A parable from Ethan

These are thoughts from Ethan after his surgery.  Angie helped guide the concept he came up with.

Suppose you have a surgery, a long surgery. Then you wake up and it’s like a dream because you’re home.

The surgery is like when you’re on earth. Earth is like surgery because earth is a painful time. It’s painful because it’s full of sin. If we accept Jesus in our lives we’re separated from the devil. When we do that we realize how bad earth is.

When you wake up you are home. Home is safe and comfortable. Home is like heaven because we’re safe from the devil.  

By Ethan Penner

12.31.11

The wounded soldier

Youth Center

Amber Carter and I made this video to show the vision Josh has for a youth center.

Vlog #2 - A funny Story

Intro to Video Blog

Who Sleeps on the couch?

Daren Busenitz my good friend and Wichita Director wrote this blog recently and I wanted to pass along.  Just one example of  how life is so different for people in the city.  


This was the question of one of my neighborhood kids asked me when they came over to visit the other day.  It caught me off-guard and at first I was not even sure how to respond.  But then the harsh truth slowly dawned on me.  But first, let me back up a bit.
The kids that come over stay at a house two doors down from us to the North.  While most of us would use the term "live in a house", it is interesting that among the poor in our neighborhood, the phrase "stay at a house " is more often the description which indicates the temporary nature of even the most stable things in their lives.  The house itself is a typical inner-city house.  Run down and barely able to keep up with the demands of all the people who stay inside its few walls.  Bare dirt on the front lawn from constant activity of kids, teens, adults coming and going.  I think the grandmother technically owns the house, but you would never be able to guess who lived there due to the large amount of people who randomly come and go .  An old large car that somehow continues to run despite its obvious neglect in routine maintenance and upkeep.  The harshest fact may be there there are two bedrooms in the house with two beds and LOTS of people.  As you can imagine, the kids are lucky to even get a spot on the couch and even more likely to get a spot on the hardwood floor.
The question slowly made sense, "so who sleeps on the couch?"  Equal to the surprise for us that someone would not have a bed to sleep in, is the surprise for my neighborhood kids who can't even envision a couch that is not used at night for comfortable sleeping.  This certainly puts things in perspective in a hurry.
The thing that I want to change about my life from this "learning point" is the concern and action that I myself have and demonstrate for my neighbors.  I am not Ty Pennignton and I cannot come in and build them a lavish new house (that would quickly fall into disrepair anyway once the media leaves).  However, I can seek to alleviate the suffering of the poor.  Specifically by building meaningful relationships with my neighbors, learning of their need, trying to help meet those needs as I share of my resources and demonstrate (not just tell) how God wants to provide for them and become the one that they can fully trust in for all their needs.

Work out time!!

The kids are learning how to work out and enjoy exercising. Bree first was practicing her gymnast moves on our mini trampoline but then decided to get on the treadmill.  In modelling fitness in the last year, they are now enjoying it as well.   

Puzzle Pieces

I am not very good at puzzles nor do I really like them.  It's probably my personality and my lack of patience.  But God has been giving us lots of puzzle pieces lately here at World Impact.  As the volunteer coordinator, I am often the point of contact for someone interested in getting involved with our ministry.  Also, I have been partnering with Susie Krehbiel this past fall to help with fundraising.  In the past few months we have seen much more interest in our ministry.

I think one of the main contributing factors to this increased interest in our ministry is two books. The popularity of books like Radical by David Platt and Crazy Love by Francis Chan have stirred people to get out of their comfort zones and want to make more of a difference with their lives.

As Susie and I have interacted with each church and each individual, we've gotten a growing sense that God wants to do something big in our city and especially among the poor.  So right now we are in the process of collecting the different puzzle pieces and then praying through what God wants us to do.

Pray especially for Daren Busenitz our Wichita director, and Lisa Entz our church plant director.  Pray that they will have wisdom and clarity for what God is doing in the midst of all of this. 

Francis Chan Event

While it was an immense amount of work planning for this event, it was one of my favorite projects I've been a part of since joining staff.  I worked with a great team planning the event and was a part of working with tech stuff, brainstorming new ideas, and networking with lots of people. (one of my favorite things in life).  The event was a great success and here is the official article on it. 

World Impact Wichita was honored to host Francis Chan for two special events November 3-4.  Francis has served on our national board for around ten years.

 

On November 3, Francis spoke at Central Christian Church. Around 2,700 people attended the event!  Francis shared his heart for the poor and challenged everyone to take the Bible literally. He said that it is often common for people to twist the message of the Bible to justify their own lifestyles. But, instead, they need to fully obey the message communicated in Scripture—to love and preach the good news to the poor. Dr. Keith Phillips, the president and founder of World Impact, gave an overview of our vision and ministry and then gave a challenge for people to be involved with caring for the poor.

The next morning, 300 pastors and leaders of local churches came to a breakfast hosted by Westlink Christian Church. Francis gave another powerful challenge to these leaders.

We praise God for the ways He moved in the hearts of people through these events.

Around 150 people expressed interest in learning more about World Impact. Fifteen people came to “Encounter World Impact” to learn more about specific ways to get involved with World Impact in Wichita. Generous givers allowed us to raise $35,000 that evening!

Here are some responses we heard from people after the event:

“Francis Chan really made us squirm in our seats tonight. Wait, we actually have to follow the Bible all the way? Very challenging. Thanks World Impact Wichita, and our friends Don Davis and Matt Penner for sharing this with Wichita and City Life Church. Kudos to Steve Brummer and Lee Lundgren for doing a great job with worship!”

“I was encouraged and convicted at the same time. A friend said it's like someone hugging you and punching you in the gut at the same time.”

“Heard Francis Chan speak last night. We went home to ask God, "Ok...now what?" and to continue as he (Francis) encouraged…to take the Bible more literally.”

“So glad I got to go last night to hear Francis Chan! Now the question is: what do I do about it?”

“Last week, after months of avoiding God, denying his calling, skipping church, etc. He broke through. What Francis said was not new or ground breaking to me. Instead, it was simply confirmation that I am being restored to ministry...a call that once issued is irrevocable. Oddly, 10 days ago I had received an email from my seminary about someone inquiring about my availability to help a church/youth group. I had ignored the email...until last Thursday night.”

Here's Bree reading in Spanish.