Backpacks for the Kingdom

Over the past few months of getting settled into a new church and new city, I have been praying for our church to find meaningful ways to live the gospel in Olympia.  Shortly into my time here, I started getting to know an organization called the YC (Youth Connection) which is only a few blocks east of our location.

They are a "non-religious, non-profit" organization which serves the teenage/high school students of Olympia by providing community center care- food, tutoring, and a safe environment to hang out (pool tables, wi-fi, and lots of video games).  Oh, and it just so happens that everyone that works there is a Christian...

A few weeks ago, one of the staff who comes to Reality often, shared their desire to provide school supplies and backpacks to the growing number of homeless teens they work with.  They want to do whatever they can to help encourage these young men and women in the pursuit of school and education.  So- hoping the best- I jumped on board and committed to 15-20 backpacks by the end of September.

This past Sunday marked the last church service of the month and the pile has now grown!  I'm so thrilled with the response that we have had and look forward to bringing our 43 backpacks jammed with school supplies over to the YC.  I pray that this is just one of the first steps Reality can have toward working with and loving those students... and the first step of many more to live the gospel in our city.