

My wife and I have been having some great conversations lately about ministry and serving and vision and mission (and LOST). :-) It feels like God is birthing in our hearts a desire to pursue some stuff...here it is.

This vision is incarnational. It's all about living with people. Being a neighbor. And being ridiculous. We would love to buy a house or vacant commercial building in the ghetto south side of our city. We want to make that home. We're thinking "urban ministry and retreat center." More on the retreat center thing later.

What we're envisioning is a an urban ministry center focused on the kids in the neighborhood. We see a community center for kids. Help with homework, tutoring, educational programs, games and the like. A safe, warm, fun place to be for a kid. Open everyday from whenever school gets out until 7 or 8 pm. Maybe a free preschool (currently in our city, the free preschool program is full. Kids get in via a lottery. really.) This would be the day-to-day infrastructure of the place. It could also be a center for launching other projects out of from the city, for the city. Blanket giveaways. Food giveaways. Porch painting projects. Really anything you could think of that some neighbors might need.

The beautiful thing about this is that it combines a lot of my wife and my passions for ministry and our experiences. My wife is a teacher (working toward her Masters in Literacy) with a heart for children and missions. I don't know what I am, but I've done ministry with the homeless professionally and am currently doing more suburban children's ministry. I love the big picture (recruiting, planning, organizing). My wife loves the details. And in this vision we both find our "sweet spot."

Maybe I'm crazy. Most of all, I never want to stop living, walking, and breathing in God's Kingdom today in the hopes of some dream tomorrow. But tomorrow could be pretty cool, eh?