The Opportunity Center Progresses

We obtained our occupancy permit for the Opportunity Center in April. Here we are only 2 full months later and our product line is taking shape. We are producing the following items through the help of volunteers. We currently produce Coffee Bean Jewelry, Coffee Bag Totes and Messenger Bags, Coffee Bag Wall Art, and Deck Chairs in painted pine and Teak-oiled Mahogany. Here is a picture of the new mahogany chair.



We are also adding dealers for our items as the St. Louis Art Museum and the Missouri Botanical Gardens have both agreed to display our products. Starting in July we will begin employing two missionaries on a part time basis. Things are developing rapidly and we hope to start relocating people this summer and beginning the process of recruiting more missionaries by this fall.

Through a partnership with Connections to Success we now have the use of a ServeSafe certified commercial kitchen. This will allow us to develop food products for distribution in the local area. The samples are being prepared this weekend and we hope to have our first products ready for distribution in July. This addition will help us to develop opportunity in a broader context.

Our first business is in the incubation process as one of our missionaries is developing a business concept that we hope to help him launch this summer. The Opportunity Center does not intend to become a large employer but rather to be a catalyst for economic opportunity and training for job skills.

Progressing along the path ...

It has been a very busy spring. Here is the latest update.

Baseball is in full swing when it doesn't rain.

Guitar lessons start this weekend if the kids stay out of trouble.

Tae Kwon Do starts the first week of June.

We display our products at the Gateway Center in Collinsville Illinois this weekend. We publicly launch our Coffee Bean Jewelry at this event.

We begin working on the restoration of the Bremen Theater with an informational meeting Wednesday May 26th at the Urban Studio Cafe.

48 Volunteers from Tulsa Oklahoma arrive June 9 for 3 days of work.

We now need to secure some housing for our missionaries and begin the relocation process.

I love it when a plan comes together!

Play Ball!!

The park had been neglected. Earlier this year the parks department removed the backstop and fence around what used to be a baseball diamond. "No kids play there anymore" I was told. Thanks to Alderman Freeman Bosley Sr. and Charles Lunsford a new backstop and fence have been put up. On April 10 we gathered there with 18 kids from the area and the free Hyde Park neighborhood baseball league was born. A week later we gathered again with a sod cutter to reclaim the infield!



The sod was removed and placed on a vacant city lot across the street.



This weekend 25 kids showed up to play America's sport. The dirt is exposed. The backstop is up. The equipment was donated. The volunteer coaches were ready. This weekend will be the first game on the new field the kids helped us to build. That farmer in Iowa once said if you build it they will come. He was right. Satruday at 2pm you will once again hear those famous words at Windsor Park on the corner of Blair and Angelica in Hyde Park - Play Ball!

A Lost Battle

What we hoped would be the future home of the Opportunity Center's Coffee and Ice Cream Shop in Hyde Park, lost it's battle with the elements last week.



The building now has lost the back wall and the front is held up by bracing. The estimate for repair had risen by 15% prior to the collapse. It appears we may have to look for another suitable property for this phase of our efforts.

Work Turns from Removing Debris to Repair

Our work on the new home of Sun Ministries turned to repair this week. After weeks of cleaning and removing equipment and debris, we were able to get our inspections and start the process of obtaining an occupancy permit. We were pleased by the outcome of the inspections. No surprises were revealed and all of the needed repairs were minor in scope. We started by painting window frames and trim because we were blessed with a sunny and warm spring day this week.



This is a picture of the building before the work. and here is a picture after the paint.



We still need to paint the upper windows do some tuckpointing and replace the guttering. After that the work moves inside.




Our thanks to Jason Calahan who worked off the 40 foot ladder for the first time. A special thanks to Roger Garrett for letting us borrow his ladder.



In a great display of teamwork, Mark Goodwin and Ralph Bradshaw tackled the windows on the alley side of the building. Mark worked up high and Ralph got the lower sections.

Where to Buy the Isaiah 61 Initiative Products

Here is a current list of retailers for our new products.

Picasso's Coffee Shop 101 N. Main St. St. Charles Mo. 63301
Offering the Coffee Bag Totes and Messenger Bags

The Urban Studio Cafe 2815 N. 14th Street St. Louis Mo. 63107
Offering the Coffee Bag Totes, Messenger Bags, and Deck Chairs

Plank Road Pottery 906 South Main Street St. Charles, Mo 63301
Offering the Deck Chairs

Check our web site for an updated list of retailers. New ones are being added each week.

Isaiah 61 Web Site

New Product from the Isaiah 61 Initiative

Products with purpose! We are now making coffee bag totes and messenger bags as a part of our efforts to bring jobs to the inner city. These are quality bags at very reasonable prices. Each bag has a unique design that varies by where the coffee originates. There is something for everyone. I will update soon on where you can go to buy these in the St. Louis area.

It's Official

Sun Ministries has filed the deed on a donated property at 1515 Newhouse Avenue in the Hyde Park Neighborhood. The building was donated to us yesterday. This building will give us a base of operation in the area. There are some very exciting things in the works. As the new year opens we will continue to work on the future home of the Opportunity Center. We will continue making deck chairs and expand that effort to other furniture in hopes of bringing jobs to the area. We will begin a massive board up effort of the nearly 900 vacant buildings in the area. We will begin to offer training classes in music, poetry, writing, crochet, woodworking, and many other things. God has opened the doors of ministry opportunity for us and we give Him the Glory.

The Opportunity Center

Here is a sample of the deck chairs we are building and selling as a part of the Opportunity Center.



You can volunteer to help cut, sand, or paint parts for the chairs. You can donate materials to the project. You can purchase chairs for $75.00 each.

Volunteers from around the city will cut and prep the parts and we will take them to the city and hire people to assemble the chairs. This will provide income to support the ministry and jobs for a very impoverished area of our city.

Show Me Compassion Launches

Show Me Compassion Raises Resources

■ We collect donations of items that are not readily available through other social service organizations. Food and utility assistance are available through many different agencies in the St. Louis area. There are many types of assistance that are not readily available.

Help Stop Homelessness Before it Happens

■ If your house is broken and you can't afford to fix it you can become homeless. We need your cash or gift card donations to help people that are at risk of becoming homeless. Some of our city's working poor have a home and an auto but they are just one breakdown away from losing them. By collecting these resources, our trained volunteers can assess the needs of these people and deliver timely assistance to make that repair and keep someone in their home or keep their car running so they can keep working.

The Things Most Take for Granted

■ We need new items donated. Items that most of us take for granted. Small Kitchen appliances like toasters, coffee makers, can openers, etc... We need new clothing so that when we meet the need we encourage the individual. Some children in our city will never have anything but hand-me-downs without your generous donation. New clothes, shoes, or coats are a simple way to show you care.

Gift Card Donations

■ When you give a gift card you help us bring help where other assistance is not available. We collect the gift cards and only use them when we have verified the need. We don't hand them out. Our trained volunteers go with the individual in need and use the gift cards to purchase the items needed. We need gift cards for auto parts, home improvement stores, school supplies, and gasoline. Gift cards are an easy way for you to donate. Drop them in one of the collection boxes and we will take it from there.

Drop Your Donation at One of These Fine Businesses

Picasso's Coffee House 101 N. Main St. Charles

C. Bennett Building Supply 1700 West Terra Lane O'Fallon

Affordable Accounting 513 W. Pearce Blvd #A Wentzville

Excel Sports Physical Therapy 4800 Mexico Road Suite 104 St. Peters

Excel Sports Physical Therapy 9331 Phoenix Village Parkway Winghaven

State Farm - Jay Maitland 2957 Highway K O'Fallon

Or you can donate online at by clicking the Donate link at the top or bottom of our web page.
Sun Ministries

Trying to Keep Up

Here are a few of the latest developments. I will post more details soon.

We have partnered with The Vine on Lindenwood Campus. They have sent volunteers to help us work in Hyde Park and we will be scheduling an awareness event on Campus soon.

We have been asked to assist with boarding up vacant properties in the area. We will be cutting and decorating plywood for the windows and then our volunteer crews will install them. With over 900 vacant properties in Hyde Park we can see what a visual impact this will make.

Campus Crusade for Christ has offered to let us share the vision of the Isaiah 61 Initiative with their groups. We will be working out the details of that effort in the coming weeks.

We are getting ready to launch Show Me Compassion. This effort will raise resources for the poor and single parents in Hyde Park. The uniqueness of this effort will be that the resources will be delivered to people in need by people that work in the area on a regular basis. The goal is to help these people break the cycle of poverty by making a plan, working the plan, and assisting with resources to break the grip of poverty. There is no better place for your charitable giving this year than with Sun Ministries and Show Me Compassion.

We have been offered a purchase option on the Opportunity Center building. We will be completing that contract and hope to begin clean up and stabilization work soon.

Here are some of the works in progress that we hope to have firmed up soon.

We are organizing an event in Hyde Park where a group of Christian astronomers will present the God of creation and teach the neighborhood kids about the universe. We hope to include the Guardian Angels and offer refreshments to the residents.

We will be joining the Alderman Freeman Bosley Sr. in collecting donations of Bikes for kids in the neighborhood. The bikes will be given away to kids in need at the Hyde Park Christmas Party. About half the residents of Hyde Park live below the poverty line. Last year they collected and gave out 60 bikes. We hope to help them reach 100 this year.

Sign up for email newsletter at Sun Ministries

Show Me Compassion

Sun Ministries is coming alongside several single parent families in the Hyde Park Neighborhood. Our goal is to work with these families to address the specific needs of each family in an effort to improve their quality of life. The needs of each family will be different. Our goal is to show them the love of Christ as we help them to escape the grips of poverty and empower them to live up to their full potential. As the families are chosen we will be sharing the specific needs of each.

We are partnering with several area businesses to offer convenient drop off locations for donations. We will begin our efforts in November with no set ending date. Unlike other holiday time efforts, we will seek to make a year round and life long difference in these people's lives. We hope you join us in showing comapassion to the poor right here in the St. Louis area.

Supporting our cause

Would you like to become a regular supporter of Sun Ministries? Our efforts to bring restoration to the inner city will require the financial support of many people that wish to make a difference.

Any financial support is gretaly appreciated. If you would like to help us with a one time gift or with regular monthly giving you can email me or visit our web site and give online through our secure payment system.

Thank you for helping us to help those that are less fortunate.

Click Here to Donate

Bringing Jobs to the Inner City

We are starting a new project as a part of our Opportunity Center. We have found some simple furniture patterns that we will assemble in the Hyde Park area. This will begin to provide some level of employment opportunity as we continue to raise funds for the Opportunity Center building. Here is how it works.

If you have basic wood working skills you can volunteer to cut out the simple patterns for us. This can be done at your convenience and in your own shop or garage. We will then transport the "kits" to the city and hire people to sand, paint or stain, and assemble the parts. This prevents us from needing to work with power tools and allows us to hire unskilled people to assemble.

If you want to contribute more you can purchase the wood and donate the "kit" to our ministry. If you cannot afford to do that but would still like to help we will have a limited number of openings for "kit" cutters that will use wood we purchase.

Once the items are completed under our supervision we will be offering them for sale to the general public. You can also help by getting on the list to purchase an item. We will begin with a simple deck chair and flower pot hanger. If you know of a retailer that would like to support this ministry and sell a product that makes a difference please have them contact me.

If you would like more information on this project as it develops just email me with the words "Inner City Jobs" in the subject.

Guardian Angels in St. Louis - Update

When we invited Curtis Sliwa and the Guardian Angels to visit St. Louis we had no idea that a media frenzy would result. After walking through some of the toughest areas in St. Louis we were amazed to find that every major news outlet had covered the story. Here are a few of those clips.


KMOV

KSDK

FOX2

KMOX

Post Dispatch Video

Post Dispatch Story

In addition to these, I was invited by DJ Hank Thompson and Alderman Freeman Bosley Sr. to speak on 1490AM on Tuesday night and take calls from the community. We met with the mayor's office, the police department, and other city officials. The Alderman is trying to arrange for me to speak to the 3rd ward and will have me address the upcoming community meeting in Hyde Park.

Opportunity Center

We have submitted an offer on a building in Hyde Park that will serve as Sun Ministries main office and a neighborhood Opportunity Center. The offer will be voted on at an LRA meeting on September 30th. If the offer is accepted we should have access and work permits on October 1st. This will allow us to begin site work immediately. Here is a picture of the building on which, we have made an option offer to buy.





If you would like to help us restore this property by donating money, materials, labor or expertise, please contact me. We can use all the help we can get.

Guardian Angels in St. Louis - Update

The Guardian Angels will be visiting St. Louis on September 12 + 13. If you would like to attend an informational meeting with Curtis Sliwa and some from the Chicago Angels chapter then email me for details. The location of the meeting is not secured yet but it will be on Sunday September 13 at around 2pm.

Click here to email me

Weekly Serviing Opportunities in Hyde Park

Sun Ministries will now offer weekly serving opportunities in the Hyde Park neighborhood of North St. Louis. If you would like more information you can sign up for our monthly E-newsletter or register to be a volunteer at our main web site.

www.sunministries.org

Cleaning the glass out of the playgrounds

Go to the Isaiah 61 Initiative

Guardian Angels in St. Louis

Sun Ministries is attempting to help the Guardian Angels organization to start a chapter in St. Louis. The Guardian Angels are are best known for their red jackets and signature red beret's. This uniform acts as a visible deterrent to crime. The Guardian Angels are a non-violent empowerment and crime deterrent organization. If you have any interest in learning more about the Guardian Angels you can visit their web site.

http://www.guardianangels.org

If you are interested in helping us start a chapter in St. Louis contact me soon. Curtis Sliwa and the Chicago chapter leaders will be visiting us soon to explore this possibility.

Summer Internships Begin

Suzette and I just returned from Grand Teton National Park where we dropped off our Summer Interns. It was an incredible time as we got to know these people. We had the privilege of watching as many of them saw the Rocky Mountains for the first time.

By the time we left them they had already seen bear, moose, elk, antelope, and bison up close. We look forward to hearing of their experiences this summer as they learn to minister to people from all walks of life in an area that is outside their normal comfort zone.

Most of the interns will return in mid August. Some will be staying through September. Thank you to everyone who made their summer possible.

Base of Operations

We have been given the support of the Alderman over Hyde Park to proceed with purchasing and rehabbing this building for our base of operations. This is a critical first step in our future relocation of Sun Ministries to North St. Louis.

We have enough money to pay the purchase price of the property but before we can buy it we must raise the money needed to completely rehab it. We plan to apply for an option for the property that will give us some time to raise the money. If you can help with cash or material donations please contact me.

Our teams continue to work and serve in the area as we prepare to take the Isaiah 61 Initiative to North St. Louis. This property will give us a much needed presence in the community and be instrumental in helping our missionaries to relocate to the area.

Internship

The 2009 Summer Internship is about to begin. We have 12 leaders and interns preparing to leave for the summer. We will gather them in St. Louis for an intense 3 day training starting on the 16th and then off to Wyoming on the 19th.

Thank you to everyone that has supported our interns financially. Without your help they could not have participated. Thank you for your prayer support. The goal of the internship is to raise up the next generation of spiritual leaders that will minister in non-traditional ways in the most oppressed parts of the world. We are excited to see these groups from St. Louis and Indiana take this step.

Some have asked me how I can think that sending them to Wyoming can accomplish this task? Jackson Hole is a very transient society in the summer. Many people travel their to seek summer employment or to vacation. What our interns will find in Jackson Hole is an area with a large diverse population and limited ministry resources. There will be homeless, druggies, transients, foreigners, wealthy, and many others. If you want to experience a mixed culture with limited ministry resources then this is the perfect place.

The population of Jackson surges in the summer. The valley boasts a year round population of about 5000. The average summer population is around 60,000. There is no ministry comfort zone in such an environment. You cannot rely on your church to reach out. You cannot understand the demographic of the population you are in because it is so diverse. We see this trip as the first step into a new way of looking at the world and our ministry calling. I am sure that some of the interns will meet someone of a race, culture, or lifestyle for the very first time. We look forward to a fun eye opening experience for our interns.

The St. Louis Effort

The Isaiah 61 Initiative seeks to establish missionary movements in every major urban area in America. Epiphany Video Works has produced and donated a short 10 minute video outlining the initiative's efforts in St. Louis.

Project Epiphany Video

The Isaiah 61 Initiative

Sun Ministries launched the Isaiah 61 initiative on February 2, 2009. There are many ways for you to be involved. If this video stirs your heart and you would like to join us in making a difference in the devastated areas of America's inner cities then email me.

If you would like to support our efforts financially you can donate online at www.sunministries.org/is61.html

If you would like to support us with prayer send an email to prayerteam@sunministries.org and we will add you to our regular prayer updates.

if you would like to participate in summer work crews in this area then send an email to terry@sunministries.org with the subject line - Work Crews - I will keep you posted of dates and opportunities.

The problem is huge and will require many people working together. We are experiencing an outpouring of support for this effort. Will you join us in making a difference in the most desperate places in our country?

The Mission Store

I was sitting with some friends about 6 years ago talking about current trends and issues in the world. I brought up the micro-loan concept that was being used by missionaries in third world countries. The concept was to make small loans that would help to improve a family's quality of life. A fifty dollar loan could help a family break free from desperate poverty.

The idea of poverty as a tool of Satan was new to me at the time. I see how our enemy deceives people and how the greed of the powerful often oppresses the poor and the helpless. Poverty can become a snare that holds people in lifestyles that produce generational impacts.

I decided at that time that I would use my business experience to join with ministries that were helping people first get set free from the bondage of sin and then from the snare of poverty. Here we are six years later and the Mission Store is taking shape.

We have now partnered with three ministries that are working in Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Thailand to help widows and former prostitutes to escape the bonds of poverty. We import the products made by the people the ministries serve. This has immediate impact. The money from the products we purchase goes directly to the person who made the product. We then sell the products here in America which expands their market allowing them to sell more goods. We take 10% of the proceeds and send it back to the ministry and use the remaining funds to help widows, orphans and homeless families right here in America.

We are in the process of placing a few items on the web for purchase this Christmas season. If you are looking for a unique gift with a purpose and an impact then visit the Mission Store. Your purchase will change a life.

Sun - Greek word meaning "to come along side"

Sun Ministries was founded in 2006 as I was seeking God's answer to my calling in life. At the time I founded Sun Ministries I had no idea how much was about to take place or the significant role it would play in my future.

The idea was simple - the church in America was divided and God was not happy with that division. Every place I looked I saw churches duplicating efforts and refusing to work together. I hoped to become a unifying force for the body of Christ.

As we moved into the future I saw several areas where we could all come together. Specifically addressing the needs of widows, orphans, the poor and the homeless. Over the last couple of years I have taken what God has laid on my heart and I have put it into a vision of unity and working together for the common causes that unite us in Christ. I will give you a brief overview and later I will address each area in detail with another post.

The Narrow Gate - Not another homeless shelter but rather a mobilization to help people get off the streets. We have everything we need to end homelessness in this country. If the spare bedrooms of every Christian family would house one homeless person we would solve the problem tomorrow.

The Mission Store - Poverty is an oppressive power. Poverty causes people to make decisions they would otherwise never make. The Mission Store gives an outlet in America to handcrafted items made in third world countries by widows, orphans, and the poor. Through this effort we help people escape from poverty's grasp and lift the out of its oppressive power.

The Spiritual POW Project - Uniting in prayer is the first step to uniting at all. This project promotes prayer and supplies employment for the homeless and missionaries working in America. It allows ministries to partner together to make a difference in the lives of those right here in America.

The Summer Internship - We need to train tomorrows leaders in a different way. Instead of teaching the next generation to lead and pastor a church - let's teach them to lead and pastor their community. This program takes college age adults to Wyoming for the summer to learn how to make disciples and care for the community they live in.

The Sun is rising and a new day is dawning in America. I look forward to the day when the body of Christ is united in prayer, housing the homeless, caring for the widows and orphans, feeding the poor, and serving their communities. How about you?