I am very happy to report that the
Lighthouse Mission's kids club (our ministry to homeless and underprivileged children) has been a huge success. (Click here to check out the kids club photos)Under the amazing direction of my wife Andrea and by the grace of our Heavenly Father the Lighthouse Mission has been blessed to be able to minister to more then 90+ children each week. We have designed this program to minister to children from ages 4-11 years old (however these little guys have been known to slip on the bus even younger).
Sadly, most of the children we pick up with a bus live in local homeless shelters and very challenged areas. Gangs, violence, drugs and abuse are a very real part of their lives. It breaks my heart to see these little children "hardened" because of all that they have been subjected to. Thats is why the Lighthouse Missions Kids Club is so important to these children. Most will never be able to go to a church & the Kids Club will be the only opportunity to meet Jesus - I take that responsibility VERY seriously.
A few weeks ago my wife & I adopted a wonderful dog from the Brookhaven animal shelter for our children (If you are thinking about getting a dog- be sure to check this place out first-you will be blessed). Any-who, while in prayer God revealed to me that my new dog now has a safe place to live while the children in the Lighthouse Mission's Kids Club does not. Your dog has it's own little spot in your house it likes to sleep- the little children have no stability in their lives and have no idea where they will be sleeping each night. Your dog has nutritious dog food to eat- for many of the children they get only one unhealthy meal each day to eat. You don't abuse or beat your new dog- yet the little children you minister are. This revelation broke my heart. Therefore we do all that we can to make this Saturday morning program the highlight of their week.
Although we have very little money to buy crafts, food and supplies needed for the children we make use of all that we have. A wonderful local church (Integrity Christian Fellowship) that is pastored by my close Friend Dr. Tony Balsamo is generously lending us the use of their facility and school bus each Saturday from 10:00am-1:00pm until June 5th while the Lighthouse Missions buildings are being renovated.
The moment the children climb off the bus they are shown the love of Jesus with 20-25 Lighthouse Mission volunteers clapping, cheering and blowing bubbles for them as they enter the facility (sorry, the bubbles are my thing). Soon after they are engaged with a high impact bible lesson, music, skits, puppet show etc. that teaches them that poverty, drugs, violence are not a lifestyle - we teach them about the love of Jesus. Then we offer them the opportunity to make a craft that reflects the bible lesson they just learned. Games and a whole bunch of fun follow the craft. When it's time for lunch we try to provide a nutritious & fun meal for the children. This can be difficult for the lighthouse mission as we have to purchase enough food for 100 children ready to eat. Remember that the Lighthouse Mission is NOT a church that can project what their weekly offing will be. We operate entirely on donations. That means some weeks we receive a funds from faithful donors and other weeks nothing. It is not uncommon for the Pastor of the mission to consider going without a paycheck in order to continue the operations of the ministry. For many of the children it is the ONLY meal they will receive for the entire day. It's hard to imagine that 110,000 children go to be hungry each night right here on long Island (reported in the 2010 LI Harvest/LI Cares study). After the children have lunch we give them the opportunity to choose a toy from our prize table. This is a BIG deal for these little guys- many of the children are moved around from shelter to shelter so often that they have to leave their toys behind many times. So to receive a "new" (most are used donated toys) brings a wonderful smile to their face.
By the end of the program the children are all smiling and hugging the volunteers good bye. Some of the children are crying because they don't want to leave while some of the volunteers are in tears as well. Because they know that this may be the last time they will ever see these children as they are moved around so often.
For most of the people whom come to volunteer at the LIghthouse Missions Kids club program or our street outreaches it is a life changing event. Most think that poverty is something that happens in a far away country... they quickly learn that it is just a few miles from their home.
If you are interested in getting plugged into our Kids Club program or any other outreach opportunity just give us a call e-mail and we'll be happy to get you connected showing the love of jesus in a practical way.
God Bless you..
Pastor Jim
"Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children." -- Jesus
